Editing Prime Minister of Australia (section)

=== Legislative role ===
Since the emergence of the strong party system in Australia in the 1920s, prime ministers have almost always been the [[parliamentary leader]] of the [[Political party|party]] (or leader of the senior party in a coalition of parties) that has a majority in the House of Representatives (which has been either the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] or the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] in coalition with the [[National Party of Australia|National Party]] since the 1940s). [[Responsible government]] has always required the prime minister and government to have the confidence of a majority of the lower house in order to govern, however the emergence of strong parties with members strongly punished for voting against party policy (also known as [[crossing the floor]]) has meant that most prime ministers and governments have significant control over the passage of bills in this house. However, bills must also be passed by the [[Australian Senate|Senate]] (the upper house) in order to become law and the government rarely has a majority in this house, leading to some checks on the legislative powers of the government. The prime minister also controls the date of elections, through formal advice to the governor-general, with such elections usually occurring within a 6-month period prior to the maximum 3-year term of the House of Representatives expiring.