Parliament of NSW 5.79

The Parliament of New South Wales is the law-making body for the State of New South Wales and is Australia’s first and oldest Parliament. It consists of two democratically elected Houses, the Legislative Assembly (also known as the Lower House) and the Legislative Council (also known as the Upper House).

There are 135 elected Members of Parliament in NSW and it is the responsibility of the Parliament to hold these members to account. To find out more about how Parliament works, visit our website – www.parliament.nsw.gov.au.

There are many ways in which members of the community can engage with the Parliament, and the aim of this page is to provide information about activities such as school programs and tours, public tours, art exhibitions, special events at the Parliament, visiting the precinct, viewing Question Time and much more.

We will also be posting regular tips and resources to help you to better understand the Parliament, who we are, what we do, and how we work on behalf of the community to hold the Government to account.

The Parliament is open to the public each Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 5:00pm (except on public holidays). It is a wonderfully historic precinct and we encourage you to visit us and walk through rooms that were once part of Sydney’s iconic Rum Hospital, which have been meticulously restored and decorated with some beautiful and treasured artworks and artefacts of NSW.

You are also invited to visit the wonderful Fountain Court, which is famous in its own right for its central water sculpture by the late Robert Woodward – one of the hidden gems of Sydney’s artscape. Each month, the walls of the Fountain Court display high quality art exhibitions from around the state, country and world.

The Parliament also runs a popular program of school tours and programs designed to support and enhance civics education. These run from guided tours and role plays in the Chambers, through to Young Leadership Groups and Youth Parliaments.

And don’t forget that we are above all a working Parliament, and visitors are more than welcome to view sittings of both Houses from the public galleries in both Legislative Chambers.

This page will be regularly updated with information about upcoming activities at the Parliament, as well as useful resources about the Parliament and its role in the governance of NSW. We encourage you to like and follow and page and to get involved with the Parliament of NSW!