Supplementary fiscal chapter · October 2026

Counting political positions honestly.

How many elected positions Australia has, what a single national government could change, and what fewer politicians would — and would not — save. Fewer politicians is not the same as better democracy.

federal seats, held constant: 226
state and territory seats, provisional: 620
councillors in 538 councils: ~5,500
modelled positions, not full-time jobs: 6,346

Today versus a conditional future

The Party contests current elections. Structural change needs the country's consent.

One Australia stands candidates for federal, state and local office under existing law. Removing state or territory chambers would require profound constitutional change, likely including section 128 referendum processes and possibly state-specific consent. No savings are assumed before lawful implementation.

01 · Now
Contest federal, state and local elections
Stand candidates at all three levels and ask Australians for the votes and seats needed to govern. Election outcomes belong to voters; no level of government is assumed won.
02 · When voters choose us
Win office and govern lawfully
Take office only at the levels voters entrust to One Australia. Start the S38 program within the powers of those governments, with public baselines, consultation and transparent oversight.
03 · Through the required process
Pursue national political change
Develop and advance the planned representation and governance reforms through lawful parliamentary processes and the required state, territory or public-approval steps.
04 · Only if voters approve
Implement constitutional change
Where the Constitution must change, proceed only after the applicable parliamentary process and referendum requirements are met. The Party holds no government power today and claims none.

Democratic model Draft constitutional clauses Regional governance

Current representation

6,346 modelled elected positions.

Federal (held constant): 226State and territory (provisional): 620Local councillors (approximate): 5,500

Positions by level and verification status
Level	Positions	Status
Commonwealth Parliament	226	150 House + 76 Senate, per source-document citations
State and territory parliaments	620	Provisional planning baseline from the supplied model; chamber counts require independent reconciliation.
Local councillors	~5,500	Approximately 5,500 positions across 538 councils; not 5,500 full-time parliamentary jobs.
Total modelled	6,346	Sum of positions; not a count of paid full-time jobs

State and territory chambers — provisional, verify before publication
Jurisdiction	Seats used
New South Wales	135
Victoria	128
Queensland	93
Western AustraliaOfficial: 59 Assembly + 37 Council = 96	95 → 96
South Australia	69
Tasmania	50
Australian Capital Territory	25
Northern Territory	25
Total	620

Source correction · material discrepancy

Western Australia has 96 seats, not 95.

Western Australia's Parliament confirms 59 Assembly members and 37 Council members: 96, not the supplied 95. Updating that entry gives a 621-seat planning sensitivity; other chamber counts still require reconciliation. The original 620-seat calculations are retained for traceability, not asserted as a verified current total.

Annual recurrent balance: source 620 vs WA-reconciled 621 planning sensitivity
Scenario	Source 620 · balance	WA-reconciled 621 · balance	Difference	Net removed (620 / 621)
Conservative	−$275.0m	−$274.3m	+$0.8m	320 / 321
Central	$632.5m	$633.8m	+$1.3m	1,795 / 1,796
Upper sensitivity	$1,747.5m	$1,749.5m	+$2.0m	3,270 / 3,271

The 620 source cases stay reproducible below. 621 corrects only the WA entry; the other chambers remain provisional, so 621 is not a fully audited total.

Institutional options

Three options, each with real costs.

Lawful state parliamentary consolidation

Remove 620 state and territory seats only after lawful constitutional transition. Retain all 226 Commonwealth seats; fund regional scrutiny and elected local input.

Funded regional representation design

Replace state chambers with a smaller regional council or elected oversight structure. Its members and staffing are real new costs, not zero.

Local democratic reform sensitivities

Test 0%, 25% or 50% reductions in elected councillor positions as sensitivities only. Council staff, public works, planning and essential services do not disappear with councillors.

Hard arithmetic

Annual recurrent scenarios.

Annual balance = removed state seats × state unit cost + removed councillors × councillor unit cost − new regional representatives × their unit cost − extra oversight. Federal seats stay at 226 in every scenario. All fully loaded unit costs are assumptions, not measured average public salaries or expenditure.

State baseline

Central: positions

State seats removed: 620
Councillors removed: 1,375 (25%)
Gross removed: 1,995
New regional positions: +200
Net removed: 1,795
Remaining: 4,551 (−28.3%)

Baseline total 6,346 positions (620 state and territory).

Central: annual dollars

620 × $1.3m$775.0m
+ 1,375 × $0.2m$247.5m
Gross avoided$1,022.5m
− 200 × $1.2m$240.0m
− extra oversight$150.0m
Annual recurrent balance$632.5m

Annual recurrent balance by scenario — assumption-based, before transition costs

Conservative−$275.0m
Central$632.5m
Upper sensitivity$1,747.5m

Left of centre: annual net cost. Right: annual net balance before transition costs, discounting and financing. Not a verified whole-program net saving.

All three scenarios · source 620 baseline · baseline total 6,346
Scenario	Gross removed	New regional	Net removed	Remaining	Gross / yr	Replacement / yr	Balance / yr	10 / 20 / 30 yrs
Conservative	620	+300	320	6,026 (5.0%)	$465.0m	$740.0m	−$275.0m	−$1.38bn / −$4.13bn / −$6.88bn
Central	1,995	+200	1,795	4,551 (28.3%)	$1,022.5m	$390.0m	$632.5m	$3.16bn / $9.49bn / $15.81bn
Upper sensitivity	3,370	+100	3,270	3,076 (51.5%)	$1,927.5m	$180.0m	$1,747.5m	$8.74bn / $26.21bn / $43.69bn

Cumulative values use a separate linear ramp from 0% in year 1 to 100% in year 10 (5, 15 and 25 mature-year equivalents over 10, 20 and 30 years). They differ from the S38 efficiency and debt ramp, and exclude one-time transition costs, discounting and financing.

Unit-cost assumptions and their provenance
Scenario	State seat	Councillor	Regional rep.	Oversight
Conservative	$0.8mInferred from the source table ($465m ÷ 620)	n/aNot applicable — zero removals, so no unit cost is specified	300 × $1.8m	$200.0m
Central	$1.3mStated in the worked example	$0.2mStated in the worked example	200 × $1.2m	$150.0m
Upper sensitivity	$2.0mReconstructed assumption matching the table; not an official cost	$0.3mReconstructed assumption matching the table; not an official cost	100 × $0.8m	$100.0m

The upper combination ($2m per state seat, $0.25m per councillor) is a reconstruction that reproduces the supplied upper table. The source does not uniquely specify it; other combinations could produce the same total.

Worked example · central · source 620 baseline

620 × $1.25m + 1,375 × $0.18m − 200 × $1.2m − $150m = $632.5m / yr

$775m + $247.5m = $1,022.5m gross avoided; less $240m new regional representatives and $150m extra scrutiny, elections and governance support. On the linear ramp: $3.16bn by year 10, $9.49bn by year 20, $15.81bn by year 30 — before transition costs and discounting.

No double counting

Audit every cost centre once.

These estimates are not added to the S38 $6.2625bn illustrative gross model. Parliamentary administration, regional administration, buildings, procurement and workforce restructuring may overlap. Only audited cash improvements after transition, replacement governance and ongoing costs could lower borrowing.

If $632.5m a year were truly additional and fully applied to principal, the simple 30-year mature-rate equivalent would be $18.975bn; the phase-in yields $15.81bn. Neither means outstanding debt would fall by that sum unless budgets otherwise balance.

Debt reduction chapter

Safeguards

Hold 226 federal seats constant in these scenarios. Removal of state/territory chambers is conditional on profound constitutional and legal change, applicable section 128 processes and state-specific requirements.
Regional representatives, elections, scrutiny, accessible offices and independent integrity bodies are funded replacement obligations, not zero-cost functions.
Councillor positions may be part-time. Reducing elected roles does not remove council staff, infrastructure, public works, planning or essential service responsibilities.
Publish travel/access burdens, caseload, response times, public hearing access, First Nations participation, disability access and remote-community coverage alongside every fiscal result.
Audit remuneration, support staff, facilities, travel, pensions, leases, elections and residual liabilities. Separate avoidable cash costs from costs transferred or retained.
Do not add representation scenarios to the 11-system gross model without auditing overlapping parliamentary, regional administration, procurement, property and workforce cost centres.
The 0%-to-100% linear representation ramp has 5, 15 and 25 mature-year equivalents over 10, 20 and 30 years. It differs from the inherited efficiency/debt ramp.
Annual recurrent balance and its cumulative sensitivities exclude one-time transition costs, discounting and financing effects. They are not independently verified whole-program net savings.

Any redesign must also protect proportional representation, public access and remote coverage. Fewer elected positions can weaken local accountability; independent representation and access reviews are essential.

Implementation gates.

Years 1–2Review and audit. Independent constitutional review; audit remuneration, staffing, facilities, election expenditure, pensions, lease commitments and local representation.
Years 3–5Map and pilot. Publish a national representation map and regional service standards, pilot shared governance arrangements and draft costed transition legislation.
Years 6–10Implement only if lawful. Implement only after required referendums, legal authorisation, transfer of state liabilities and regional democratic protections.
Years 11–30Report and adjust. Report actual net fiscal effects and democratic access measures annually; adjust arrangements where remote and regional representation deteriorates.

What Australians could experience.

Conditional outcomes, not guarantees.

Fewer overlapping political offices and a more transparent account of elected-position costs.
A single national policy framework with locally accessible representation and complaint channels.
Potentially lower long-run administrative spending, subject to audited transition and replacement costs.
Consistent scrutiny, public hearings, independent integrity bodies and regional service accountability.
A public register showing positions removed, new positions created, recurrent savings and democratic service measures.

Sources cited by the policy document

State and territory seat counts are provisional model inputs. Unit costs, replacement counts and the ramp are scenario assumptions, not official costings.

Read the democratic model