Section 51 of the Australian Constitution sets out the division of legislative power between the states and the Commonwealth (federal) government.
[1] Since the original ratification of the constitution, the High Court of Australia has settled a number of disputes concerning the extent of the Commonwealth's legislative powers, some of which have been controversial and extensively criticised; these included a dispute in 1982 over whether the Commonwealth was entitled to designate land for national heritage purposes under United Nations agreements,[2] as well as numerous disputes over the extent of the Commonwealth's power over trade union and industrial relations legislation.
[3] One difference between the Australian and United States models of federalism is that, in Australia, the Commonwealth Parliament has explicit constitutional power over marriage legislation; this has been a focal point for recent controversies over same-sex marriage.
South Africa is usually considered a unitary state but its government system possesses a strong similarity to a federal one.
In areas where both levels have concurrent powers there is a complex set of rules in the event of a conflict between national and provincial legislation.
The functional areas in which the provincial governments have powers include agriculture, arts and culture, primary and secondary education, the environment and tourism, health, housing, roads and transport, and social welfare.
The provincial governments are structured according to a parliamentary system in which the executive is dependent on and accountable to the legislature.
The Premier appoints an Executive Council (a cabinet), consisting of members of the legislature, to administer the various departments of the provincial administration.
Most notably, it does not have representation in the United States Congress other than its non-voting Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico.
However, it does enjoy more autonomy in taxation and some other areas than the states, and thus is commonly classified as a sort of autonomous region for the Puerto Rican people, who are culturally distinct from the Americans on the mainland.
There exists a debate as to the future status of the territory, with proposals including full statehood, maintenance of the autonomous territory status, or some form of independence (either retaining limited reliance upon the United States or full independence with no special relationship).