The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each house is directly elected by the people of New South Wales at elections held approximately every four years. The Parliament derives its authority from the King of Australia, King Charles III, represented by the Governor of New South Wales, who chairs the Executive Council. The parliament shares law making powers with the Australian Federal (or Commonwealth) Parliament. The New South Wales Parliament follows Westminster parliamentary traditions of dress, Green–Red chamber colours and protocols. It is located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney. History The Parliament of New South Wales was the first of the Australian colonial legislatures, with its formation in the 1850s. At the time, New South Wales was a British colony under the control of the Governor. A small, appointed Legislative Council began meeting in 1824 to advise the Governor on legislative matters. By 1843, this had been enlarged, with two-thirds of its members elected by adult males who met certain property requirements. In 1850, the Australian Colonies Government Act was passed by the Imperial Parliament, which expanded the New South Wales Legislative Council so that by 1851 there were 54 members – again, with two-thirds elected. In 1853, a select committee chaired by William Wentworth began drawing up a constitution for responsible self-government in the colony. While many of the provisions in the committee's proposed constitution were accepted when placed before the Legislative Council in August that year, a proposal to create a colonial nobility was subject to heavy criticism and later withdrawn. The approved bicameral structure included a fully elected Legislative Assembly, as well as a Legislative Council whose members were appointed for life. A government assumed most of the Governor's legislative powers. The new constitution was sent to the Imperial Parliament and passed into law on 16 July 1855. On 22 May 1856, the newly constituted New South Wales Parliament opened and sat for the first time. With the new 54-member Legislative Assembly taking over the council chamber, a second meeting chamber for the 21 member upper house had to be added to the Parliament building on Macquarie Street. The Electoral Act of 1858 made additional changes. The right to vote was extended to most