become law. Voting in the house can be either be passed by the presiding officer simply asking members to call out their assent by stating, "Aye," or dissent by stating, "No." They then decide which side wins based on the volume. This process of voting "on the voices" is common for matters with little opposition. However, any member may challenge the presiding officer's ruling and ask for a division. This leads to bells being rung and members either stand to the presiding officer's right if they assent or to the left if they dissent. A count is conducted and a record of how each member voted is taken. If a house amends the draft bill, then the other house must separately agree to the same amendments. This means that it is returned to the other chamber for another vote. The bill is usually not read out in full again, rather only the amendment in question. Royal Assent Once both houses agree to the bill, and both presiding officers have certified the votes, it is presented to the Governor. The Governor provides royal assent on behalf of the Crown, after which the bill with either take effect immediately, or at a time specified in the bill. The Governor may, to the letter of the law, withhold their approval of a bill. However, their capacity to do so is not unlimited and is heavily curtailed by precedent and convention. In the rare instances where the Governor is reluctant to provide Royal Assent, the bill may be sent back to the house of origin with suggested amendments rather than be rejected outright. Functions The parliament has the power to make laws for Victoria on any matter, subject only to limitations placed on it by the Constitution of Australia, which specifies which matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Constitution identifies three areas of legislative power: exclusive powers, which may only be exercised by the federal parliament, concurrent powers, where may be exercised by both the states or federal parliament, and residual powers which remain the exclusive prerogative of state parliaments. Concurrent powers are limited further, as when a state law and federal law come into conflict, the federal law prevails to the extent of any inconsistency. Exclusive powers deal with matters that affect the entire nation or anything occurring on federal land. For instance, no state may create its own