The Legislative Council is the Upper House of the Parliament of New South Wales.

New South Wales has its own Constitution and its own system of Government and is part of the Commonwealth of Australia. The New South Wales Parliament makes "laws for the peace, welfare and good government of New South Wales". This means that it creates legislation relating to issues such as health, education, transport, the built and natural environments, leisure activities, state development, police and emergency services, energy, and so on. National issues such as immigration and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the Federal Parliament in Canberra.

Parliament consists of the Governor, the upper house – Legislative Council – and the lower house – Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Council is often also called the House of Review.

The Council is equivalent to the Senate in the Federal Parliament.

From the meetings of the first Legislative Council in 1824 – a group of five appointed legislative advisers to the Governor – to the diverse and democratically elected House of today, the Council has always been an integral part of the legislative and democratic processes in New South Wales.

Since the introduction of a bicameral (two house) Parliamentary system in 1856, the Legislative Council has had the role of a House of Review. The original intention of the framers of the 1855 Constitution was to create a House of Review which was more deliberative and could consider matters with more objectivity; a House quarantined from the wilder "excesses" of popularism and democracy and which would "moderate" the more radical decisions of the Lower House. Legislative Council Members consequently developed a tradition of independence, resisting the introduction of the party system in the House well into the twentieth century.

Even the reforms of the Legislative Council in 1933 – which introduced an indirect electoral process and limited membership numbers and terms – were still conservative and intended to maintain the notion of a cautious and careful ongoing House of Review.

Different forces were at work when the House became popularly elected from 1978, but even then, the system adopted ensured that the Legislative Council is reasonably cushioned from the larger swings of public opinion that can affect the Lower House so dramatically.

The outcome is still that the Upper House is more deliberative in style than the Lower House. There are generally no time limits on Members' speeches, and there is a slower, more careful and less adversarial style evident in the debates.

Between them, all Members have a wide range of political, social and cultural interests reflecting the diversity of New South Wales citizens.

Governments have not had a majority in the Council since 1988. It has been argued that this contributes to the tradition and constitutional intention of an independent House of Review. It is certainly true that the second opinion offered in the Legislative Council sometimes reflects a different range of community opinion from that of the Lower House.

 Click here for a Floor Plan of the Legislative Council

Role of Committees.

Committees are an important part of the Legislative Council because of the Council's role in reviewing legislation and acting as a check and balance on the government of the day.

Committees provide an opportunity for individuals and groups to put their views directly to parliamentarians. Members of the public can make submissions, give oral evidence, attend public hearings, and obtain copies of committee reports.

Committees allow Members to examine an issue in more detail and with greater public input than if the matter was considered by the House as a whole. Committees therefore benefit the community by producing better laws, more informed policy-making and greater government accountability.