This concise explainer responds to concerns regarding a potential hung parliament in Australia by clarifying and outlining the various models and historical precedents for productive power-sharing in government. It contends that minority and coalition governments are common, usually stable and constructive and reflect the will of voters.

Key points

• Australians have not given one party or coalition a majority of the vote in a federal election since 1975. 
• All Australian states and territories have had minority/coalition governments in the last 20 years, and three have them at the time of writing. 
• Power-sharing parliaments are also common internationally: New Zealand has not had a single-party government since 1994.
• The Coalition — treated by many as a single major party — is itself an example of successful power-sharing, as an ongoing and frequently renegotiated agreement between the Liberals and Nationals.