Australia Most Australians are governed by three levels of government - local, state and federal. For instance, a family living in Sydney would have the Sydney City Council (local) looking after such things as garbage collection, park maintenance and dog controls. Australians pay their local government by paying "rates" - paid according to the area and position of any land that you own. They would then be governed by the New South Wales Government, which would look after such things as roads, and the police force. Finally, they are governed by the Australian (Federal) Government, which is involved with trade, foreign affairs and the national treasury. Both the State and Federal Governme