 the new south wales legislative council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of new south wales in australia. the other is the legislative assembly. both sit at parliament house in the state capital, sydney. the assembly is referred to as the lower house and the council as the upper house. it is normal for legislation to be first deliberated on and enacted in the lower house, and then considered again in the upper house, which acts in the main as a house of review. the council has 42 members, elected by proportional representation in which the whole state is treated as a single electorate. each member serves an eight-year term; half of the members are elected every four years in a staggered arrangement. ==history== the parliament of new south wales is australia's oldest legislature. it had its beginnings when new south wales was a british colony under the control of the governor and was first established in 1823 by the new south wales act. {{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/publications.nsf/key/is01/$file/demgrth.pdf |title=democratic growth in new south wales |publisher=parl
1823_establishments_in_Australia Parliament_of_New_South_Wales State_upper_houses_in_Australia