Government effectiveness is measured by opinion polls and elections but these don't really reveal anything specific. Good indicators of a working government are public health and economy. However, both of these indicators are not entirely under the influence of the government.

One way to evaluate a government's effectiveness is looking at legislation. The number of legislation does not matter as much as quantity. However, legislation provides a good quantitative measure of a government's performance along with the political party and prime minister. A politician who passes a lot of laws may be considered to be doing his or her job well.

The Guardian reports that it has taken all Commonwealth of Australia Numbered Acts and assigned them to political party, parliament and prime minister, based on the approval of the act. It is worth noting that some acts or bills may have been introduced under one prime minister and passed under the leadership of another.

Based on the data gathered, first female and former prime minister of Australia Julia Gillard had the highest rate in passing legislation. She had a 0.495 rate followed by Bob Hawke at 0.491. Also on the list is Malcolm Fraser who is the highest-ranked prime minister from the Liberal party with a rate of 0.481.

The parliament with the highest rate for passing legislation was 36th parliament under the leadership of Bob Hawke. The rate of legislation has also increased over time since recent parliaments have passed more laws since the Commonwealth of Australia's early days.

The overall top political party turned out to be the Coalition with 0.365 acts passed per day compared to Australian Labor party's 0.360.

Despite being the first female Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard managed to beat the men in her field in terms of passing legislation. This also means she was an effective prime minister, thereby making her government also an effective one.

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