By acting in this way, a Member of Parliament is able to develop a favourable reputation with an electorate hence improve his/her chances of being re-elected. Trade Unions are the representatives of certain classes of workers who are engaged in employment pursuant to an award. Trade Union representatives are required to develop a relationship with employer groups and the government in order to further the interests of the workers. A trade union representative, like a Member of Parliament, is able to gain information and exert whatever political power possible to challenge or countermand the abuse of state power. Lastly, Interest groups, like trade unions and members of parliament, are representative of sections of society that wish to have their views and desires formally recognised or legalised. Interest groups use political and media contacts to further their arguments and counteract abuses of state power.
Formal means of challenging state power, are methods that are more permanent than the informal means of challenging government decisions by persons affected by the decisions and processes. "Formal" signifies permanence and consistency in the organisation approached to aid the challenge. The Ombudsman is an office created by statute, which aims to act as a formal external control on the actions of the state. It does this by investigating the myriad complaints made by citizens, who have appropriate standing against the government. The office of the Ombudsman can only make recommendations, and has a wide discretion not to investigate matters that may be considered frivolous or vexatious, and involve a complaint that does not have standing to bring the complaint or are not warranted in the circumstances. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is a statutory body that was created to investigate instances of alleged corruption among public servants. It is designed to be independent from the government and it works with investigative bodies, such as both the Federal and State police force to uncover corruption.
