Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar principles, though there are minor variations between them. Feedback is welcome and may be provided to: web.library@aph.gov.au. There are two vacancies. [23], In Queensland, the threshold for public funding is 6% of the primary vote. Electors now routinely receive how-to-vote materials through the mail or by other means. While the calling of a Commonwealth election is partly a matter of political judgement and timing, a constitutional and legislative framework governs the electoral timetables and processes. [13] Other Australian jurisdictions require political parties to have a minimum number of members. The next State general election in Western Australia is scheduled to be held on 13 March 2021. The seat of Labor MLC Lynda Voltz is vacant as she is contesting the lower house seat of Auburn. The terms of senators for the territories coincide with those of the House of Representatives. Unlike the House of Representatives, the Senate is a continuing body. The writs may be issued on the same day as the dissolution occurs, but as s.12 of the Constitution requires the writs for Senate elections to be issued by the State Governors, these writs may not necessarily be issued on the same day as the dissolution. Connie Bonaros The order of candidates within party tickets may also not be final. For all other new enrolments and re-enrolments the rolls are frozen at 8 pm on the day of the issue of the writs (CEA section 102), nominations of candidates close not less than 10 days or more than 27 days after the date of the writs (CEA section 156), the polling day shall not be less than 23 days nor more than 31 days after the date of nomination (CEA section 157), the election must be held on a Saturday (CEA section 158), and. At the 2010 federal election more than 1.5 million people did not vote or voted incorrectly. Rob Lucas Liberal MLC's David Clarke and Scot MacDonald are not contesting the 2019 election. Absentee voting is also available, but not proxy voting. Rob Lundie The next House must meet within 140 days of the writs being issued. According to section 38A of the Constitution Act 1975, elections for Legislative Council (upper house) members are held on the same day as those for the Legislative Assembly. [18] The Broadcasting Services Act 1922 bans the broadcast of advertisements in the three days prior to an election. Frank Pangallo, elected 2014: Justin Hanson The election process is governed by the Electoral Act 2002. The elections for the Australian Parliament are held under the federal electoral system, which is uniform throughout the country, and the elections for state and territory Parliaments are held under the electoral system of each state and territory. The House of Representatives has 151 members, elected for a maximum term of three years in single-member constituencies (each approximately equal in voters). [6][7] (Almost 163,000 voters were recorded as British subjects on the electoral roll in 2009.[8]). Elections for half of the Legislative Council are held simultaneously with each Legislative Assembly election. This work has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament using information available at the time of production. This means that the last possible date for the dissolution of the current houses is Wednesday, 11 August 2010. On Labor's ticket, Ernest Wong was appointed in May 2013 to replace Eric Roozendaal. Voting in federal, state and territory elections is compulsory for all persons on the electoral roll. As with the federal parliament and other Australian states and territories, voting in the election to select members for the Council is compulsory for all New South Wales citizens over the age of 18. The last possible date for the next election is within 68 days from the expiry of the House. State senators serve fixed six-year terms, except in the case of a double dissolution, with half of the seats in each State expiring every three years. The Constitution requires periodic elections for both Houses of Parliament, with separate provisions reflecting the different constitutional role of each House. Therefore, in theory, the next half-Senate election must be held between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011. Section 28 also states that the Governor may also dissolve the Assembly and call an election for an earlier date if the Government has lost the confidence of the Assembly or a bill of special importance has been rejected by the Legislative Council. The 2022 South Australian state election will elect members to the 55th Parliament of South Australia on 19 March 2022. It ends after the election result is known and clear, when a newly elected government is sworn into office. If the elections for the House of Representatives and half the Senate are to be held simultaneously, the date must conform with the constitutional provisions relating to the terms of senators and the period during which the election must be held. The maximum term of the House of Representatives is set by section 28 of the Constitution, which states that: Every House of Representatives shall continue for three years from the first meeting of the House, and no longer, but may be sooner dissolved by the Governor-General. [13], Television is the preferred medium for campaign news in Australia. [18] A ban on broadcast election advertising was imposed under the Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures Act 1991 but was overturned by the High Court of Australia in 1992. [4]. The Electoral Act 1907 (section 71) outlines the process for determining the election date. Both the Council and the Assembly may also be dissolved simultaneously if a deadlock occurs between them as outlined in section 41 of the Act. [19] The Commonwealth Electoral Legislation Amendment Act 1983 brought forward by the Hawke Government introduced public election funding and the requirement that all minor donations to parties be disclosed. [13] The visually impaired can use electronic voting machines.[14]. The crossbench was represented by 3 independents: Frances Bedford, Troy Bell and Geoff Brock. Voters who voted for the same party each election made up 72% of the electorate in 1967. Western Australia has two houses of State Parliament, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. Tung Ngo In the House of Assembly at the 2018 election, the Liberal opposition formed a two-seat majority government with 25 of 47 seats, after retaining three of the four redistributed notionally Liberal seats won by Labor at the 2014 election (Colton, Elder and Newland) and winning the newly-created notionally ultra marginal Labor seat of King. The Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 (section 8) outlines the process for determining the election date for the Legislative Council. [1] Amendments to legislation were needed due to the changing nature of election campaigns in the late 1960s and 1970s. Division maps 2015/2016; Division maps 2019/2020; Division profiles; Find my electoral division; Redistributions A Note on Candidates. Kyam Maher, elected 2014: In 1991, the Legislative Assembly reduced from 109 to 99 Members and then to 93 members in 1999. According to the Constitution Act 1934 (section 28) elections are held on the third Saturday in March every four years unless this date falls the day after Good Friday, occurs within the same month as a Commonwealth election or unless the conduct of the election could be adversely affected by a state disaster. Lower house primary, two-party and seat results, Section 28 of the Australian Constitution, Section 32 of the Australian Constitution, Section 13 of the Australian Constitution, electoral system of each state and territory, Australian Capital Territory Electoral Commission, Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories, https://www.smh.com.au/national/british-citizens-may-lose-voting-rights-20090623-cve9.html, "Informality (%) House of Representatives and Senate", "Political uncertainty is changing the preparations for the 2013 federal election", "Donkey votes to go to Coalition in key marginal Labor seats", "Donations a dilemma of modern democracy", "Election funding and disclosure in Australian states and territories: a quick guide", Archived websites from Australian electoral campaigns since 1996, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia), Australian Politics and Elections Database (University of Western Australia), Full text (HTML) file of the Constitution, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elections_in_Australia&oldid=979042450, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 18 September 2020, at 12:24. The Governor may also dissolve the Assembly and call an election for an earlier date if the Government has lost the confidence of the Assembly or a bill of special importance has been rejected by the Legislative Council (section 28A). [18], Election campaigns typically involve a televised policy launch,[1] which, despite the name, have increasingly been held towards the end of the campaign. Western Australia is divided into 59 Legislative Assembly districts and six Legislative Council regions. Clare Scriven, elected 2018: National MLC Rick Colless is not contesting. Following amendments to electoral legislation in 2011, State General Elections for both houses are now held every four years on the second Saturday in March. [1]. All seats in the House of Assembly or lower house, whose current members were elected at the 2018 election, and half the seats in the Legislative Council or upper house, last filled at the 2014 election, will become vacant. A two-party system has existed in the Australian House of Representatives since the two non-Labor parties merged in 1909. resignation) which is not due to the expiration or dissolution of Parliament. Election results. Residents in Australia who had been enrolled as British subjects on 25 January 1984 can continue to be enrolled and vote. It does not prescribe how elections should be conducted. If no consenting qualified candidates who contested the previous election in that region are available, a fresh election must be held. A critical consideration affecting the timing of any double dissolution is the date from whence is calculated the three-month interval. Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory and for local government councils. of Representatives. The AEC is also responsible for setting electoral boundaries and redistributions, and maintains the Commonwealth electoral roll. Where a House is dissolved early, House and Senate elections may be asynchronous until either the House is again dissolved sufficiently early or a double dissolution occurs. The South Australian House of Assembly has a fixed term. The Australian Constitution requires that in half-Senate elections the election of State senators must take place within one year before the places become vacant. As the 42nd Parliament first met on Tuesday, 12 February 2008, it is therefore due to expire on Friday, 11 February 2011. However, minor parties and independent candidates have been elected to the Senate by virtue of its more favourable voting system. During an election, one candidate is elected for each Legislative Assembly district and six candidates are elected for each Legislative Council region. In recent times, Prime Minister William McMahon has gone closest to a full-term parliament, dissolving the House in 1972 after two years, 11 months and eight days. You can view the timeline for the election here. The election process is governed by the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912. [1] Rather than a procedure where the best policies win the day, elections are contests where parties fight for power. S Bennett and R Lundie, Australian electoral systems, Research Paper, no. The first term incumbent Liberal Party of Australia (SA) government, currently led by Premier Steven Marshall, will seek a second four-year term and will be challenged by the [4] These additional votes do not affect the proportional allocation based on the vote for the party or list, but can change the rank order of candidates on a party's lists at the federal, state, and regional level. [1] Party registration rules have become stricter, especially in New South Wales. Except to the extent of uses permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, no person may reproduce or transmit any part of this work by any process without the prior written consent of the Parliamentary Librarian. Western Australia is divided into 59 Legislative Assembly districts and six Legislative Council regions. For the Greens, Cate Faehrman was originally elected in 2011 but resigned to unsuccessfully contest the 2013 Senate election. 38, Department of the Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2002. She was replaced by Mehreen Faruqi, who has now resigned and has been appointed to fill a Senate vacancy while Faehrman resumes her original seat. The Constitution and the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (CEA) provide the following timetabling provisions for elections: The time allowed from the expiry or dissolution of the House to polling day is therefore not less than 33 days and not more than 68 days. 5, 2007 08, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2007. Australia has a de facto two-party system, with the Australian Labor Party and the Coalition of the Liberal Party of Australia, National Party of Australia, the Liberal National Party and Country Liberal Party dominating Parliamentary elections. All states, except Queensland, have bicameral parliaments. An extraordinary election may be held for example, because the Governor-General has dissolved the Assembly, or because the Chief Minister has lost the confidence of the Assembly. [1]. [1] Party affiliation has declined in recent decades. Elections are conducted by a system of preferential voting (specifically, the alternative vote).[2]. The election will be conducted by the Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA), an independent body answerable to Parliament. Results of the South Australian state election, 2018 (House of Assembly), Results of the South Australian state election, 2018 (Legislative Council), Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 2018–2022, South Australian state election, 2018 § Pendulum, South Australian state election, 2018 § Post-redistribution pendulum, Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 2018–2022, "Final Results of the 2018 South Australian Election", "2018 Legislative Council election results: ECSA 23 April 2018", "Dennis Hood dumps Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives to join SA Liberals", "Advertiser-YouGov poll: Premier Steven Marshall surges as preferred leader and Libs take the lead, as SA crushes the COVID curve", "First Published poll of the state voting intention in South Australia", Elections and referendums in South Australia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2022_South_Australian_state_election&oldid=980339001, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Penny Sharpe was appointed in May 2015 to fill a vacancy caused by her own resignation to unsuccessfully contest Newtown at the 2015 state election. The threshold to increase the position of a candidate on a federal party list is 7 percent, compared to 10 percent at the state level, and 14 percent at the regional level. Politics and Public Administration Section, This Background Note provides a brief overview of the rules for determining the next Commonwealth, state and territory elections. The 41st Parliament under Prime Minister John Howard, also went close, with a term from 16 November 2004 to 17 October 2007, of two years, 11 months and one day. By Westminster convention, the decision as to the type of election and date on which an election is to take place is that of the Prime Minister, who 'advises' the Governor-General to set the process in motion by dissolving the House of Representatives (if it has not expired) and then issuing writs for election. [11] Voting can take place by a person attending in person at any polling place in their State on the election day or in early voting locations, or by applying for and mailing in a postal vote. [13] An unsuccessful challenge to the 500 member requirement was heard by the High Court of Australia in 2004. There is no constitutional requirement that elections for the House of Representatives and state senators be held simultaneously. School elections; Elections. [5] As the terms of half the senators end on 30 June, the writs for a half-Senate election cannot be issued earlier than the previous 1 July. All members of the Legislative Council are elected for a fixed four-year term. Irene Pnevmatikos A by-election is held when an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly vacates their seat for any reason (e.g. For an explanation of the electoral systems for each jurisdiction see the paper by Scott Bennett and Rob Lundie, Australian electoral systems. The Electoral Act 2004 governs the process of elections. Elections for the Legislative Council are held in May every year on a six-year cycle with elections for three members being held in one year, for two members the next year and so on (Constitution Act section 19). [1], Following the elections, seats are allocated to the candidates of successful parties and lists in a three-stage process, starting with the regional constituencies. The writ sets the dates for the close of the electoral roll and the close of nominations for an election. A deadlock occurs only when a three month period has elapsed between the Senate rejecting a bill and the House passing it a second time only for it to be rejected again. The seat of National MLC Ben Franklin is vacant as he is contesting the lower house seat of Ballina. Electors in the two territories elect senators for non-fixed terms that are defined by the term of the House of Representatives. To calculate the latest possible date of the next election, the maximum number of days specified must be applied. Parliamentary Library staff are available to discuss the contents of publications with Senators and Members and their staff. In March 2009 the Legislative Assembly adopted a fixed date for elections. ^ Remainder were "uncommitted" to either leader. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the federal government agency responsible for organising, conducting and supervising federal elections, by-elections and referendums. [2]. These include substantial allowances and access to staff whose travel is covered by parliamentary allowances. There is a government and electorate preference for Senate elections to take place simultaneously with those of the House of Representatives. To access this service, clients may contact the author or the Library s Central Entry Point for referral. Elections for Legislative Council members are held on the same day as those for the Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Assembly has a fixed four-year term. South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory do not have public funding for parties and candidates at elections.[13][24]. Legislative elections will be held in Austria in or before 2024, to elect the 28th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. [20] Opinion polling, widespread advertising and the rise of the hired campaign professionals meant campaigning had become far more expensive than in previous decades. The declaration of election results was conducted on Monday, 7 September 2020. S Bennett, Restrictions on the Timing of Half Senate Elections, Research Note, no. Although elections for the House of Representatives have usually corresponded to half-elections of the Senate, the rules which determine when the elections occur differ. Supporters of these places very commonly take advantage of the large number of visitors undertaking fund raising activity, often including raffles, cake stalls and sales of democracy sausages. The authority for holding an election is in the form of a writ issued by the Governor-General,or in the case of a by-election by the Speaker (see page 94), directed to the Electoral Commissioner commanding the Commissioner to conduct an election in accordance with the prescribed procedures. Should the writs be issued on the same day, and the shortest times apply, nominations would close on 21 August 2010; and polling would be on Saturday 18 September 2010. In Australia the decision of who may be a candidate is decided by the party in any manner they choose. The new section 23 (1) says: For determining the date for a general election if the previous general election was not an extraordinary general election, the general election is to be held on the 4th Saturday in August in the 4th year after the year in which the previous general election was held. The Commission has results and publications for all State electoral events available electronically from the 1993 State election, including by-elections. However, if an extraordinary election has been held because the Government either lost the confidence of the Assembly or an appropriation bill was rejected by, or failed to pass, the Assembly (Electoral Act 2004 sections 24, 25), the general election is to be held on the 4th Saturday in August in the 3rd year after the year in which that extraordinary general election was held (Electoral Act 2004 section 23 (2)). ALP = Australian Labor Party, L+NP = grouping of Liberal/National/LNP/CLP Coalition parties (and predecessors), Oth = other parties and independents. In the 2013 federal election campaign, for example, the Liberal/National and Labor launches were held only 13 days and 6 days respectively prior to election day. This is to allow sufficient time for the Senate writs to be returned by 30 June 2011, so that the senators may take their seats on 1 July.[3]. Northern Territory. Although some aspects of section 57 remain unclear, a majority of the High Court held in Victoria v Commonwealth and Connor (1975) 134 CLR 81 that the three-month interval commences on the date on which the Senate rejects or fails to pass the Bill. If a vacancy arises in the Legislative Council, a recount of votes cast at the previous general election is held in order to fill the vacancy. The final outcome was 4 Liberal, 4 Labor, 2 SA Best and 1 Green. [20] However, the majority of the major parties funding is still sourced from private donors. the writ must be returned no more than 100 days after the issue of the writ (CEA s.159). Section 23 of the Electoral Act 2004 was repealed by section 4 of the Electoral Act Amendment Act (No.3 of 2009). Whan had originally been appoint to fill a casual vacany in 2011 after losing Monaro at that year's state election. There has been only one instance of an election being held after a parliament expired through effluxion of time. [4] Once these conditions have been met, a double dissolution election can be called though not within six months of the expiry date for the House of Representatives (11 February 2011). On the Liberal ticket, Taylor Martin was appointed in May 2017 to replace former government leader in the Council Michael Gallacher. Natalie Ward was appointed in November 2017 to replace Greg Pearce. The latest possible polling date for a double dissolution election is Saturday, 16 October 2010. To make a comment or suggest a change to the election site, please contact us. In the event of a double dissolution, the terms of all the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives seats end immediately. ), [5]. Enrolment on the electoral roll, known in some countries as registration, is compulsory for all Australian citizens aged 18 years and over. The 183 members of the National Council are elected by open list proportional representation at three levels; a single national constituency, nine constituencies based on the federal states, and 39 regional constituencies. Legislative elections will be held in Austria in or before 2024, to elect the 28th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The views expressed do not reflect an official position of the Parliamentary Library, nor do they constitute professional legal opinion. The Constitution Act 1934 (section 23) stipulates that the Tasmanian House of Assembly has a maximum four-year term from the day of the return of the writs. Although the latest possible date for a half-Senate election is 21 May 2011, the latest possible date for a simultaneous (half-Senate and House of Representatives) election is the same date that is required for the House of Representatives, 16 April 2011. Political parties must register with the electoral commission in the jurisdiction in which it is proposing to field or endorse candidates. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). [7][8] The 22 seat upper house composition is therefore 9 Liberal on the government benches, 8 Labor on the opposition benches, and 5 to minor parties on the crossbench, consisting of 2 SA Best, 2 Green, and 1 Advance SA. The former 16-year four-term Labor government went in to opposition with 19 seats. [18], The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 stipulates that political advertisements display the name and address of the individual authorising them. However, it is now a practice for the Senate to be prorogued when the House is dissolved, so that it does not sit during the election period. [21] The amount of funding paid is calculated by multiplying the number of first preference votes received by the rate of payment at that time, which is indexed in line with the Consumer Price Index.