Elections in Australia

The House of Representatives has 151 members, elected for a maximum term of three years in single-member constituencies (each approximately equal in voters).

In the event of a double dissolution, the terms of all the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives seats end immediately.

The Legislative Council (upper house) comprises 22 members elected by proportional representation of single transferable vote every 8 years.

The Legislative Council has 37 members elected for a fixed term of 4 years, in a 'whole of state' electorate using preferential proportional representation.

Elections in Australia (Commonwealth, State or Territory) are organised by their respective electoral commissions, as follows: The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the federal government agency responsible for organising, conducting and supervising federal elections, by-elections and referendums.

Enrolment on the electoral roll, known in some other countries as registration, is compulsory for all Australian citizens aged 18 years and over.

[15] 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.

There is a government and electorate preference for Senate elections to take place simultaneously with those of the House of Representatives.

[18] Voting in federal, state and territory elections is compulsory for all persons on the electoral roll.

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 so-called democracy sausages.

Political parties must register with the electoral commission in the jurisdiction in which it is proposing to field or endorse candidates.

It is very difficult for other parties to win representation in the House, let alone form the government, though they may have a strong influence if they hold the "balance of power".

However, minor parties and independent candidates have been elected to the Senate by virtue of its more favourable voting system.

Independent and other individual senators have also exercised influence, e.g., Brian Harradine (1975–2005), Family First's Steve Fielding (2005–2011), and Nick Xenophon (2008–2017); and, variously from 1984, representatives of the Nuclear Disarmament Party and One Nation.

[28] Minor parties have played a greater role in the politics of Australia since proportional representation was progressively introduced.

It can range from a postal vote to the whole party membership through to a decision made by a small select committee.

[1] Major political parties in Australia use databases created from census data, voting records and their own canvassing to shape their direct mail.

[28] Quantitative surveys of samples from the wide population as well as focus groups are used by the parties for market research during election campaigns.

[28] The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 stipulates that political advertisements display the name and address of the individual authorising them.

[28] Australia's first partial public election funding was introduced in 1981 by the then Premier of New South Wales Neville Wran.

[29] 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.

If a candidate or party receives at least 4% of the primary vote at a federal election they are eligible for public funding.

[32] It is possible for a candidate to receive more public funding than what was spent on campaigning as was the case in Pauline Hanson's 2004 attempt to win a seat in the Australian Senate.

South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory do not have public funding for parties and candidates at elections.

[23][34] A series of conventions has evolved covering the conduct of the business of government by ministers, their departments of state, and the Public Service during the "caretaker period" of the election.

This period begins after the announcement of the election date, when the Governor-General of Australia dissolves the federal parliament on advice from the Prime Minister.