{"id":"BILL-s1361","name":"Electoral Legislation Amendment (Lowering the Voting Age) Bill 2023 [No. 2]","slug":"electoral-legislation-amendment-lowering-the-voting-age-bill-2023-no-2","collection":"bill","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":445973,"registerId":"commonwealth-BILL-s1361-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-05-05","status":"introduced","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[],"analysis":{"summary":{"status_summary":"The bill has been introduced in the Senate and restored to the Notice Paper on 23 July 2025.","complexity_score":3,"likely_questions":["What changes does the bill make to the voting age?","What happens to 16 and 17 year olds regarding compulsory voting?"],"complexity_factors":["Amends two Commonwealth acts","Introduces provisions for optional voting by 16 and 17 year olds and provisional voting"],"plain_english_summary":"The bill lowers the federal voting and referendum age from 18 to 16, allowing 16–17 year‑olds to register, be included on certified voter lists and cast ordinary or provisional votes in House, Senate and referendum elections. Voting for 16–17 year‑olds would be treated as optional (no penalty for non‑voting), while existing rules for 18+ voters remain unchanged. It requires AEC adjustments to lists and processes. The bill is before the Senate, awaiting further parliamentary consideration."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Bill remains aligned with its core purpose — lowering the federal voting age and adjusting enrolment/administration rules to implement that change. While it adds related operational measures (certificate list placement without penalty, and expanded provisional voting), those are implementation mechanisms directly tied to the original objective rather than a significant expansion of scope beyond enfranchisement and vote access."},"complexity_factors":["Amends two principal Acts (Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984) but limits changes to a small number of operational provisions","Introduces a new age-based category (16–17 year olds) affecting enrolment, certified lists and penalty rules","Adds/changes provisional vote eligibility rules which require post-election verification procedures","Cross-cutting operational impacts (roll management, certified lists, penalty notices, verification) that create conditional processing rules","Potential interactions with existing compulsory-voting enforcement framework (an exception to an otherwise consistent penalty regime)","Requires administrative guidance and systems changes by the AEC, increasing practical complexity despite limited statutory text"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this Bill does (mechanics)\n\n- Lowers the minimum voting age for federal elections and referendums from 18 years to 16 years.  \n- Requires 16 and 17 year olds to be included on the certified list of voters (the electoral roll used for official lists), but removes the ability to issue them with penalty notices for failing to vote (so they are enrolled but not fined if they don't vote).  \n- Allows an eligible voter who is not yet on the electoral roll, or who is enrolled but at the wrong address, to cast a provisional vote on election day (this gives such persons a way to have their vote accepted and later verified).\n\nWho is affected\n\n- Primary: Australians aged 16 and 17. They gain the legal ability to vote in Commonwealth elections and referendums.  \n- Electoral Commission (AEC): must update enrolment, certified lists, and vote-processing procedures to accommodate younger voters and an expanded provisional vote mechanism.  \n- Political parties, campaigns and civic organisations: will face an expanded pool of eligible voters to register, contact and persuade.  \n- The public purse: additional administrative and compliance costs for enrolment, outreach and processing of provisional votes (see trade-offs below).\n\nWhy it matters (official purpose and practical mechanics)\n\n- Officially, the Bill’s purpose is to enfranchise 16 and 17 year olds at the federal level and to make sure they can be placed on the certified list of voters while not being penalised for non-participation. It also addresses people who are eligible to vote but not yet correctly enrolled by allowing them to cast provisional votes on election day.  \n\nTesting the purpose against implementation costs, incentives and trade-offs\n\n- Administrative costs and implementation risk: the AEC will need to modify registration systems, certified lists, outreach and verification procedures. Processing more provisional votes increases checking burdens and may slow finalisation of results.  \n- Compliance and enforcement trade-off: the Bill separates the right to be enrolled from the obligation to face penalties for non-voting for 16–17 year olds. That reduces the coercive enforcement mechanism normally used to encourage turnout, which may lower effective turnout among newly enrolled youth.  \n- Incentives for political actors and private organisations: parties and interest groups gain a larger, younger electorate to target; private voter-registration initiatives and schools-based enrolment drives may expand. That creates concentrated incentives for targeted mobilisation (benefits concentrated to those who successfully recruit youthful voters) and diffuse costs in administrative processing.  \n- Opportunity costs: AEC resources spent on implementing the change are diverted from other electoral activities unless additional funding is provided.  \n- Effects on private choice and markets: minimal direct impact on markets or private enterprise; indirect effects arise if parties reallocate campaign resources toward youth engagement (affecting advertising markets, social media activity, and civics education providers).\n\nWho pays, who decides, and what behaviour will change\n\n- Who pays: the federal government (public funds) for AEC administration, verification of provisional votes and public information programs. Political organisations and schools will bear some costs if they choose to run enrolment drives or civic education.  \n- Who decides: the AEC administers enrolment, certified lists and provisional vote verification under the changed statutory rules. Electoral officials will exercise operational discretion about processes and safeguards.  \n- Behavioural changes expected: more 16–17 year olds will be enrolled and can vote; some will vote but, absent penalties, many may abstain. Parties and campaigns are likely to develop policies and outreach aimed at younger voters. The number of provisional votes cast on election day is likely to increase, shifting some administrative work from pre-election enrolment to post-election verification.\n\nSpecific legal changes (where to look)\n\n- The Bill amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 to implement the age change, the certified-list rule, the penalty-exemption for 16–17 year olds, and the expanded basis for provisional voting.\n\nImplementation risks and practical consequences to watch for\n\n- Timetable and resourcing: whether the AEC receives funding and time to update systems before the next federal election.  \n- Verification load and result timelines: a rise in provisional votes may require more post-election verification, with possible effects on final result declaration speed.  \n- Interaction with state/territory enrollments and civic registration systems: practical coordination issues if jurisdictions handle youth engagement differently.  \n\nBottom line (concise): The Bill extends the right to vote at federal elections and referendums to 16 and 17 year olds, requires them to be placed on the certified list but removes penalty notices for non-voting, and broadens who may cast provisional votes on election day. That creates modest-to-significant administrative work for the AEC, changes enforcement incentives for turnout among young people, and expands the electorate that political actors must engage."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/electoral-legislation-amendment-lowering-the-voting-age-bill-2023-no-2","history":"/api/acts/electoral-legislation-amendment-lowering-the-voting-age-bill-2023-no-2/history","analysis":"/api/acts/electoral-legislation-amendment-lowering-the-voting-age-bill-2023-no-2/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/electoral-legislation-amendment-lowering-the-voting-age-bill-2023-no-2/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/electoral-legislation-amendment-lowering-the-voting-age-bill-2023-no-2/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/electoral-legislation-amendment-lowering-the-voting-age-bill-2023-no-2/documents"}}