This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
Jurisdiction
Commonwealth
Act Number
107 of 1988
Collection
act
Plain English Summary
8/10 complexity
What this law does (mechanics)
Establishes the rules for elections to the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory (the Assembly). It treats the whole Territory as a single electorate for general elections (s.8).
Applies much of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to Territory elections, but with extensive modifications set out in Schedule 1 and by section 16. Those modifications change definitions, omit whole Parts, and adapt procedures so they work for Territory-wide Assembly elections (s.16; Schedule 1).
Requires compulsory, secret voting at general elections (s.18(a)–(b)). An elector votes by placing a first preference for either a single independent candidate, or for a registered party, or for a candidate of a registered party; the elector may then indicate later preferences if they wish (s.18(d)).
Sets how names get on the electoral roll and who may vote (s.9, s.11). The Roll for the Territory is the Commonwealth Roll as adapted (s.9; s.16/Schedule 1 modifications to Part VII).
Creates and requires a Register of Political Parties for the Territory (s.13). The Electoral Commission must register parties that apply in accordance with the Act (s.13).
Gives the ACT Electoral Commission functions for general elections (including education programs), and requires it to appoint an ACT Electoral Officer for each election; that Officer and Divisional Returning Officers manage the conduct of the poll under the Commission’s directions (s.12–15).
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
First-preference votes are aggregated into a “base number” for each registered party and each independent candidate. If a voter gives a first preference to a party candidate, that counts as a first preference for the party (s.19(1)).
The law sets a preliminary exclusion threshold: it divides the sum of all base numbers by (1 + number of seats to be filled), truncates remainders and adds 1; any party or candidate whose base number is below that result is excluded from the seat distribution (s.19(2)–(3)). Ballot papers that gave first preference to excluded parties/candidates are then transferred to the next available preference on the ballot (s.19(4)–(5)).
After exclusions and initial transfers, the adjusted base numbers for continuing parties and independents are divided successively by 1, then 2, then 3, etc. The seats are allocated in order to the highest quotients (s.23(2)–(6)). When a party wins a number of seats equal to its number of candidates, further quotients from that party are ignored; the same applies to an independent who has won one seat (s.23(7)–(8)).
If a party wins seats but has more candidates than seats, internal party-seat allocation among that party’s candidates is done by distributing that party’s votes among its candidates according to rules drawn from the Electoral Act (s.20(4), s.22(4); Schedule 1 modifications to Part XIV/Part XXIII procedures and counting (see Schedule 1, e.g. clauses modifying Part XIV and Part XXIII)).
Party voting tickets, ballot form and how some incomplete ballots are treated
Ballot-papers are to be in a form approved by the Electoral Commission with a horizontal ballot-line: registered parties listed above the line and independent candidates shown to the right under an "Independent Candidates" heading; candidates of each party are listed below the line under the party name (Schedule 1 modifying Part XVI, e.g. s.209(1)–(2)).
A registered party may lodge a party voting ticket (a written preference order) with the ACT Electoral Officer within 24 hours after nominations close; that ticket is taken to express the party’s stated order of subsequent preferences for use where a ballot shows a first preference for the party but no further preferences by the voter (Schedule 1, new s.211; s.19(5); Schedule 1 s.270(4)).
The Schedule sets detailed rules about how to treat ballots with multiple identical numbers, incomplete numerical sequences, or marks above/below the ballot-line (Schedule 1 substitutions to Part XVIII, e.g. ss.269–270). These provisions determine whether preferences below the line are taken into account, when candidate ordering within a party is taken as the voter’s preference, and when a ballot is treated as indicating only a party vote.
Registration, nomination, disclosure and funding mechanics (who does what and compliance points)
Party registration: the Commission maintains a Territory Register of Political Parties and registers parties that apply (s.13). The Schedule amends the registration rules in the Commonwealth Act so that party registration, changes and de-registration proceed under Territory rules (Schedule 1, modifications to Part XI).
Nominations: candidates must be nominated either by a registered party or as independent candidates in the form approved by the Electoral Commission; the Schedule substitutes that the nomination form be approved by the Commission and requires party-nominated candidates to be signed by the party’s registered officer; independent nominations must be signed by two electors (s.17; Schedule 1 modifications to Part XIV, e.g. modified s.166(1)(b)). The deposit specified for nominations is changed to $100 payable to the ACT Electoral Officer (Schedule 1 modification to s.170(c)).
Election funding and payments: the Assembly may make laws about funding of general elections other than the first (s.25). The Schedule also provides for a public payment tied to first-preference votes: it substitutes that "there is payable in respect of each first preference vote... the amount of 50c" for parties and independent candidates (Schedule 1, modified s.294). Claims for that payment are to be made by the party’s agent (Schedule 1, modified s.295(2)).
Rolls and data: the Electoral Commission must provide a print or electronic tape/disk copy of the Roll for the Territory free to each registered party and each member (s.24(2)–(5)); it must, where practicable, provide habitation indexes to registered parties (s.24(4)). The Commission must exclude addresses from habitation tapes where an address has been excluded/deleted under s.104 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act (s.24(6)).
Disclosure and return requirements are modified from the Commonwealth Act to suit territory elections, including a special timing return for the first election (Schedule 1, eg. modified ss.304(1a), 305(1a), and more changes across Part XX).
Who pays, who decides, and where responsibility lies
The Electoral Commission (the ACT Electoral Commission) runs the register of parties, appoints the ACT Electoral Officer for each election, and directs Divisional Returning Officers for divisions inside the Territory (s.12–15). The Governor-General may make regulations under s.28.
For administrative and financial arrangements the Act distinguishes the first general election from later elections: a number of Schedule 1 changes assign particular duties or notifications to the Commonwealth for the first general election and to the Territory thereafter (see Schedule 1 modifications that replace some references to the Commonwealth by the Territory for later elections; e.g. Schedule 1 changes to ss.173(d), 360(4), 369 and others).
Parties and candidates carry compliance costs: registering a party with constitution and officer details (s.13; Schedule 1 modifications to Part XI), lodging nomination forms and deposits ($100 for nominations under Schedule 1 s.170(c)), lodging party voting tickets (Schedule 1 s.211(1)), and making financial disclosure returns and claiming public funding (Schedule 1, Part XX modifications, e.g. ss.294–295, 304). The Electoral Commission supplies Rolls and habitation indexes free (s.24(5)).
Implementation and administrative features to note (risks, trade-offs, discretion and burdens)
Heavy reliance on the Electoral Commission and the ACT Electoral Officer for operational decisions and for translating the modifications of the Commonwealth Act into practice (s.12–15; s.16 & Schedule 1). This concentrates operational discretion in the Commission and the Electoral Officer.
The Act implements a party-oriented seat allocation: first preferences for party candidates count toward party base numbers and seat allocation proceeds largely at the party level before being distributed among party candidates (s.19(1); s.23; Schedule 1 modifications to the counting and distribution rules). That structure creates direct material benefits to parties that clear the exclusion threshold and win quotients.
The availability of party voting tickets (Schedule 1 s.211) means that some ballots that show only a first preference for a party can be treated as reflecting the party’s lodged preference order for subsequent transfers (s.19(5); Schedule 1 s.270(4)). Parties therefore have an avenue to influence the flow of transferred votes where voters indicate only a party first-preference.
The Act contains many cross-references and specific exceptions for the first election vs later elections; applying and administering the modified Commonwealth Act requires detailed record-keeping and consistent handling of those exceptions (s.16; Schedule 1). That increases administrative complexity and the potential for implementation errors.
Why this matters (official purpose-claims and practical trade-offs)
The Act’s operative purpose is to produce a full set of rules for Territory Assembly elections by adapting the Commonwealth electoral framework to the Territory context and by setting Territory-specific procedures (s.16; Schedule 1). The mechanics change how votes are aggregated and how seats are allocated (ss.19, 23).
Practical trade-offs visible in the text: the law centralises administrative control in the Electoral Commission and Officer (s.12–15), grants parties formal tools to control preference flows (Schedule 1 s.211 and related counting rules), sets public payment per first-preference vote (Schedule 1 s.294) which concentrates benefit on parties and independents that attract votes while imposing a funding cost borne by the public purse (the Act assigns some first-election responsibilities to the Commonwealth and later to the Territory in various clauses—see Schedule 1 references to first election arrangements). These are mechanical features that change incentives for parties (registration, use of party tickets, nomination strategy) and create administrative duties for the Commission and candidates (registration, disclosure, lodging party tickets, handling transfers).
Key source references for mechanics and obligations
Single electorate and general electoral architecture: s.8; s.16 (and Schedule 1 for the detailed adaptations).
Voting and ballot form rules: s.18; Schedule 1 (modifications to Part XVI, ss.209–211, 216, 239, 269–270).
Counting and seat distribution: ss.19–23; Schedule 1 modifications to Part XVIII and Part XXIII (see especially Schedule 1 changes to s.273 and related clauses).
Party registration, nominations and deposits: s.13; s.17; Schedule 1 modifications to Part XIV and Part XI (eg. nomination form rules at modified s.166 and deposit at modified s.170).
Party voting tickets and display at booths: Schedule 1 new/modified ss.211 and 216.
Provision of Rolls and habitation index: s.24.
Public payments per vote and related disclosure: Schedule 1 (modifications to Part XX, especially modified s.294 and s.295).
Administrative appointments and discretion: s.12–15; s.28 (regulations).
This summary describes the Act’s operative mechanics, the primary actors it makes responsible for decisions, and the main compliance and administrative points set out in the Act and its Schedule 1 modifications. It does not take positions on whether those rules are desirable; it reports how the statutory machinery allocates rights, duties, costs and decision-making authority (with the core provisions cited above).