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Commonwealth legislation
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
These Regulations set the detailed rules for House of Representatives elections in the Australian Capital Territory: how electoral rolls are kept, who can enrol and vote, nomination and postal‑voting procedures, polling and counting, and how disputes and offences are handled. They apply and modify the Commonwealth Electoral Act to the Territory. The rules affect electors (compulsory enrolment and voting, witness and formality requirements), electoral officers (Returning Officers, Registrars) and courts (appeals and prosecutions) and allocate procedural discretion and recordkeeping duties.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Australian Capital Territory Representation Regulations.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Statutory Rules
1974 No. 62
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY REPRESENTATION REGULATIONS
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Part I—Preliminary
1. Citation
2. Application of regulations
3. Interpretation
Part II—Administration
4. Returning Officers
5. Assistant Returning Officers
6. Electoral Registrar
Part III—Rolls of Electors
7. Rolls of electors
8. Rolls to be printed
9. Rolls to be available for inspection and sale
10. Officers and others to furnish information
Part IV—Qualifications and Disqualifications for Enrolment and for Voting
11. Persons entitled to enrolment
12. Persons entitled to vote
13. Disqualified persons
14. Certain members of the Defence Force entitled to vote
Part V—Enrolment
15. Enrolment, transfer of enrolment and alteration of enrolment
16. Compulsory enrolment and change
17. Procedure in case of offence
18. Action upon receipt of claim, notification or application
19. Reference of claim
20. Formally defective claim
21. Action upon receipt of notice of transfer
22. Alteration of Roll
23. Closing of Roll for election
24. Deaths and marriages to be notified
25. Convictions to be notified
26. Officer to act on information
Part VI—Objections and Appeals
27. Forms of notice of objection
28. Notice to person against whom objection is made
29. Manner of answering objection
30. Notice of determination of objection
31. Appeal to Court
Part VII—Writs for Election, and Nominations
32. Application of Electoral Act
33. Form of Writ
34. Duty of Returning Office on receipt of Writ
35. Nomination of candidates
Table of Provisions—continued
Part VIII—Voting by Post
36. Application of Electoral Act
37. Application for postal vole certificate and postal ballot-paper
38. Postal vote certificate and postal ballot-paper
39. Postal ballot-box
Part IX—The Polling
40. Application of Electoral Act
41. Polling places
42. Ballot-boxes
43. Certified list of voters
44. Ballot-papers
45. Electors entitled to vote
46. Where electors may vote
47. Questions to be put to voter
48. Right of elector to receive ballot-paper
49. List of voters to be marked
50. Vote of person whose name has been omitted or struck out of certified list or cannot be found on Roll
51. Vote of person whose name on certified list has been marked
52. Vote to be enveloped and deposited in ballot-box
53. Compulsory voting
54. Proceedings in a Court
55. Court to consider elector’s reply
56. Proceedings where elector has failed to reply
Part X—The Scrutiny and Return of the Writs
57. Preliminary scrutiny of postal votes
58. Preliminary scrutiny of votes recorded under regulations 50 and 51
59. The scrutiny—general
60. Scrutiny prior to receipt of all ballot-papers, &c.
61. Recount
62. Return of Writ
Part XI—Miscellaneous
63. Returns of expenses, &c.
64. Undertaking by officers and scrutineers
65. Official mark
66. Withdrawal of nomination
67. Sealed parcels to be preserved
68. Forms
69. Application of the Commonwealth Electoral Act
SCHEDULE 1
Forms
SCHEDULE 2
Modifications of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918-1973 in its application in the Territory
Statutory Rules
1974 No. 62
REGULATIONS UNDER THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY REPRESENTATION (HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES) ACT 1973.*
I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Australian Capital Territory Representation (House of Representatives) Act 1973.
Dated this nineteenth day of April, 1974.
PAUL HASLUCK
Governor-General.
By His Excellency’s Command,
F. M. DALY
Minister of State for Services and Property.
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY REPRESENTATION REGULATIONS
Part I—Preliminary
Citation.
Application of regulations.
Interpretation.
“ Commonwealth Electoral Act ” means the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918-1973;
“ Division ” means an Electoral Division into which the Territory is divided;
“ election ” means an election of a member of the House of Representatives for a Division of the Territory;
“ elector ” means a person whose name appears on a Roll;
“ officer ” includes a person who is an officer for the purposes of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and an officer, registrar, clerk or doorkeeper appointed under that Act in its application in the Territory;
“ Returning Officer ” means the Returning Officer for a Division;
“ Registrar ” means the Electoral Registrar for a Division and includes the Returning Officer for that Division acting as Registrar;
“ Roll ” means the Roll of electors for a Division;
“ Territory Representation Act ” means the Australian Capital Territory Representation (House of Representatives) Act 1973.
(2) In these Regulations, any reference to a Form shall be read as a reference to a Form in Schedule 1.
* Notified in the Australian Government Gazette on 19 April 1974.
Part II—Administration
Returning Officers.
Assistant Returning Officers.
(a) for a portion of a Division; or
(b) at a place outside Australia.
(2) A person appointed to be an Assistant Returning Officer for a portion of a Division may, subject to the control of the Returning Officer, perform the functions and exercise the powers of the Returning Officer in, or in relation to, that portion.
(3) A reference in these Regulations or in the Commonwealth Electoral Act in its application in the Territory to the performance of a function or the exercise of a power by a Returning Officer shall be read as including a reference to the performance of the function or the exercise of the power by an Assistant Returning Officer by virtue of the last preceding sub-regulation.
(4) A person appointed to be an Assistant Returning Officer at a place outside Australia may, subject to the control of the Chief Australian Electoral Officer, perform such functions and exercise such powers as are conferred on an Assistant Returning Officer at a place outside Australia by these Regulations, or by the Commonwealth Electoral Act in its application to and in relation to an election in respect of a Division.
Electoral Registrar.
(2) The Returning Officer for a Division shall act as Registrar for that Division if no Registrar has been appointed and may, by virtue of his office, so act during any absence from duty of the Registrar.
Part III—Rolls of Electors
Roll of electors.
(2) The first Roll, for each of the Divisions into which the Territory is divided shall be compiled by transferring from the Roll of electors for the Australian Capital Territory as existing immediately before the commencement of these Regulations the names of the persons who live in those respective Divisions and the particulars shown in relation to each of those persons.
Rolls to be printed.
(2) The Chief Australian Electoral Officer shall, whenever necessary, cause a Supplementary Roll, containing additions since the Roll was last printed, to be printed for the purposes of an election.
Rolls to be available for inspection and sale.
(2) A person may inspect or purchase a copy of the latest printed Roll and Supplementary Roll (if any) for a Division at the office of the Returning Officer for the Division.
(3) The price at which a Roll referred to in the last preceding sub-regulation may be purchased is that specified in the following Table:—
TABLE
| $ | |
|---|---|
| Principal Roll for a Division ............................................ | 1.20 |
| Supplemental Roll for a Division ........................................ | 0.30 |
Officers and others to furnish information.
Part IV—Qualifications and Disqualifications for Enrolment and for Voting
Persons entitled to enrolment.
(a) who is a British subject;
(b) who has lived in Australia for six months continuously; and
(c) who lives in a Division and has so lived for a continuous period of not less than one month immediately preceding the claim for enrolment,
shall be entitled to enrolment on the Roll for the Division in which he lives subject to the provisions of Part V of these Regulations.
Persons entitled to vote.
Disqualified persons.
(2) A person who is—
(a) the holder of a temporary entry permit for the purposes of the Migration Act 1958-1973; or
(b) a prohibited immigrant under that Act,
is not entitled to enrolment on a Roll.
Certain members of the Defence Force entitled to vote.
(a) is not less than 18 years of age;
(b) has lived in Australia for six months continuously; and
(c) is a British subject,
the member shall, for the purposes of these Regulations, be deemed to be an elector and, subject to regulation 13 of these Regulations, is entitled to vote at elections as if his name appeared on the Roll for the Division in which the place at which he ordinarily lived is included.
(2) For the purposes of the last preceding sub-regulation, a person, not being a member of the Defence Force, who accompanies a part of the Defence Force shall be deemed to be a member of the Defence Force and on service with that part of the Defence Force.
Part V—Enrolment
Enrolment, transfer of enrolment and alteration of enrolment.
(2) The form of claim for enrolment or transfer of enrolment, or notification of a change of address by a person qualified for enrolment, may be in accordance with Form 2, and shall be signed by the claimant with his personal signature and attested by a person whose name appears on a Roll, or on the Roll of electors for a State or for the Northern Territory, or a person entitled to be enrolled on such a Roll who shall sign his name as witness in his own handwriting.
(3) An elector may apply for the alteration or correction of the entry in the Roll of his name or particulars of enrolment, not being a change of address, in accordance with Form 2, or in such other form signed by the applicant, as the Registrar approves.
Compulsory enrolment and change.
(2) Any person who is entitled to have his name placed on the Roll for a Division, whether by way of enrolment or transfer of enrolment, and whose name is not on the Roll upon the expiration of 21 days from the date upon which he became so entitled, or at any subsequent date while he continues to be so entitled, shall be guilty of an offence unless he proves that his non-enrolment is not in consequence of his failure to send or deliver to the Registrar by whom that Roll is kept a claim in accordance with Form 2 duly filled in and signed.
(3) Any elector who changes his place of living from one address to another address within a Division and who, at any time after the expiration of 21 days after the date of making the change, has failed to notify the Registrar for that Division in accordance with Form 2 of his new address, shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) A person who is guilty of an offence against this regulation is punishable upon conviction:—
(a) in the case of a first offence—by a fine of not less than One dollar and not more than Four dollars; or
(b) in any other case—by a fine of not less than Four dollars and not more than Ten dollars.
Procedure in case of offence.
(2) Any person to whom a notification has been sent pursuant to the last preceding sub-regulation, who desires the matter to be dealt with by the Returning Officer and who is prepared to abide by the decision of that officer may within such time as is specified in the notification notify the Registrar in accordance with Form 7.
(3) Upon the receipt from a person who has failed to comply with the requirements of regulation 16 of these Regulations of a notification consenting to the matter being dealt with by the Returning Officer and undertaking to abide by the decision of that officer, the Registrar shall consider the statements contained in the declaration (if any) furnished by the person, make such further inquiry as he deems necessary, and, unless he decides to withdraw the case, submit the notification, and declaration (if an
This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.