This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
Jurisdiction
Commonwealth
Act Number
39 of 1974
Collection
act
Plain English Summary
3/10 complexity
Senate (Representation of Territories) Act 1973
What does this law do?
This Act gives residents of Australia's territories the right to elect their own senators to the Australian Senate. Specifically, it applies to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT) — including the Jervis Bay Territory, which is folded into the ACT for these purposes.
Who does it affect?
Territory residents in the ACT and NT who gain the right to vote for Senate representatives
The Senate itself, which gains new members from the territories
Candidates who stand for election as Territory senators
What are the key rules?
Each territory gets 2 senators, chosen directly by the people of that territory voting as a single electorate (i.e., the whole territory votes together as one group)
Territory senators have the same rights and powers as State senators — they count toward the quorum (the minimum number of senators needed to conduct business), they can vote on all questions, and they enjoy the same legal protections and privileges
Their term is tied to the House of Representatives — unlike State senators who serve fixed 3 or 6 year terms, Territory senators serve only until the next general election for the House of Representatives. This means their tenure can be cut short if an early election is called
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives general elections, keeping the Territory Senate elections in sync with the lower house
If a seat becomes vacant early, a by-election (a new election held specifically to fill the gap) can be called by the President of the Senate or the Governor-General
Existing electoral rules apply, with the same principles used for State Senate elections (how ballot papers are prepared, how votes are counted, etc.) carrying over to Territory elections, with minor adjustments made by regulation
Disputed elections are handled by referencing the rules already set up for Territory elections to the House of Representatives
Why does it matter?
Before this law, Australians living in the territories had no voice in the Senate. This Act is a significant democratic reform — it extends Senate representation to over a million Australians who would otherwise have been governed by a Parliament in which they had no upper house representation. It also means Territory senators must regularly re-earn their mandate at every federal election, making them more directly accountable to their constituents than State senators.