Franchise
Any Australian citizen aged 18 and over, or British subject who was on the Commonwealth Roll as at 25 January 1984, is qualified to enrol and vote at Commonwealth elections. Residence in an electorate for a period of one month before enrolment is necessary to enable a qualified person to enrol. Enrolment and attendance at a polling place on polling day (except under certain lawful exceptions) are compulsory for all eligible persons.
Parliamentary terms
Members of the House of Representatives are elected for a maximum term of three years, though elections may be called earlier. Senators have fixed terms of six years. Normally half the Senate retires every three years, and elections for the Senate are usually held at the same time as elections for the House of Representatives, though they need not be. The most recent election of each house separately occurred in 1970 (Senate) and 1972 (House of Representatives).
At times of disagreement between the House of Representatives and the Senate, both houses may be dissolved and an election called for both houses. Six of the forty-one Commonwealth elections have been double dissolution elections, the most recent of which occurred in 1987.
Table 2.4 shows the number and terms of all parliaments since Federation.
2.4 COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTS
|
| Number of Parliament | Date of opening | Date of dissolution |
|
| 1 | 9 May 1901 | 23 November 1903 |
| 2 | 2 March 1904 | 5 November 1906 |
| 3 | 20 February 1907 | 19 February 1910 |
| 4 | 1 July 1910 | 23 April 1913 |
| 5 | 9 July 1913 | 30 July 1914(a) |
| 6 | 8 October 1914 | 26 March 1917 |
| 7 | 14 June 1917 | 3 November 1919 |
| 8 | 26 February 1920 | 6 November 1922 |
| 9 | 28 February 1923 | 3 October 1925 |
| 10 | 13 January 1926 | 9 October 1928 |
| 11 | 6 February 1929 | 16 September 1929 |
| 12 | 20 November 1929 | 27 November 1931 |
| 13 | 17 February 1932 | 7 August 1934 |
| 14 | 23 October 1934 | 21 September 1937 |
| 15 | 30 November 1937 | 27 August 1940 |
| 16 | 20 November 1940 | 7 July 1943 |
| 17 | 23 September 1943 | 16 August 1946 |
| 18 | 6 November 1946 | 1 October 1949 |
| 19 | 22 February 1950 | 19 March 1951(a) |
| 20 | 12 June 1951 | 21 April 1954 |
| 21 | 4 August 1954 | 4 November 1955 |
| 22 | 15 February 1956 | 14 October 1958 |
| 23 | 17 February 1959 | 2 November 1961 |
| 24 | 20 February 1962 | 1 November 1963 |
| 25 | 25 February 1964 | 31 October 1966 |
| 26 | 21 February 1967 | 29 September 1969 |
| 27 | 25 November 1969 | 2 November 1972 |
| 28 | 27 February 1973 | 11 April 1974(a) |
| 29 | 9 July 1974 | 11 November 1975(a) |
| 30 | 17 February 1976 | 8 November 1977 |
| 31 | 21 February 1978 | 19 September 1980 |
| 32 | 25 November 1980 | 4 February 1983(a) |
| 33 | 21 April 1983 | 26 October 1984 |
| 34 | 21 February 1985 | 5 June 1987(a) |
| 35 | 14 September 1987 | 19 February 1990 |
| 36 | 8 May 1990 | 8 February 1993 |
| 37 | 4 May 1993 | 29 January 1996 |
| 38 | 30 April 1996 | 31 August 1998 |
| 39 | 10 November 1998 | 8 October 2001 |
| 40 | 12 February 2002 | 31 August 2004 |
| 41 | 16 November 2004 |  |
|
(a) A dissolution of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Source: Department of the Parliamentary Library. |
Electorates
For the purpose of House of Representatives elections each state or territory is divided into single-member electorates corresponding in number to the number of members of the House of Representatives to which the state or territory is entitled. In Senate elections the whole state or territory constitutes a single electorate.
Redistributions of House of Representatives electorates must be held in each state and territory at least every seven years, though a change in the population of a state or territory may see them held more frequently. The article Drawing House of Representatives electorate boundaries discusses electoral redistributions in more detail.
For the most recent election (October 2004) Queensland had gained an extra member, while South Australia had lost a member. The House of Representatives numbered 150 members (table 2.5).
2.5 REPRESENTATION ENTITLEMENTS, 2004 election
|
| State/territory | Seats | Change from 2001 election |
|
| New South Wales | 50 | - |
| Victoria | 37 | - |
| Queensland | 28 | +1 |
| Western Australia | 15 | - |
| South Australia | 11 | -1 |
| Tasmania | 5 | - |
| Australian Capital Territory | 2 | - |
| Northern Territory | 2 | - |
| Total | 150 | - |
|
| Source: Department of the Parliamentary Library. |
2004 election
The House of Representatives was dissolved on 31 August 2004. A general election for the House of Representatives and a half-Senate election was held on 9 October 2004. The number of electors enrolled at the time of the election is shown in table 2.6.
At the 2004 election the Liberal-Nationals coalition regained control of the House of Representatives and formed Australia’s 59th Commonwealth ministry. From 1 July 2005 the Liberal-Nationals coalition will control the Senate, with 39 of the 76 seats, as a result of the half-Senate election.
The state of the parties in the Commonwealth Parliament following the 2004 election is shown in table 2.7. For details of the 2004 election, see: <http://www.aec.gov.au>.
2.6 COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION OF 9 OCTOBER 2004, Electors enrolled
|
| State/territory | |
|
| New South Wales | 4,328,949 |
| Victoria | 3,309,800 |
| Queensland | 2,475,611 |
| South Australia | 1,051,923 |
| Western Australia | 1,248,732 |
| Tasmania | 342,809 |
| Northern Territory | 112,930 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 227,541 |
| Australia | 13,098,295 |
|
| Source: Australian Electoral Commission |
2.7 STATE OF THE PARTIES, Commonwealth Parliament
|
| | |
|
| House of Representatives (from October 2004) | |
| Liberal Party | 74 |
| Australian Labor Party | 60 |
| Nationals | 12 |
| Country Liberal Party | 1 |
| Independent | 3 |
| Total | 150 |
| Senate (from 1 July 2005) | |
| Liberal Party | 32 |
| Australian Labor Party | 28 |
| Nationals | 6 |
| Australian Democrats | 4 |
| The Greens | 4 |
| Country Liberal Party | 1 |
| Family First Party | 1 |
| Total | 76 |
|
| Source: Department of the Parliamentary Library. |
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