Infosheet 8 - Elections for the House of Representatives

ELECTIONS FOR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

By voting at elections for the House of Representatives the people of each electoral division (also called an electorate or a constituency) select a person to represent them in the House. By selecting their representatives the voters (also called electors) indirectly select the nation’s government, because the government is formed from the political party or alliance of parties (coalition) which has a majority (or the support of a majority) of the members of the House of Representatives.

When are elections held?

Under Australia’s Constitution each House of Representatives may last no more than three years from the first meeting of the House after an election, but may be dissolved sooner. General elections are then held to elect all members of the House of Representatives, according to the timetable on page 4.

If a seat in the House becomes vacant between general elections—for example, if a member resigns or dies—a by‑election is held to elect a new member to represent that electorate until the next general election.

Who can stand for election?

Candidates for election must be Australian citizens and be eligible to vote. Senators, members of state parliaments, public servants, including defence personnel, and officers of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) are not eligible to become members of the House of Representatives and must resign their position if they wish to nominate for election to the House. Some public service bodies have arrangements to allow unsuccessful candidates to rejoin the public service after the election. People who are citizens of, or hold allegiance to, a foreign country, who are undischarged bankrupts, or who have been convicted of certain offences are also not eligible to become members.

Candidates must be nominated by a political party or by at least 100 electors of the electorate to be contested. However, a sitting member who was elected as an independent needs nomination by only one elector, if they wish to stand again for the same seat. On nomination candidates pay a deposit of $2,000. This is returned if the candidate is elected or receives at least 4 per cent of the (first preference) votes cast in the electorate.

Who votes?

Australian citizens who are 18 years of age or older are required to enrol as voters unless they are not eligible because, for example, they are by reason of cognitive impairment incapable of understanding the nature and significance of enrolment and voting or they are serving a sentence of imprisonment of three years or more. Voting is compulsory for all people enrolled. People who do not vote may be fined.

Who conducts the election?

The AEC, a statutory authority headed by the Electoral Commissioner, is responsible for the administration of all Commonwealth electoral matters, including, for example, the conduct of elections, the maintenance of up-to-date lists of electors (electoral rolls) and the drawing of electorate boundaries. An election takes place in response to a formal order (writ) from the Governor-General (or the Speaker in the case of a by‑election) requiring the Electoral Commissioner to conduct an election. For a general election a single writ is issued for each state and territory.

AEC staff counting the votes on an election day  

AEC staff counting the votes on an election day

Voting

The ballot paper for each electoral division lists candidates’ names and shows the parties they represent (if they do not represent a party, candidates may request to be shown as an ‘Independent’). Candidates are listed in a random order, determined by drawing lots.

The system of voting used in elections for the House of Representatives is preferential; that is, voters have to rank all candidates in order of preference—they may not just vote for one candidate. Voters are directed to mark their vote on the ballot paper by placing numbers in the squares opposite the names of the candidates so as to indicate their order of preference; if there are three candidates, for example, they must write the numbers 1, 2 and 3 in the appropriate squares. Ballot papers which are incorrectly filled out (informal) are not valid and are not included in the count.

Preferential voting is designed to produce the election of the candidate who is most representative of the wishes of an electorate. To be successful a candidate must be supported by the majority (that is, more than half) of voters. This system is considered fairer than a non-preferential (first-past-the-post) system under which the candidate with the most votes is elected, even though he or she may have support from less than half the voters.

The result—declaration of the poll and return of the writs

The result of each election is announced (declared) as soon as possible after counting has been completed in the electoral division. Following a general election, when the results for all divisions have been declared the Electoral Commissioner certifies on each writ the name of the successful candidate for each division and returns the writs to the Governor-General, who in turn forwards them to the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
The validity of an election may be challenged by a petition addressed to the Court of Disputed Returns (the High Court acting in a special capacity). This may occur if it is alleged that a candidate was not eligible to become a member for one of the reasons listed earlier in this infosheet or if it is claimed that there has been some irregularity in the election process.

Disclosure of income and expenditure, public funding

All candidates are required to make returns to the Electoral Commission detailing any donations they have received for electoral purposes and electoral expenditure they have incurred or authorised. Political parties also have to submit annual returns or copies of their audited accounts. Disclosure laws also apply to other people involved in the electoral process. This information is publicly available on the Electoral Commission website.

Candidates who receive at least 4 per cent of the (first preference) vote are reimbursed for electoral expenses by a specified amount for each such vote they receive. Election funding is paid either to a registered political party on behalf of each endorsed candidate or is paid direct to a candidate who is not endorsed by a registered party. This amount (currently approximately $3.39 per eligible vote) is indexed every six months for inflation.

Counting the votes

In the first stage of the count the first preference votes are counted. If no candidate receives more than half of the votes cast, the candidates with the fewest votes are progressively eliminated and the votes received by them distributed (that is, allotted to other candidates according to the preferences of the voters) until only two candidates remain, for example:

First preference votes counted

candidate

votes

 

A

45

 

B

30

 

C

25

 

C’s second preferences distributed, two possibilities are shown

 

 

candidate

A

B

A

B

1st preference votes

45

30

45

30

2nd preference votes

10

15 or

4

21

Total votes

55

45

49

51

 

A elected

 

B elected

 

In this example the candidate with the fewest votes (C) is excluded, and their votes shared between candidates A and B according to whether the voters had ranked A or B as their second choice. Note that this could result in either A or B being elected, depending on the distribution of preferences.

 

Electoral divisions

Australia is currently divided into 150 electoral divisions, each represented by one member. Under the Constitution each existing state is guaranteed at least five members, but all states except Tasmania now have more, the numbers depending on their population. States may gain or lose members as a consequence of population movements. Because of Australia’s uneven distribution of population, electoral divisions differ greatly in area, ranging from 31 km2 (Wentworth, NSW) to over 1.4 million km2 (Durack, WA). At 10 April 2025, there was an average of 120,659 enrolled electors per electorate.

One year after a new parliament first meets, the AEC uses the latest population statistics to determine how many electorates each state and territory is entitled to. The number of electorates increased from 150 to 151 at the 2019 general election (with the ACT gaining the new seat). In 2023, however, the AEC determined that the House would return to 150 members at the next election, with WA gaining a seat, and NSW and Victoria each losing a seat.

Electoral boundaries are reviewed regularly and, if necessary, adjusted (redistributed) to reflect population changes. The aim of redistribution is to ensure that electoral divisions within each state or territory contain approximately an equal number of electors. The number of electoral divisions in each of the states and territories at the most recent general election is set out in the following table.

State/territory

Seats

New South Wales

46

Victoria

38

Queensland

30

Western Australia

16

South Australia

10

Tasmania

5

Australian Capital Territory

3

Northern Territory

2

TOTAL

150

 

 

For more information

House of Representatives Practice, 7th edn, Department of the House of Representatives, Canberra, 2018,
pp. 85–106.

Australian Electoral Commission website: www.aec.gov.au

About the House website: www.aph.gov.au/athnews

X: @AboutTheHouse | Bluesky: @aboutthehouse.bsky.social |

Facebook: Aboutthehouseau | Instagram: @abouttheHouse

Image courtesy of Arthur Mostead, AEC.

 

Timetable for general elections

Stage

Limitation

Constitutional or statutory provision

Dissolution of the House

Not later than 3 years from the first meeting of the House

Constitution, ss. 5, 28

Issue of writs (at 6 pm)

Within 10 days of dissolution (or expiry)

Constitution, s. 32;

Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, ss.152, 154

Close of electoral rolls (at 8 pm)

7 days after date of writ/s

Commonwealth Electoral Act, s. 155

Nominations close (at 12 noon)

Not less than 10 days nor more than 27 days after date of writ/s

Commonwealth Electoral Act,
s. 156, 175

Date of polling (a Saturday)

Not less than 23 days nor more than 31 days from date of nomination

Commonwealth Electoral Act,
ss. 157, 158

Return of writs

Not more than 100 days after issue

Commonwealth Electoral Act, s. 159

Meeting of new Parliament

Not later than 30 days after the day appointed for return of writs

Constitution, s. 5