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TOTAL RESULTS: 353

  • Date
    12 Aug 2021 
    Chamber
    House of Representatives 
    Status
    Act 
    Portfolio
    Finance 
    Summary
    Amends the
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to: insert a vote-saving provision for postal votes that are not received inside a sealed envelope bearing a postal vote certificate; enable postal voters outside Australia to complete certain procedural steps electronically if they are unable to comply with authorised witness requirements; amend how records of paper-based postal vote applications are managed; remove the requirements for pre-poll declaration envelopes to carry a distinguishing number; provide for a fixed pre-poll period commencing no earlier than 12 days before polling day; enable the early opening and sorting of pre-poll ballot papers, and the early extraction of declaration votes; allow ‘spoilt’ or ‘discarded’ ballot papers to be bundled; increase the number of scrutineers permitted to observe the computerised scrutiny of Senate elections; and remove the requirement for the authorisation of printed electoral material to include details of the printer. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    09 Feb 2022 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Act 
    Portfolio
    Finance 
    Summary
    Amends the
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to allow regulations to be made to temporarily expand the existing secure telephone voting method, currently available to sight impaired persons and Australians working in Antarctica, to coronavirus affected individuals for a limited time window. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    18 Nov 2024 
    Chamber
    House of Representatives 
    Status
    Not Proceeding 
    Portfolio
    Finance 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    and
    Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984
    to prohibit the authorisation of certain electoral and referendum matter that is inaccurate and misleading to a material extent, including material that has been modified using digital technology, such as ‘deepfakes’; and require electoral and referendum matter that has been created or modified using digital technology (including AI) to carry a statement to that effect;
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to establish an Electoral Communications Panel; and
    Broadcasting Services Act 1992
    and
    Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991
    to remove the ‘media blackout’ period that prohibits electoral or referendum advertising in the last 3 days of voting in an election or referendum. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    28 Jul 2025 
    Chamber
    House of Representatives 
    Status
    Not Proceeding 
    Sponsor
    STEGGALL, Zali, MP 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    and
    Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984
    to prohibit the authorisation of certain electoral and referendum matter that is inaccurate and misleading to a material extent, including material that has been modified using digital technology, such as ‘deepfakes’; and require electoral and referendum matter that has been created or modified using digital technology (including AI) to carry a statement to that effect;
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to establish an Electoral Communications Panel; and
    Broadcasting Services Act 1992
    and
    Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991
    to remove the ‘media blackout’ period that prohibits electoral or referendum advertising in the last 3 days of voting in an election or referendum. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    30 Jul 2025 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Before Senate 
    Sponsor
    POCOCK, Sen David 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    and
    Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984
    to prohibit the authorisation of certain electoral and referendum matter that is inaccurate and misleading to a material extent, including material that has been modified using digital technology, such as ‘deepfakes’; and require electoral and referendum matter that has been created or modified using digital technology (including AI) to carry a statement to that effect;
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to establish an Electoral Communications Panel; and
    Broadcasting Services Act 1992
    and
    Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991
    to remove the ‘media blackout’ period that prohibits electoral or referendum advertising in the last 3 days of voting in an election or referendum. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    07 Dec 2017 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Act 
    Portfolio
    Finance 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to: establish public registers for key non-party political actors; require non-financial particulars, such as senior staff and discretionary government benefits, to be reported; prohibit donations from foreign governments and state-owned enterprises being used to finance public debate; require wholly political actors to verify that donations over $250 come from an organisation incorporated in Australia, or with its head office or principal place of activity in Australia, or an Australian citizen or Commonwealth elector; prohibit other regulated political actors from using donations from foreign sources to fund reportable political expenditure; limit public election funding to demonstrated electoral spending; amend the enforcement and compliance regime for political finance regulation; and enable the Electoral Commissioner to prescribe certain matters by legislative instrument; and
    Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984
    to make consequential amendments. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    12 Aug 2021 
    Chamber
    House of Representatives 
    Status
    Assent 
    Portfolio
    Finance 
    Summary
    Amends the
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to: enable the Electoral Commissioner to declare an elector to be a ‘designated elector’ on the basis of a reasonable suspicion that the elector has voted more than once in an election; provide for decisions regarding declarations of designated electors to be subject to review by the Electoral Commissioner or the Administrative Appeals Tribunal; and provide examples of the types of conduct and behaviours that may constitute the offence of interference with political liberty, and increase the penalty for this offence. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    18 Nov 2024 
    Chamber
    House of Representatives 
    Status
    Act 
    Portfolio
    Finance 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    and
    Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984
    to: update key definitional terms including the meaning of ‘gift’, ‘disclosure threshold’ and ‘candidate’ and introduce the category of ‘nominated entity’; require expedited disclosure of gifts; consolidate financial reporting obligations; and make machinery amendments in relation to electoral and referendum operations;
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to: establish an annual gift cap, an overall gift cap and a State and Territory gift cap; establish annual caps on electoral expenditure; expand on existing obligations in relation to Commonwealth campaign accounts; introduce a new system of administrative funding and increase election funding; streamline reporting obligations for Senate groups; and make technical amendments in relation to compliance and enforcement powers. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    25 Mar 2024 
    Chamber
    House of Representatives 
    Status
    Not Proceeding 
    Sponsor
    CHANEY, Kate, MP 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    in relation to: lowering the disclosure threshold to $1,000; real-time disclosure of donations; prohibiting misleading or deceptive electoral or referendum matter; broadening the definition of gift; funding disclosure requirements; introduction of a major-donor donation cap; prohibiting certain political donations; limiting pre-election government advertising; and postal vote processes; and
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    and
    Do Not Call Register Act 2006
    to provide that registered independent candidates are treated the same as political parties. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    25 Mar 2024 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Not Proceeding 
    Sponsor
    POCOCK, Sen David
    LAMBIE, Sen Jacqui
    THORPE, Sen Lidia
    WATERS, Sen Larissa 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    in relation to: lowering the disclosure threshold to $1,000; real-time disclosure of donations; prohibiting misleading or deceptive electoral or referendum matter; broadening the definition of gift; funding disclosure requirements; introduction of a major-donor donation cap; prohibiting certain political donations; limiting pre-election government advertising; postal vote processes; and increasing Senate representation for the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory; and
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    and
    Do Not Call Register Act 2006
    to provide that registered independent candidates are treated the same as political parties. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum