Elections ACT Factsheet – Compulsory voting

Why is it compulsory to enrol?

In Australia, the law says that if you are entitled to be enrolled and you are 18 years old or over, then you must enrol. With the right to enrol and vote, comes the responsibility to contribute to the way the ACT and the country is run. One way to contribute is through voting and you cannot vote until you are enrolled.

To be eligible to enrol you must be 18 or over and an Australian citizen.

What is compulsory voting?

Every Australian citizen (18 years or older) is required by law to vote. If an enrolled citizen fails to vote and is unable to provide a valid reason for not voting, a penalty is imposed. The penalty in the ACT is $20. If the penalty is not paid the matter is taken to court.

History in Australia

Compulsory voting has become a distinctive feature of the Australian political culture.

It was advocated by Alfred Deakin at the turn of the century but it was not introduced at federal elections until 1924, following the passage of private members bill. Compulsory enrolment for federal elections, was introduced in 1911.

In the states:

• Queensland was the first to adopt compulsory voting in 1915.
• NSW adopted compulsory enrolment in 1921 and compulsory voting in 1928.
• Victoria adopted compulsory enrolment in 1923 and compulsory voting in 1926.
• WA introduced compulsory enrolment in 1919 and compulsory voting in 1936 but before that it was compulsory to vote in the secession referendum in 1933.
• SA still does not have compulsory enrolment and introduced compulsory voting in 1942.
• Tasmania introduced compulsory voting in 1928.

In Australia voting is a civic duty comparable to other duties citizens perform like paying taxes, compulsorily attending school and performing jury duty.

With compulsory voting, it is claimed that parliaments reflect more accurately the "will of the electorate". Governments must consider the total electorate in policy formulation and management. Candidates can concentrate their campaigning energies on issues rather than encouraging voters to attend the poll.

It must be remembered that the voter isn't actually compelled to vote for anyone because voting is by secret ballot.