Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918 - SECT 26

             (1)  The Governor‑General may appoint a person to act as the Electoral Commissioner:

                     (a)  during a vacancy in the office of the Electoral Commissioner, whether or not an appointment has previously been made to the office; or

                     (b)  during any period, or during all periods, when:

                              (i)  the Electoral Commissioner is absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the functions of the office; and

                             (ii)  no person is acting as the Electoral Commissioner by virtue of holding the office of, or acting as, the Deputy Electoral Commissioner;

but a person appointed to act during a vacancy shall not continue so to act for more than 12 months.

             (2)  The Governor‑General may:

                     (a)  determine the terms and conditions of appointment, including remuneration and allowances, of a person acting under subsection (1); and

                     (b)  at any time terminate an appointment made under subsection (1).

             (3)  Where a person is acting as the Electoral Commissioner in accordance with paragraph (1)(b) and the office of the Electoral Commissioner becomes vacant while that person is so acting, that person may continue so to act until the Governor‑General otherwise directs, the vacancy is filled or a period of 12 months from the date on which the vacancy occurred expires, whichever first happens.

             (4)  The appointment of a person to act as the Electoral Commissioner ceases to have effect if the person delivers to the Governor‑General a signed notice of resignation.

             (5)  A person acting as the Electoral Commissioner has, and may exercise, all the powers and shall perform all the functions of the Electoral Commissioner.

             (6)  The validity of anything done by or in relation to a person purporting to act under subsection (1) shall not be called in question on the ground that the occasion for the appointment had not arisen, that there is a defect or irregularity in or in connection with the appointment, that the appointment had ceased to have effect or that the occasion for the person to act had not arisen or had passed.