Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

REFERENDUM (MACHINERY PROVISIONS) ACT 1984 - SECT 49A

             (1)  The Electoral Commission may make arrangements with the Controller‑General of Prisons for a State or Territory for the taking of the votes of persons confined in prisons in the State or Territory who are entitled to vote in a referendum.

             (2)  The Electoral Commission may appoint electoral visitors for the purposes of this section in relation to a specified referendum.

             (3)  If arrangements in force under subsection (1) are applicable to a prison, an electoral visitor must visit the prison for the purpose of taking the votes of persons who:

                     (a)  are confined in the prison; and

                     (b)  are entitled to vote in the referendum; and

                     (c)  are electors for the State or Territory in which the prison is situated.

             (4)  When visiting a prison, an electoral visitor shall:

                     (a)  take to the prison a ballot‑box, ballot‑papers and anything else necessary for the taking of votes at the prison; and

                     (b)  subject to subsection (5), be accompanied by a polling official and such scrutineers (if any) as wish to attend.

             (5)  A visit to a prison shall be made:

                     (a)  on such day;

                     (b)  at such time; and

                     (c)  in accordance with such conditions;

as are fixed by or under the arrangements applicable to the prison.

             (6)  In spite of arrangements in force under subsection (1), a visit to a prison may not be made if the electoral visitor is informed by the officer in charge of the prison or a member of the staff of the prison that the visit is forbidden by the officer in charge because of circumstances related to the security of the prison.

             (7)  At the end of a visit by an electoral visitor to a prison, the visitor shall, in the presence of the polling official and any scrutineers who are in attendance at the prison, close, fasten, seal and take charge of each ballot‑box used in the visit and, without delay, forward it to the Assistant Returning Officer designated for the purposes of this subsection by the DRO.

             (8)  An electoral visitor who visits a prison may, at the request of an elector confined in the prison, give the elector literature relating to the referendum.