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TASMANIA
__________
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL 2009
__________
CONTENTS
1. Short title
2. Commencement
3. Principal Act
4. Section 32 amended (Enrolment)
5. Section 70 amended (Polling day)
6. Section 75 amended (Persons who may be nominated and
elected)
7. Section 78 substituted
78. Declaration by candidate
8. Section 115 amended (Entitlement to vote absent from
division)
9. Section 130 amended (Postal voting procedure)
10. Section 153 amended (Notice of failure to vote)
11. Section 154 amended (Second notice no response)
12. Section 156 amended (Determination notice reason not
accepted)
13. Section 157 substituted
157. Option to pay penalty
157A. Infringement notice
157B. Penalty in respect of infringement notice
14. Section 187 amended (Electoral bribery)
15. Section 188 amended (Electoral treating)
[Bill 45]-I
16. Section 191 substituted
191. Campaign material to be authorised
17. Section 195 amended (Advertisements and advertorials)
18. Schedule 3 amended (Printing and collation of ballot papers)
19. Application of amendments effected by Act
2
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL 2009
(Brought in by the Minister for Justice, the Honourable
Larissa Tahireh Giddings)
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Electoral Act 2004
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by
and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and
House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Electoral
Amendment Act 2009.
2. Commencement
This Act commences on the day on which this
Act receives the Royal Assent.
3. Principal Act
In this Act, the Electoral Act 2004* is referred to
as the Principal Act.
*No. 51 of 2004
[Bill 45] 3
Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 4
4. Section 32 amended (Enrolment)
Section 32 of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting subsection (3) and substituting the
following subsection:
(3) Notwithstanding that an arrangement has
been made under section 35,
subsection (4) and section 33 apply to a
person who is entitled to be
(a) enrolled under section 31(2), but
is not entitled to be enrolled on
the Commonwealth roll because
he or she is a prisoner; and
(b) enrolled under section 31(1), but
is not enrolled on the
Commonwealth roll because of
the operation of section 102(4) of
the Commonwealth Act.
5. Section 70 amended (Polling day)
Section 70(1) of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting from paragraph (a) "14" and
substituting "15";
(b) by omitting from paragraph (c) "14" and
substituting "15".
4
Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 6
6. Section 75 amended (Persons who may be
nominated and elected)
Section 75 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting "is";
(b) by omitting paragraphs (a) and (b) and
substituting the following paragraphs:
(a) is qualified under the Constitution
Act 1934 to be elected; and
(b) is not ineligible under section 76;
and
(c) has attained the age of 18 years.
7. Section 78 substituted
Section 78 of the Principal Act is repealed and
the following section is substituted:
78. Declaration by candidate
The declaration referred to in
section 77(2)(e), (3)(f), (4)(e) or (5)(f) is
to be in an approved form and is to
contain a statement to the effect that the
person making the declaration
(a) is qualified under section 14 of
the Constitution Act 1934; and
5
Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 8
(b) is not incapable of being elected
as a Member under section 32 or
33 of the Constitution Act 1934.
8. Section 115 amended (Entitlement to vote absent
from division)
Section 115(1) of the Principal Act is amended
by inserting "or mobile polling place" after
"place".
9. Section 130 amended (Postal voting procedure)
Section 130 of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting after subsection (2) the following
subsection:
(3) The Commission may approve any
procedures that are reasonable and
appropriate to assist an elector, who is
unable to vote without assistance, to vote
under subsection (1).
10. Section 153 amended (Notice of failure to vote)
Section 153 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting in subsection (1) "of failure
to vote" after "notice";
(b) by omitting from subsection (2)(d) "have
the matter dealt with by a court" and
6
Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 11
substituting "be issued with an
infringement notice under section 157A";
(c) by inserting in subsection (2)(d)(ii)
"notice of failure to vote" after
"Commissioner the".
11. Section 154 amended (Second notice no response)
Section 154 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting in subsection (1) "of failure
to vote" after "second notice";
(b) by omitting from subsection (2)(c)
"institute proceedings for an offence
under section 181" and substituting
"issue an infringement notice under
section 157A".
12. Section 156 amended (Determination notice
reason not accepted)
Section 156(2)(c) of the Principal Act is
amended as follows:
(a) by omitting "have the matter dealt with
by a court" and substituting "be issued
with an infringement notice under
section 157A";
(b) by inserting "notice of failure to vote"
after "Commissioner the".
7
Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 13
13. Section 157 substituted
Section 157 of the Principal Act is repealed and
the following sections are substituted:
157. Option to pay penalty
If an elector fails to vote at an election
and pays a notice of failure to vote
penalty of 0.2 penalty units
(a) any liability of the elector under
section 181 in respect of the
failure to vote is discharged; and
(b) proceedings for an offence
against that section are not to be
instituted against the elector in
respect of the failure; and
(c) an infringement notice in
accordance with section 157A is
not to be issued against the
elector in respect of the failure.
157A. Infringement notice
(1) If an elector has been sent a second
notice of failure to vote in accordance
with section 154 or a determination
notice in accordance with section 156
and
(a) the elector has failed to respond
to the notice by the date specified
in the notice; and
8
Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 13
(b) the Commissioner is of the
opinion that, as a result of the
elector failing to respond to the
notice by the date specified in the
notice, the elector has committed
an offence under section 181
the Commissioner may issue an
infringement notice to the elector.
(2) The infringement notice is to be in
accordance with section 14 of the
Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act
2005 and include either
(a) a statement that the elector has
failed to respond to a second
notice sent in accordance with
section 154; or
(b) a statement that the elector has
failed to respond to a
determination notice sent in
accordance with section 156.
(3) A notice of failure to vote issued under
section 153, a second notice of failure to
vote issued under section 154 or a
determination notice issued under
section 156 is not an infringement notice
for the purposes of the Monetary
Penalties Enforcement Act 2005.
9
Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 14
157B. Penalty in respect of infringement notice
For the purposes of an infringement
notice issued under section 157A, the
penalty is 0.4 penalty units.
14. Section 187 amended (Electoral bribery)
Section 187 of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting after subsection (1) the following
subsection:
(1A) Subsection (1) does not apply to any
property or benefit if the value of that
property or benefit does not exceed one
fee unit.
15. Section 188 amended (Electoral treating)
Section 188 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting the following subsection
after subsection (1):
(1A) Subsection (1) does not apply to
(a) food, drink or
entertainment if the value
of the food, drink or
entertainment does not
exceed one fee unit; and
(b) a gift, donation or prize if
the value of the gift,
10
Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 16
donation or prize does not
exceed one fee unit.
(b) by inserting in subsection (5) "for the
person charged" after "defence";
(c) by omitting from subsection (5) "to the
club, association or body for similar
purposes" and substituting "by that
person to the specific club, association or
body".
16. Section 191 substituted
Section 191 of the Principal Act is repealed and
the following section is substituted:
191. Campaign material to be authorised
(1) Subject to sections 192, 193 and 194, a
person must not, between the issue of the
writ for an election and the close of poll
at that election
(a) print, publish, keep on display or
distribute, or permit or authorise
another person to print, publish,
keep on display or distribute, any
printed electoral matter without
the name and address of the
responsible person being printed,
in legible characters, at the end of
the electoral matter; or
(b) publish, or permit or authorise
another person to publish, any
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Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 17
electoral matter on the internet
without the name and address of
the responsible person appearing
at the end of the electoral matter.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 100 penalty
units or imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 3 months, or both.
(2) Printed electoral matter is published or
kept on display by a person if the
publication or display is published or
kept on display with that person's
consent.
17. Section 195 amended (Advertisements and
advertorials)
Section 195 of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting ", between the issue of the writ for an
election and the close of poll at that election,"
after "must".
18. Schedule 3 amended (Printing and collation of
ballot papers)
Schedule 3 to the Principal Act is amended by
inserting after clause 1 the following clause:
1A. Printing and collation of batches of ballot
papers
(1) Ballot papers are to be printed in batches
with the ballot papers within each batch
12
Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 18
having the same order of candidate
names.
(2) There are to be two sets of batches.
(3) The first set of batches is to be printed in
accordance with the provisions of
clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5.
(4) The second set of batches is to be printed
so that
(a) there is a batch corresponding to
each batch in the first set of
batches; and
(b) the corresponding batch in the
second set of batches has the
name of the same candidate in the
first position, but the order of the
names below that first name is
reversed; and
For example, if the order of names on a batch in the first
set of batches is ABCDE, the order of names on the
corresponding batch in the second set of batches is
AEDCB.
(c) the number of ballot papers in
each batch in the second set of
batches is, as far as practicable, to
be equal to the number of ballot
papers in each batch in the first
set of batches.
13
Electoral Amendment Act 2009
Act No. of
s. 19
(5) All ballot papers are to be collated in
accordance with clause 6 and issued in
accordance with clause 7.
19. Application of amendments effected by Act
None of the amendments effected by this Act
applies to an election in respect of which a writ,
for the holding of the election, has been issued
before the commencement of this Act.
14 Government Printer, Tasmania