A new bill was introduced in Parliament today which aims to help more Australians to vote even if they are not enroled. This new bill entitled the Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Protecting Elector Participation) Bill 2012 would enable at least 1.6 million eligible Australian voters to practice their right to vote. Through this bill, the Electoral Commission will be given the authority to enrol eligible voters. Currently, only individuals have the power to enrol themselves.

Gary Gray, the Special Minister of State was the one who introduced the bill and remarked that presently, the Australian Electoral Commission estimated that only 90% of eligible Australian citizens are currently enroled. He also added that "it is, without doubt, one of the most significant reforms proposed since the introduction of compulsory enrolment in this country 100 years ago".

The Bill is a key recommendation of the Joint Standing Committee on electoral matters which examined the conduct of the 2010 Federal election.

"Currently, one and a half million Australians cannot choose their representatives in Parliament - an average of 10,000 per electorate," Mr. Gray said. "That is one and a half million Australians who cannot have their say when proposals to change Australian's constitution are put to the people.

"That is one and a half million Australians excluded from exercising one of the most important rights and responsibilities of citizenship."

Mr. Gray said the same process had been introduced in Victoria in August 2010 and in NSW in September 2010.

"In NSW, there have been tens of thousands of new enrolments per month," Mr. Gray said.

The Bill will assist in arresting the decline in enrolment rates across Australia by ensuring the federal electoral roll is as current and accurate as possible. Currently 14 million people are enroled.

Features of the Bill:

  • Allows the Electoral Commissioner to directly enrol a person if the Commissioner is satisfied that the person is:
    • entitled to enrolment;
    • has lived at an address for at least one month; and
    • the person is not currently enroled.
  • If the Electoral Commissioner is satisfied that a person meets these criteria, the Commissioner gives the person written notice it is proposed to enrol the person, who has 28 days to respond if they do not live at that address or are not entitled to enrolment. A review is available by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

"Information from reliable sources is already used by the Electoral Commission to monitor the accuracy of the Roll and ultimately to remove a person from the roll through objection action," Mr. Gray said. "The Electoral Act does not currently permit the Electoral Commission to use this information to enrol a person.

"Rather than use the information to remove a person from the roll, it is expected that the Electoral Commission will analyse the most reliable and current data available to facilitate a person's enrolment."

Mr. Gray said the Bill would also ensure that people who were removed from the roll because of an objection could have their votes admitted to further scrutiny. This will take place after the Electoral Commission has verified the elector's entitlement to enrolment and voting.

The Bill further provides that the Electoral Commissioner may enrol a person who casts a declaration vote if they meet certain criteria.

The Bill provides the Electoral Commissioner with the ability to use modern processes to protect the participation of eligible Australian citizens in the electoral process.

This is fundamental to maintaining the strength and resilience of our democratic system of government.

On November 23, Mr. Gray introduced the Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Maintaining Address) Bill 2011, which specifically deals with ensuring an elector's most current and accurate residential address is recorded on the roll. The Bill is still before the House.