This article provides a timeline of elections in Australia , including all the colonial, state, territorial and federal elections. The information starts from when each state or territory held its first election, and continues through to the present day.
The background colour indicates which party won the election. All six states and both territories have established limits on the length of a parliamentary term, with the federal parliament limited to three years, and all state and territorial parliaments limited to a four-year term. In addition the federal government have changed to fixed election dates every three years, and both territories and all states except Tasmania have changed to fixed election dates every four years. For these legislatures, the box is shown as running until the next scheduled election, but one could still be earlier if the government falls due to a motion of no confidence.
Year | WA | SA | Qld | NSW | Vic | Tas |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1856 | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||
1857 | 1st | |||||
1858 | 2nd | |||||
1859 | 3rd | 2nd | ||||
1860 | 2nd | 1st | 4th | |||
1861 | 3rd | 2nd | ||||
1862 | 3rd | 3rd | ||||
1863 | 2nd | |||||
1864 | 4th | |||||
1865 | 4th | 5th | ||||
1866 | 5th | 4th | ||||
1867 | 3rd | |||||
1868 | 5th | 4th | 6th | |||
1869 | ||||||
1870 | 6th | 5th | 6th | |||
1871 | 7th | 6th | 7th | 5th | ||
1872 | 7th | 6th | ||||
1873 | 7th | |||||
1874 | 8th | |||||
1875 | 8th | 8th | ||||
1876 | ||||||
1877 | 9th | 9th | 7th | |||
1878 | 9th | 8th | ||||
1879 | 10th | |||||
1880 | 10th | 11th | ||||
1881 | 10th | |||||
1882 | 11th | 8th | ||||
1883 | 9th | 12th | ||||
1884 | 11th | |||||
1885 | 12th | |||||
1886 | 13th | 9th | ||||
1887 | 12th | 13th | ||||
1888 | 10th | |||||
1889 | 14th | 14th | ||||
1890 | 1st | 13th | ||||
1891 | 15th | 10th | ||||
1892 | 15th | |||||
1893 | 14th | 11th | 11th | |||
1894 | 2nd | 16th | 16th | |||
1895 | 17th | |||||
1896 | 15th | 12th | ||||
1897 | 3rd | 17th | 12th | |||
1898 | 18th | |||||
1899 | 16th | 13th | ||||
1900 | 18th | 13th | ||||
Year | WA | SA | Qld | NSW | Vic | Tas |
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. There are a total of 76 senators: 12 are elected from each of the six Australian states regardless of population and 2 from each of the two self-governing internal Australian territories. Senators are popularly elected under the single transferable vote system of proportional representation.
Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single group. As of 2022, roughly 40% of the world's national legislatures are bicameral, while unicameralism represents 60% nationally and much more at the subnational level.
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Canada holds elections for legislatures or governments in several jurisdictions: for the federal (national) government, provincial and territorial governments, and municipal governments. Elections are also held for self-governing First Nations and for many other public and private organizations including corporations and trade unions. Municipal elections can also be held for both upper-tier and lower-tier governments.
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In Australia, referendums are public votes held on important issues where the electorate may approve or reject a certain proposal. In contemporary usage, polls conducted on non-constitutional issues are known as plebiscites, with the term referendum being reserved solely for votes on constitutional changes, which is legally required to make a change to the Constitution of Australia.
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Suffrage in Australia is the voting rights in the Commonwealth of Australia, its six component states and territories, and local governments. The colonies of Australia began to grant universal male suffrage from 1856, with women's suffrage following between the 1890s and 1900s. Some jurisdictions introduced racial restrictions on voting from 1885. Such restrictions had been eradicated by the 1960s. Today, the right to vote at all levels of government is held by citizens of Australia over the age of 18 years.
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"Australian Politics and Elections Database, The University of Western Australia". Australian Politics and Elections Database. University of Western Australia. Retrieved 1 February 2018.