AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY REPRESENTATION (HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES) ACT 1973
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY REPRESENTATION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1983 NO. 154
Issued by the Authority of the Special Minister of State
The Australian Capital Territory Representation Regulations make provision for Commonwealth electoral administration in the Territory.
Regulation 28 prescribes the form of certain notices which must be sent to electors the presence of whose names on an electoral roll has been objected to in accordance with the provisions of Part VIII of the Commonwealth Electoral Act. The regulation prescribes that a notice sent pursuant to an objection on the grounds of an elector’s non-residence may be in accordance with Form 11 of the Schedule, and that a notice sent pursuant to an objection on grounds other than non-residence may be in accordance with Form 12 of the Schedule.
Forms 11 and 12 have undergone only minor amendments since they were originally promulgated. In recent years, there have been numerous complaints concerning difficulties experienced by electors in understanding the forms.
The purpose of the amendments is to amend regulation 28 so that it will prescribe the notice to be sent to electors pursuant to objections on any grounds, and to replace Forms 11 and 12 with a new Form 11. The new Form 11 is expressed in simpler and less legalistic language than those it replaces and contains alternative paragraphs to be included or deleted as necessary, according to the grounds of objection in each case.
Regulation 53 prescribes that the notice to be sent to an elector who appears to have failed to vote and the form for the reply of the elector, may be in accordance with Forms 22 and 23 of the Schedule respectively.
Both forms have been the subject of numerous complaints concerning difficulties experienced by electors in understanding them.
The purpose of the amendments is to delete Forms 22 and 23 from the Schedule and substitute new forms, expressed in simpler and less legalistic language.
Section 19 of the Act provides that the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 applies in the Australian Capital Territory with such exceptions and subject to such modifications and adaptations as are prescribed. Sub-section 217(4) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act provides that the regulations may permit use of any repealed form for any prescribed period notwithstanding that a new form has been prescribed. Because despatch of objection notices is a continuing process and because the non-voter follow up action resulting from the March 5 election is not yet complete, a period of six months is prescribed during which both new and old forms have effect.