(1) The polling places appointed pursuant to paragraph 80(1)(a) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 shall in addition be polling places for the purposes of a referendum.

The Electoral Commissioner shall, on at least one occasion after the issue of a writ for a referendum but before the day fixed for taking the votes at the referendum, if it is practicable to do so, in respect of each Division cause to be published in a newspaper circulating in that Division a notice:

(3) Where the voting day for a referendum is the same as that fixed for the polling at an election, the publication by the Electoral Commissioner of a notice in respect of a Division under subsection 80(3) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 shall be deemed to be a publication under subsection (2) of this section.

An officer to whom this subsection applies shall not begin the performance of his or her duties in relation to a referendum, other than a referendum held on the same day as an election, unless the officer has signed an undertaking in the approved form relating to that referendum.

Subsection (1) applies to the following officers:

A scrutineer shall not begin the performance of his or her duties unless the scrutineer has signed an undertaking in the approved form.

A person employed by the Electoral Commission to perform duties in connection with the conduct of a referendum not held on the same day as an election shall not begin the performance of his or her duties unless the person has signed an undertaking in the approved form.

The failure of a person to sign an undertaking is not a ground for setting aside the result of a referendum.

Each Divisional Returning Officer shall, for the purposes of a referendum:

The Electoral Commission shall, for the purposes of a referendum, appoint a presiding officer to preside at each polling place and all necessary deputy presiding officers and assistant presiding officers, and such appointments shall terminate upon the completion of the referendum.

In any emergency on the voting day for a referendum due to the absence of any deputy presiding officer or assistant presiding officer, or to any unforeseen and continued pressure at the voting that cannot be met by the duly appointed officers, a presiding officer may appoint any person to act as deputy presiding officer or assistant presiding officer, and a person so appointed shall, if the Electoral Commission afterwards ratifies the appointment, be deemed to have been duly appointed.

A person who is under the age of 18 years shall not be appointed to be a presiding officer, deputy presiding officer or assistant presiding officer.

A deputy presiding officer or assistant presiding officer may, subject to the directions of the presiding officer, exercise all or any of the powers of the presiding officer, and shall, in respect of the exercise of those powers, be deemed to be the presiding officer.

The polling booths and ballot-boxes provided for the purposes of a referendum may be used for the purposes of an election held on the same day, but the ballot papers for the election and the referendum shall be distinctively coloured.

During a temporary absence of a presiding officer, the duties of the presiding officer may be performed by a person appointed for the purpose by the presiding officer.

A person so appointed has all the powers of the presiding officer.

Each polling booth shall be provided with the necessary ballot-boxes.

Each ballot-box shall be capable of being securely fastened.

The Electoral Commissioner must arrange for the preparation of a list of voters for each Division and must certify the list.

The list must include the name of each person who:

The list must also include the sex and date of birth of each person whose name is included in the list.

The list must not include the address of a person who is on the Roll for the Division if the person is a designated elector.

The Electoral Commissioner must arrange for the delivery to the presiding officer at each polling place, before the start of voting, of a copy of the certified list of voters for the Division for which the polling place is appointed.

The Electoral Commissioner must also arrange for a copy of the certified list of voters for a Division to be delivered to each place at which pre-poll ordinary voting is, under section 73CD (but disregarding subsection 73CD(4)), available to voters enrolled for the Division.

The Electoral Commissioner may arrange for the preparation of an approved list of voters for a Division.

If the Electoral Commissioner thinks an approved list of voters for a Division should be available for an officer to use in connection with voting under this Act, the Electoral Commissioner must arrange for the list to be made available to the officer in time for that use.

Subject to this section, the ballot papers to be used in a referendum shall:

Subject to subsection (3A), where 2 or more referendums are held on the same day, the ballot papers for each referendum shall be printed on one piece of paper and shall be in accordance with Form C in Schedule 1.

Where 2 or more ballot papers are printed on one piece of paper as mentioned in subsection (2):

If:

Before issuing a ballot paper for use at a referendum, an officer shall, if the name of the State or Territory printed on the ballot paper is not the name of the State or Territory in which the referendum is to be held, strike out that name and insert the name of the State or Territory in which the referendum is to be held.

The Electoral Commissioner may also provide for a ballot paper to be marked with any other mark that the Electoral Commissioner thinks fit to assist in the administration of the referendum.

A mark under subsection (1) does not need to be printed in black typeface.

(3) To avoid doubt, this section does not authorise a mark to be made that enables the identification of an elector or that identifies the personal information (within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988) of an elector.

Each presiding officer or polling official must place his or her initials on the top of the front of each ballot paper before handing the ballot paper to a person claiming to vote.

Each presiding officer shall cause to be kept an exact account of all ballot papers so initialled.

To avoid doubt, this section also applies to a ballot paper that is a photocopy of an original ballot paper.

The Governor-General, or a person authorized by him or her to act under this subsection, may appoint one person to act as a scrutineer during voting at a referendum at each place in Australia where voting is being conducted.

The Governor of a State, or a person authorized by him or her to act under this subsection, may appoint one person to act as a scrutineer during the voting at a referendum at each place in that State where voting is being conducted.

The Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory, or a person authorised by him or her to act under this subsection, may appoint one person to act as a scrutineer during the voting at a referendum at each place in the Territory where voting is being conducted.

The Administrator of the Northern Territory, or a person authorized by him or her to act under this subsection, may appoint one person to act as a scrutineer during the voting at a referendum at each place in the Northern Territory where voting is being conducted.

The registered officer of a registered political party may appoint persons to act as scrutineers during voting at a referendum at each place in Australia where voting is being conducted, but not more than one scrutineer for each party shall be allowed at each polling booth at any one time.

A scrutineer appointed under this section must be appointed in the approved form.

In this section:

registered officer, in relation to a registered political party, has the same meaning as the expression has in Part XIV of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 by virtue of section 4C of that Act.

registered political party has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

A scrutineer appointed under section 27 shall not:

A scrutineer appointed under section 27 shall not be prevented from entering or leaving a polling booth during the voting at a referendum.

A person who is in a polling booth in the capacity of a scrutineer shall wear a badge, supplied by the Electoral Commission, that identifies the person as a scrutineer.

A scrutineer appointed under section 27 who commits any breach of this section, or who is guilty of misconduct at a polling booth, or who fails at a polling booth to obey the lawful directions of the presiding officer at the polling booth, may be removed from the polling booth by any constable or by a person authorized by the presiding officer to remove the scrutineer.

The voting at a referendum shall be conducted as follows:

(2) A ballot-box used for a referendum shall not be opened except in accordance with this Act or, if the ballot-box has been used for both the referendum and an election, in accordance with this Act or the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

The presiding officer or a polling official must put to each person attending before the officer or official, and claiming to vote in a referendum or referendums (as the case requires), questions in order to ascertain:

In addition to the questions put under subsection (1), the officer or official must ask each person claiming to vote as an absent voter to identify the Division for which the person is enrolled.

(4) If the answers a person (the claimant) claiming to vote gives to the questions under subsection (1) do not satisfy the officer or official that the claimant is a particular person on the certified list of voters or an approved list of voters for the relevant Division, the officer or official may ask the claimant one or more other questions about matters shown on the list for the particular person, to establish whether the claimant is that particular person.

A person’s claim to vote at a referendum must (subject to section 37) be rejected if:

(1) Where the voting day for a referendum is the same as that fixed for the polling at an election, the answers by a person claiming to vote at the referendum to the questions put under Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 for the purposes of the election may, if they are satisfactory as regards the election, be accepted as sufficient to enable the person to vote at the referendum.section 229 of the

If the presiding officer or a polling official accepts under subsection (1) the answers by a person as sufficient to enable the person to vote at a referendum, the officer or official may, if the officer or official thinks fit, put to the person questions in order to ascertain whether the person has voted before in the referendum or referendums.

If the person answers so as to indicate that the person has voted before in the referendum or referendums or does not answer, the person’s claim to vote must be rejected if the presiding officer is satisfied that this subsection applies.

The claim of a person to vote at a referendum shall not be rejected by reason only:

The claim of an elector to vote at a referendum shall not be rejected by reason only that he or she has changed his or her surname by reason of marriage and that that change has not been reflected in the Roll.

Subject to section 37, the presiding officer or a polling official at each polling booth shall hand to each person claiming to vote at a referendum a ballot paper duly initialled by the officer or official if:

A presiding officer or polling official shall, at the request of a scrutineer appointed under section 27, note any objection by the scrutineer to the right of any person to vote at a referendum, and shall keep a record of all objections.

If a ballot paper has been, or is to be, given to a person who claims to vote at a polling place and whose name is on the certified list of voters, or an approved list of voters, available at the polling place, the presiding officer or a polling official at the polling place must:

The presiding officer or a polling official at a polling place must make a record of the name of each elector who casts a declaration vote at the polling place and, in the case of an absent voter, of the Division for which the elector declares under subsection 46(1) or (1A) that he or she is enrolled, and must, at the close of the voting at the referendum, forward the record, duly certified by the presiding officer, in accordance with section 46A.

If the voting day for a referendum is the same as that fixed for the polling at an election:

If any voter satisfies the presiding officer at a polling booth that his or her sight is so impaired or that the voter is so illiterate or physically incapacitated as to be unable to vote without assistance, the presiding officer shall permit a person appointed by the voter to enter an unoccupied voting compartment of the booth with the voter, and mark and deposit the voter’s ballot paper.

A presiding officer who is visiting a patient under section 48 for the purpose of taking the patient’s vote must explain to the patient the effect of subsection (1) of this section.

If a voter referred to in subsection (1) fails to appoint a person pursuant to subsection (1), the presiding officer or a polling official, in the presence of such scrutineers appointed under section 27 as are present, or, if there are no scrutineers appointed under that section present, in the presence of:

Without limiting the generality of subsection (2), a voter to whom that subsection applies may indicate to the presiding officer or polling official the manner in which the voter wishes the officer or official to mark the ballot paper for the voter by presenting to the officer or official a statement in writing (which may be, or include, a how-to-vote card) that specifies the manner in which the ballot paper is to be marked.

Where subsection (1) applies in relation to a provisional or absent voter, the presiding officer or a polling official shall:

If the presiding officer at a polling place is satisfied that a voter is unable to enter the polling place because of physical disability, illness, advanced pregnancy or other condition, the presiding officer may allow the voter to vote outside the polling place, in close proximity to the polling place.

Before allowing the voter to vote outside the polling place, the presiding officer must:

Subject to subsection (5), the voter:

The presiding officer or polling official must ensure that the ballot paper is immediately returned to the polling place and put in the ballot-box in the presence of any scrutineers who were present when the voter voted.

If the voter also satisfies the presiding officer that he or she is unable to vote without assistance, the presiding officer may, with the voter’s consent, mark, or allow a polling official to mark, the voter’s ballot paper.

The voter must indicate to the presiding officer or polling official how the voter wishes the officer or official to mark the voter’s ballot paper.

Without limiting the methods by which the voter may indicate, for the purposes of subsection (6), how the voter wishes to vote, the voter may present to the presiding officer or polling official a statement in writing (which may be, or include, a how-to-vote card) specifying how the ballot paper is to be marked.

If subsection (5) applies to an absent or provisional voter, the presiding officer or polling official must:

This section applies to a person claiming to vote if:

In this Part (other than section 45) and in Schedule 4:

A person to whom this section applies may cast a provisional vote if the person signs a declaration in the approved form on an envelope addressed to the DRO for the Division for which the voter is, or claims to be, enrolled.

The person shall sign the declaration in the presence of the presiding officer or a polling official.

The presiding officer or polling official shall then sign the declaration as witness, adding the date.

Before issuing a ballot paper to the person, the presiding officer or a polling official shall give the person a statement in writing in the approved form explaining the effect of this section and indicating the steps that will be taken if the person cast a provisional vote.

A person who casts a provisional vote shall hand the ballot paper to the presiding officer or polling official who issued it.

The presiding officer or polling official shall, in the presence of the voter, without unfolding the ballot paper, place it in the envelope bearing the voter’s declaration, fasten the envelope and place the envelope in the ballot-box.

The Assistant Returning Officer who opens the ballot-box shall deal with the envelope according to section 46A.

A person may apply to the Electoral Commissioner for provisional enrolment for a Subdivision if, at the time of making the application:

An application must:

(3) A person may fill out and sign an application under this section, on behalf of another person (the applicant), in accordance with the directions of the applicant if:

For the purposes of paragraph (2)(d), an application is supported by evidence of the Immigration Department’s notification if:

If a person makes an application in accordance with this section, then:

If, by the first Friday following the voting day for the referendum, the person provides an officer with evidence that the person has become an Australian citizen, then:

Otherwise, the Electoral Commissioner must notify the person, in writing, that the person’s provisional enrolment has ceased.

The Electoral Commissioner may, in writing, determine one or more addresses to which applications under section 38 may be sent.

A determination under subsection (1) may specify different addresses for use in different circumstances.

To avoid doubt, an address determined under subsection (1) may be an electronic address.

If a person sends an application under section 38 to an address in accordance with a determination under subsection (1), the person is taken to have sent the application to the Electoral Commissioner.

A determination under subsection (1) is not a legislative instrument.

If a person voting at a referendum, before depositing a ballot paper in a ballot-box, satisfies the presiding officer, a voting officer within the meaning of Division 3 of Part IVA, or a polling official, that the person has spoilt the ballot paper by mistake or accident, the officer or official shall provide the person with a new ballot paper and shall cancel the spoilt ballot paper.

If a person voting at a referendum in a manner that will involve a ballot paper being placed in an envelope satisfies the officer or official who issued the ballot paper that, before the ballot paper was placed in the relevant envelope, he or she spoilt the ballot paper by mistake or accident, the officer or official shall provide the person with a new ballot paper and shall cancel the spoilt ballot paper.

An officer or official who has cancelled a spoilt ballot paper shall:

The envelopes containing spoilt ballot papers that have been cancelled under subsection (1) or (2) must be bundled up and given to the DRO for the Division after the close of voting.

This section applies if:

The officer must:

The envelopes containing discarded ballot papers that have been cancelled under this section must be bundled up and given to the DRO for the Division after the close of voting.

This section applies if, in relation to a referendum, an officer becomes aware that a ballot-box containing ballot papers for the referendum (including ballot papers enclosed in envelopes) has been opened before the close of voting other than as mentioned in subsection 29(2).

(2) An officer (the reporting officer) must:

The reporting officer must prepare a report about the circumstances in which the ballot-box was opened before the close of voting other than as mentioned in subsection 29(2) (including details of any witnesses).

Material to be given to DRO

The reporting officer must give the report, parcel, ballot-box and any other thing the reporting officer considers appropriate to the DRO for the Division as soon as practicable.

Role of DRO

(5) The DRO for the Division must examine the report, parcel, ballot-box and any other thing given to the DRO under subsection (4) and then give them to the Australian Electoral Officer (the AEO) for the State or Territory concerned.

Role of AEO

The AEO must:

The AEO must decide that a ballot paper is to be included in the scrutiny under Part VI unless the AEO is satisfied that the ballot paper has been fraudulently altered or otherwise interfered with so as not to reflect the voter’s intention.

If the AEO decides that a ballot paper is not to be included in the scrutiny under Part VI, the ballot paper is to be excluded from that scrutiny.

The AEO must decide that an envelope is to be included in the preliminary scrutiny conducted in accordance with Schedule 4 unless the AEO is satisfied that the envelope has been fraudulently altered.

If the AEO decides that an envelope is not to be included in the preliminary scrutiny conducted in accordance with Schedule 4, the envelope is to be excluded from that scrutiny.

The AEO must, after examining all the ballot papers and envelopes:

The AEO must give the parcels referred to in paragraphs (11)(a) and (c) to the DRO for the Division, and the ballot papers or envelopes in the parcels are to be included in the scrutiny under Part VI or in the preliminary scrutiny conducted in accordance with Schedule 4, as the case requires.

(13) Before publication in the Gazette of the statement by the Electoral Commissioner showing the result of the referendum, the AEO must advise the Electoral Commissioner of the following:

The AEO is responsible for the safe custody, in accordance with the directions of the Electoral Commissioner, of the parcels referred to in paragraphs (11)(b) and (d), the ballot-box and the report and any other thing given to the AEO under subsection (5) until they are destroyed.

Subject to Part VIII, the Electoral Commissioner may direct that the things referred to in subsection (14) be destroyed if:

The Electoral Commissioner may temporarily suspend the voting at a referendum for a period if the Electoral Commissioner is satisfied that the suspension of voting during that period is justified because of:

If:

The Electoral Commissioner may adjourn the voting at a referendum at a polling booth from day to day in any case where voting is interrupted by:

If from any cause any polling booth at a polling place is not opened on the voting day at a referendum the Electoral Commissioner may adjourn the voting for a period not exceeding 21 days, and shall forthwith give public notice of the adjournment.

It is the duty of every elector to vote at a referendum.

The Electoral Commissioner must, after the voting day at a referendum, being a referendum the voting day for which was not the same as that fixed for the polling at a Senate election or a general election of members of the House of Representatives, prepare for each Division a list of the names and addresses of the electors who appear to have failed to vote at the referendum.

Subject to subsection (4), within the period of 3 months after the voting day at a referendum, each DRO must:

The DRO is not required to send or deliver a penalty notice if he or she is satisfied that the elector:

A penalty notice is a notice in an approved form notifying the elector that:

If an elector does not respond to a penalty notice in the manner indicated in subparagraph (5)(c)(i), (ii) or (iii), within the prescribed time, the DRO must send by post or deliver to the elector, at his or her latest known address, a second penalty notice, having, subject to subsection (7), the same form as the first such notice but bearing a notation to the effect that a previous notice in the same terms was sent to the elector but that a response in the manner indicated in subparagraph (5)(c)(i), (ii) or (iii) was not received.

The provisions of this section, other than subsection (6), apply in relation to a second penalty notice:

If, within the prescribed time:

If the DRO to whom a response to a penalty notice has been given under subparagraph (5)(c)(i) or (ii) within the prescribed time is not satisfied:

If, in response to a notice under subsection (9), the penalty of $20 is paid to the DRO within the prescribed time, proceedings against the elector for a contravention of subsection (14) are prohibited.

If an elector is unable, by reason of absence from his or her place of living or physical incapacity, to respond to a penalty notice or to a notice under subsection (9) within the prescribed time, any other elector who has a personal knowledge of the facts may, subject to the regulations, respond to the notice within that time, and such response is to be treated as compliance by the first-mentioned elector with the notice.

The DRO must prepare a list of all electors to whom a penalty notice has been sent or delivered and note on that list in relation to each elector:

The DRO must note on the list prepared under subsection (12) in relation to each elector to whom a notice under subsection (9) has been sent or delivered:

Without limiting the circumstances that may constitute a valid and sufficient reason for not voting, the fact that an elector believes it to be part of his or her religious duty to abstain from voting constitutes a valid and sufficient reason for the failure of the elector to vote.

An elector commits an offence if the elector fails to vote at a referendum.

Strict liability applies to an offence against subsection (14).

Subsection (14) does not apply if the elector has a valid and sufficient reason for the failure.

An elector who makes a statement in response to a penalty notice or to a notice under subsection (9) that is, to his or her knowledge, false or misleading in a material particular commits an offence.

Proceedings for an offence against this section may be instituted only by the Electoral Commissioner or an officer authorised, in writing, for the purpose by the Electoral Commissioner.

(16) In this section, elector does not include:

In this section, a reference to the prescribed time for a response to a penalty notice or a notice under subsection (9) is a reference to the time for response specified in the notice.

On the voting day for a referendum, an elector is entitled:

On voting day for a referendum, a person who is provisionally enrolled is entitled to vote as an absent voter, after making a declaration in an approved form, at any polling place within the State or Territory for which he or she is provisionally enrolled at which a polling booth is open (other than a polling place for the Division for which he or she is provisionally enrolled).

In this Part (other than section 45) and in Schedule 4:

Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (1A), where a hospital is a polling place, an elector is not entitled to vote at that polling place otherwise than under section 48 unless an appropriate person on the staff of the hospital has agreed to permit electors generally to vote at that polling place or unless the elector:

A declaration made by an absent voter under subsection (1) or (1A) shall be printed on, or securely attached to, an envelope addressed to the Divisional Returning Officer for the Division for which the elector declares that he or she is enrolled.

An elector who votes as an absent voter must mark the ballot paper in the manner prescribed by this Act and return it to the presiding officer or a polling official.

The presiding officer or polling official shall thereupon, in the presence of the elector, and without unfolding the ballot paper enclose it in the envelope referred to in subsection (3) of this section and shall forthwith securely fasten the envelope and deposit it in the ballot-box.

Where the voting day for a referendum is the same as that fixed for the polling at an election:

A designated elector is not permitted to vote in a referendum except in accordance with this section.

A designated elector may vote only by declaration vote.

A presiding officer at a polling place must forward to the Assistant Returning Officer designated for the purposes of this subsection by the Divisional Returning Officer any ballot-boxes containing envelopes bearing certificates or declarations made by persons who have cast declaration votes and which purport to contain the ballot papers of such voters, together with records that the presiding officer or a polling official has made in accordance with paragraph 67(2)(e) and subsection 34(2).

A pre-poll voting officer who:

Envelopes and records required to be forwarded under subsection (1A) must be so forwarded according to the instructions of the Divisional Returning Officer.

An Assistant Returning Officer to whom a ballot-box is forwarded under subsection (1) or subsection 51(10) must:

Each Divisional Returning Officer to whom envelopes or records are forwarded under subsection (1A) must:

(3) Each Divisional Returning Officer to whom advices or envelopes are forwarded under subsection (2) or (2A), or who deals with advices or envelopes under subsection (2A), must:

After receiving envelopes in accordance with subparagraph 67(6)(b)(iii), each DRO:

A Divisional Returning Officer must do the following in relation to envelopes bearing certificates or declarations dealt with under this section:

Each Divisional Returning Officer for a Division to whom advices, or envelopes bearing certificates or declarations, are forwarded under subsection (4) or (9) must:

An envelope referred to in paragraph (5)(c) is received by a DRO within sufficient time to be taken into account in the scrutiny if it is received by the DRO within 13 days after the close of the poll (whether directly from the voter or from another DRO or a person referred to in subsection (9)).

Before placing in the container maintained under subsection (5) an envelope purporting to contain a postal ballot paper and delivered to a Divisional Returning Officer which is received after the close of the poll and which does not bear evidence sufficient to satisfy the Divisional Returning Officer that the vote contained in the envelope was recorded before the close of the poll, the Divisional Returning Officer must endorse on the envelope the date of its receipt and must initial the endorsement.

Declaration votes received outside Australia to be forwarded to a specified person

An Assistant Returning Officer at a place outside Australia must, in accordance with the written instructions of the Electoral Commissioner, deal with and forward envelopes bearing certificates or declarations, and the relevant records made by the officer under paragraph 67(2)(e) or subsection 73F(2), to such person as are specified in those instructions.

Where envelopes or records relating to a particular Division are forwarded under subsection (8) to a person other than the Divisional Returning Officer for that Division, that person must, as soon as practicable, deliver them, or cause them to be delivered, to that Divisional Returning Officer.

(1) In this section, hospital means a hospital that is a polling place.

Where:

When visiting the patient, the presiding officer shall:

A visit to a patient shall be made between 8 am and 6 pm on voting day or a day to which the taking of votes of the electors at the referendum is adjourned.

While the presiding officer is in the same room, ward or other place as the patient, this Act applies in relation to the taking of the vote of the patient as if the room, ward or place were part of a polling booth at a polling place.

A polling booth at a hospital shall be attended by a polling official at all times when the presiding officer is absent from the booth for the purpose of visiting a patient.

Notwithstanding any arrangement in force under section 48, a visit under that section to a patient in a hospital shall not be made if the presiding officer is informed by a registered medical practitioner or a member of the staff of the hospital that such a visit is forbidden, on medical grounds, by a registered medical practitioner.

Literature relating to a referendum may be supplied to the general office of a hospital to which section 48 applies, and any literature so supplied shall be made available on request to patients entitled to vote under that section.

A presiding officer who visits a patient under section 48 may, at the request of the patient, give the patient literature relating to the referendum.

So far as is practicable, a vote under section 48 shall be taken as if it were taken under the other provisions of this Act (including the provisions relating to absent voting) and, in particular, in the application of this Act for the purposes of subsection 48(5), this Act has effect as if:

Subsections 131(1) and (1A) and 132(1) apply in relation to a hospital that is a polling place as if:

Where an elector has voted under section 48 at a referendum, any postal ballot paper received by the Divisional Returning Officer that is, or that purports to be, a postal ballot paper of the elector shall not be admitted in the scrutiny in relation to the referendum.

The DRO for a Division must cause to be published on the Electoral Commission’s website, and in any other way the DRO considers appropriate, a notice specifying:

The notice must be published not later than 4 pm on the day before voting day.

As far as is reasonably practicable, votes taken under section 48 shall be taken on the day or days and at the time or times specified in the relevant notice under subsection (6), but any failure to take those votes in that manner does not invalidate the result of the referendum.

In this section:

leader means a person appointed under this section to be the leader of a team.

team means a mobile polling team appointed under this section.

The Electoral Commissioner may appoint persons to be members of mobile polling teams for the purposes of this section and, in respect of each team, a person to be the leader.

The following provisions of this section apply in addition to, and without derogation from, the application of any other provision of this Act.

The Electoral Commissioner:

Before determining a prison under subsection (4), the Electoral Commissioner must consult the Controller-General of Prisons for the State or Territory in which the prison is located.

A day notified under paragraph (4)(b) must be:

Subject to subsection (6A), a team shall make a visit or visits as notified under paragraph (4)(b), but, if, for reasonable cause, the team is unable, or the leader considers it inappropriate, to make such a visit, the leader may substitute another place, day or time for the visit and, in that event, shall:

A visit to a prison must not be made if the Australian Electoral Officer for the State or Territory in which the prison is located 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.

Any failure by a team to make a visit in accordance with this section does not invalidate the result of the referendum.

At any time when a team is at a place for the purposes of taking votes under this section at a referendum:

Paragraph 29(1)(a) does not apply to a leader after the first visit made by the leader for the purposes of this section.

At the end of the last visit made by a leader for the purposes of this section, the leader shall, in the presence of a member of his or her team and any scrutineers appointed under section 27 who may be in attendance, publicly close, fasten, seal and take charge of each ballot-box used by the leader for the purposes of this section and, with the least possible delay, forward it for the purposes of scrutiny to the Divisional Returning Officer or Assistant Returning Officer designated for the purposes of this subsection by the Divisional Returning Officer for the Division in which that last visit occurred.

A determination under paragraph (4)(a) is not a legislative instrument.

This Part deals with pre-poll votes.

There are 2 different kinds of pre-poll vote:

General matters relevant to both kinds of pre-poll vote are set out in Division 2.

An elector may apply for a pre-poll vote on any of the grounds set out in Schedule 3.

A person who is provisionally enrolled may apply for a pre-poll vote.

In this Part (other than Division 3) and in Schedule 4:

The Electoral Commission may appoint a person to be a pre-poll voting officer for the purposes of this Act.

(2) A person who is a pre-poll voting officer for the purposes of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 is also a pre-poll voting officer for the purposes of this Act.

The Electoral Commissioner may declare, in writing, for a referendum:

The Electoral Commissioner may, in a declaration under subsection (1) or in a separate written declaration under this subsection, specify that a particular pre-poll voting office located in a Division is a place at which pre-poll ordinary voting is available to voters enrolled for one or more specified other Divisions.

If the Electoral Commissioner makes a declaration under subsection (1), the Electoral Commissioner must:

Without limiting paragraph (1)(a), a place specified to be a pre-poll voting office for a referendum may be a place that has been determined under paragraph 51(4)(a) to be a place that teams will visit for the purposes of taking votes under section 51 at the referendum.

For the purposes of subparagraph (2)(b)(i), the Electoral Commissioner must, as soon as practicable after making the declaration:

If the Electoral Commissioner makes a declaration under subsection (1A), he or she must cause a copy of the declaration to be published on the Electoral Commission’s website and in any other way he or she considers appropriate.

A declaration made under subsection (1) or (1A) is not a legislative instrument.

Failure to publish in accordance with this section a copy of a declaration made under subsection (1) or (1A) does not affect the validity of the declaration.

In this section:

registered political party has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

An application for a pre-poll vote may be made to:

The application must be made by the elector in person.

The elector making the application shall inform the officer to whom the application is made of:

An application to a pre-poll voting officer must be made:

An application to an Assistant Returning Officer must be made:

An elector may not make an application after the close of voting in the State or Territory in which the elector is making the application.

The Governor-General, or a person authorised by him or her to act under this subsection, may appoint one person to act as a scrutineer during voting at a referendum at each pre-poll voting office for the referendum.

The Governor of a State, or a person authorised by him or her to act under this subsection, may appoint one person to act as a scrutineer during the voting at a referendum at each pre-poll voting office for the referendum in that State.

The Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory, or a person authorised by him or her to act under this subsection, may appoint one person to act as a scrutineer during the voting at a referendum at each pre-poll voting office for the referendum in the Australian Capital Territory.

The Administrator of the Northern Territory, or a person authorised by him or her to act under this subsection, may appoint one person to act as a scrutineer during the voting at a referendum at each pre-poll voting office for the referendum in the Northern Territory.

The registered officer of a registered political party may appoint persons to act as scrutineers during voting at a referendum at pre-poll voting offices for the referendum, but not more than one scrutineer for each party is allowed at each pre-poll voting office at any one time.

A scrutineer appointed under this section must be appointed in the approved form.

In this section:

registered officer, in relation to a registered political party, has the same meaning as in Part XIV of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

registered political party has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

A person commits an offence if the person:

A person commits an offence if:

A scrutineer appointed under section 73CA must not be prevented from entering or leaving a pre-poll voting office on a day, and during the hours, declared under paragraph 73AA(1)(b).

A person who is in a pre-poll voting office in the capacity of a scrutineer must wear a badge, supplied by the Electoral Commission, that identifies the person as a scrutineer.

A scrutineer appointed under section 73CA who:

Subject to subsections (2) and (4), for voters enrolled for a particular Division, pre-poll ordinary voting is available at the following places:

The Electoral Commissioner may, in writing, determine that pre-poll ordinary voting is not available at one or more specified places, either generally or as specified in the determination.

A determination made under subsection (2) is not a legislative instrument.

For voters enrolled for a particular Division, pre-poll ordinary voting is not available at a particular place referred to in subsection (1) unless a copy of the certified list of voters for the Division has been delivered to the place (see subsection 22(4)) or an approved list of voters for the Division is available to an officer at the place (see subsection 22A(2)).

Each place at which pre-poll ordinary voting is available must be provided with the necessary ballot-boxes.

Each of those ballot-boxes must be capable of being securely fastened.

Subdivision B—Voting by pre-poll ordinary vote

(1) Subject to subsection (2), a person (the voter) is entitled to vote by pre-poll ordinary vote if:

The voter is not entitled to vote by pre-poll ordinary vote if:

A voting officer must put to each person attending before the voting officer, and claiming to vote in a referendum or referendums (as the case requires), questions in order to ascertain:

If the answers the voter gives to the questions under subsection (1) do not satisfy the voting officer that the applicant is a particular person on a copy of the certified list of voters, or on an approved list of voters, for a particular Division, the officer may ask the voter one or more other questions about matters shown on the list for the particular person, to establish whether the voter is that particular person.

If election is held on same day

(3) If the voting day for a referendum is the same as that fixed for the polling at an election, the answers by the voter under Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 for the purposes of the election may, if they are satisfactory as regards the election, be accepted as sufficient to enable the person to vote at the referendum.section 200DI of the

If the voting officer accepts, pursuant to subsection (3), the answers by the voter to the questions referred to in that subsection as sufficient to enable the person to vote at a referendum, the officer may, if he or she thinks fit, put to the voter questions in order to ascertain whether the person has voted before in the referendum or referendums (as the case requires).

If, under section 73CG, the voter is entitled to vote by pre-poll ordinary vote, a voting officer must give the voter a ballot paper, duly initialled by the officer.

The voting officer, at the request of a scrutineer, must note any objection by the scrutineer to the right of the voter to vote by pre-poll ordinary vote, and must keep that record.

If a ballot paper has been, or is to be, given to a voter, a voting officer must:

If the voter satisfies a voting officer that the voter cannot read or is so disabled as to be unable to vote without assistance, a person chosen by the voter may, according to the directions of the voter, do any of the following acts:

Directions under subsection (1) may be given by reference to a how-to-vote card.

The other provisions of this Division have effect subject to this section.

At the end of each day when pre-poll ordinary voting is available at the place, and in the presence of any scrutineers, each pre-poll ordinary ballot-box used on that day must be closed, fastened and sealed by a voting officer.

After a pre-poll ordinary ballot-box has been sealed, it must on no account be opened except as allowed by this Act.

Subject to any directions under subsection (2), at the close of the poll, a voting officer must, with the least possible delay, forward each sealed pre-poll ordinary ballot-box for the purposes of scrutiny.

The DRO for the Division in which the place is located may direct that one or more sealed pre-poll ordinary ballot-boxes at the place are to be forwarded, for the purposes of scrutiny, before the close of the poll.

If a direction made under subsection (2) is in writing, the direction is not a legislative instrument.

(1) If this Division applies to a person (the elector) who has applied for a pre-poll vote, the officer to whom the application was made (in this section called the issuing officer) shall issue to the elector a pre-poll vote certificate for declaration voting and a ballot paper.

Before issuing the ballot paper, the officer shall initial the top of the front of the paper.

The elector shall sign the pre-poll vote certificate in the presence of the issuing officer.

The issuing officer shall then sign the pre-poll vote certificate as witness, adding the date.

The elector shall then, in the presence of the issuing officer but so that the officer cannot see the vote, mark his or her vote on the ballot paper and return the ballot paper to the issuing officer.

The issuing officer shall immediately place the ballot paper in the envelope bearing the pre-poll vote certificate, fasten the envelope and, until the envelope is dealt with under section 46A, keep the envelope in a ballot-box.

If the elector satisfies the officer that the elector cannot read or is so disabled as to be unable to vote without assistance, a person chosen by the elector may, according to the directions of the elector, do any of the following acts:

Directions under subsection (7) may be given by reference to a how-to-vote card.

An elector to whom a pre-poll vote certificate for declaration voting and ballot paper have been issued is not entitled:

Where, under subsection 73D(1):

Records forwarded to the DRO under section 46A shall be open to public inspection at the office of the DRO during ordinary office hours from and including the third day after voting day until the referendum can no longer be questioned.

A person other than:

Strict liability applies to an offence against subsection (1).

(1) A person or entity (the relevant person) must provide a return in accordance with this section if the relevant person is a referendum entity at any time during a referendum expenditure period.

The relevant person must provide to the Electoral Commission a return:

A gift is covered by this subsection if:

The return must:

Subsection 93(2) of the Regulatory Powers Act does not apply in relation to a contravention of subsection (1) of this section.

(1) This section applies to a person or entity (the donor) if:

The donor must, within 28 days after the end of the referendum gift period, give to the Electoral Commission a return, in an approved form and in accordance with subsection (3).

The return must include the following information:

Subsection 93(2) of the Regulatory Powers Act does not apply in relation to a contravention of subsection (2) of this section.

(1) A person or entity (the recipient) that is a referendum entity for a referendum expenditure period must, in accordance with this section, give the Electoral Commission a written notice in relation to a gift if:

Subsection (1) applies to gifts received by the recipient whether or not the recipient was a referendum entity for the referendum expenditure period at the time the gift was received.

Time for giving notice

The recipient must give the Electoral Commission the notice in relation to the gift before the end of the period of:

The notice in relation to the gift must be in the approved form and set out the details required by section 109GB (content of donation disclosure notices).

The Electoral Commissioner must publish on the Transparency Register the following information contained in a donation disclosure notice in relation to a gift:

The Electoral Commissioner must publish the information before the end of the period of 24 hours beginning at the time the donation disclosure notice is received by the Electoral Commission.

False or misleading information

Despite subsection (1), the Electoral Commissioner is not required to publish on the Transparency Register information contained in a donation disclosure notice if the Electoral Commissioner reasonably believes that the information is false or misleading in a material particular.

The object of this Division is to secure and promote the actual and perceived integrity of the Australian referendum process by reducing the risk of foreign persons and entities exerting (or being perceived to exert) undue or improper influence in the outcomes of referendums.

This Division aims to achieve this object by restricting the receipt and use of gifts made by foreign persons or entities that do not have a legitimate connection to Australia.

(1) A person or entity (the relevant person) contravenes this subsection if:

For the purpose of an offence against subsection (6), strict liability applies to:

(3) A person or entity (the donor) contravenes this subsection if:

For the purpose of an offence against subsection (6), strict liability applies to:

(5) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(f) and (3)(f), acceptable action is taken in relation to a gift if any of the following action is taken:

A person or entity commits an offence if the person or entity contravenes subsection (1) or (3).

(7) Section 15.4 of the Criminal Code (extended geographical jurisdiction—category D) applies to an offence against subsection (6) of this section.

Civil Penalty

A person or entity is liable to a civil penalty if the person or entity contravenes subsection (1) or (3).

Subsection (8) applies:

(10) Section 4K of the Crimes Act 1914 does not apply in relation to an offence against subsection (4) of this section. Subsection 93(2) of the Regulatory Powers Act does not apply in relation to a contravention of subsection (8) of this section.

The objects of this Division are:

This Division aims to achieve these objects by limiting referendum expenditure and fundraising for referendum expenditure by foreign persons or entities that do not have a legitimate connection to Australia.

A foreign campaigner contravenes this subsection if:

Subsection (1) applies:

(1) The Electoral Commissioner may give a person or entity (the relevant person) a written notice if:

The notice must:

A person or entity is liable to a civil penalty if:

This section applies whether or not the scheme is entered into, begun to be carried out or carried out:

This section applies to a person if the Electoral Commissioner has reason to believe that the person has information or a document that is relevant to assessing compliance with this Part.

The Electoral Commissioner may, by written notice given to the person, require the person:

Before giving a person a notice under subsection (2), the Electoral Commissioner must have regard to the costs, in complying with any requirement in the notice, that would be likely to be incurred by the person.

Subsection (3) does not limit the matters to which regard may be had.

Offence

A person commits an offence if:

(6) A notice given to a person under this section must set out the effect of subsection (5) of this section and sections 137.1 and 137.2 of the Criminal Code (false or misleading information or documents).

Review

A person who is given a notice under subsection (2) may request that the Electoral Commission review the decision to issue the notice. The request must be:

The Electoral Commission must:

If a person requests a review of a decision, the person is not taken to have refused or failed to comply with the notice to which the review relates at any time before the Electoral Commission has notified the person of its decision on the review.

The Electoral Commissioner may take, and retain for as long as is necessary, possession of a document produced under section 109N.

The person otherwise entitled to possession of the document is entitled to be supplied, as soon as practicable, with a copy certified by the Electoral Commissioner to be a true copy.

The certified copy must be received in all courts and tribunals as evidence as if it were the original.

Until a certified copy is supplied, the Electoral Commissioner must, at such times and places as the Electoral Commissioner thinks appropriate, permit the person otherwise entitled to possession of the document, or a person authorised by that person, to inspect and make copies of the document.

This section applies if:

The amount or value of the gift (determined at the time the gift is made) is payable by the gift recipient to the Commonwealth and may be recovered by the Commonwealth as a debt due to the Commonwealth by action in a court of competent jurisdiction.

(1) This section applies if a provision of this Part provides that a person contravening another provision of this Part (the conduct provision) commits an offence or is liable to a civil penalty.

For the purposes of this Act, and the Regulatory Powers Act to the extent that it relates to this Act, a reference to a contravention of an offence provision or a civil penalty provision includes a reference to a contravention of the conduct provision.

(3) For the purposes of applying Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code to the offence, the physical elements of the offence are set out in the conduct provision.

An action in a court to recover an amount due to the Commonwealth under section 109R, or under a civil penalty order made in relation to a contravention of a civil penalty provision in this Part, may be brought in the name of the Commonwealth by the Electoral Commissioner.

Any process in the action required to be served on the Commonwealth may be served on the Electoral Commissioner.

(3) Nothing in this section is intended to limit the operation of Judiciary Act 1903.section 61 or 63 of the

A person who is subject to a civil penalty provision in this Part must keep the following records in accordance with subsections (2) and (3):

A record kept under subsection (1) must be kept for:

The record must be kept in accordance with any other requirements determined under subsection (4).

The Electoral Commissioner may, by legislative instrument, determine:

If a person who is required to give a return under section 109E or 109G, or give a donation disclosure notice under section 109GA, considers that it is impossible to complete the return or donation disclosure notice because the person is unable to obtain particulars that are required for the preparation of the return or donation disclosure notice, the person may:

A person who complies with subsection (1) is not, by reason of the omission of those particulars, to be taken, for the purposes of this Part, to have given a return or donation disclosure notice that is incomplete.

If the Electoral Commission has been informed under paragraph (1)(c) or subsection (5) that a person can supply particulars that have not been included in a return or donation disclosure notice, the Electoral Commission may, by notice in writing served on that person, require the person to provide to the Electoral Commission, within the period specified in the notice and in writing, those particulars and, subject to subsection (5), the person must comply with that requirement.

Particulars that were not provided in a return under section 109E or 109G, or in a donation disclosure notice under section 109GA, that are provided under subsection (3) of this section are, for the purposes of this Part, taken to be a return provided under section 109E or 109G or a donation disclosure notice given under section 109GA (as the case may be).

If a person who is required to give particulars under subsection (3) considers that the person is unable to obtain some or all of the particulars, the person must give to the Electoral Commission a written notice:

A person who complies with subsection (5) must not, because of the omission of particulars required under subsection (3), be taken, for the purpose of this Part, to have given a return, or donation disclosure notice, that is incomplete.

If the Electoral Commissioner is satisfied that a return under the Commissioner may amend the return or donation disclosure notice to the extent necessary to correct the error or remove the defect.section 109E or 109G, or a donation disclosure notice under section 109GA, contains a formal error or is subject to a formal defect,

A person who has given a return or donation disclosure notice under this Part may request the permission of the Electoral Commission to make a specified amendment of the return or donation disclosure notice for the purpose of correcting an error or omission.

A request under subsection (2) must:

If:

If the Electoral Commission decides to refuse a request under subsection (2), the Commission must give to the person making the request written notice of the reasons for the decision.

An officer authorised for the purpose by the Electoral Commission may exercise the power of the Commission under subsection (4).

If an officer acting under subsection (6) decides to refuse a request under subsection (2):

Where a request is made under subsection (7), the Electoral Commission must review the decision to which the request relates and make a fresh decision.

The amendment of a return or donation disclosure notice under this section does not affect whether a civil penalty order may be made against a person because of a contravention of a civil penalty provision in this Part arising out of the giving of the return or donation disclosure notice.

The Electoral Commission must, as soon as practicable after the voting day for a referendum, prepare and give to the Minister a report of the operation of this Part in relation to that referendum.

A report under subsection (1) in relation to a referendum must include a list of the names of all persons or entities who, in the opinion of the Electoral Commission, are or may be required to give a return under section 109G in relation to that referendum.

The Electoral Commission may prepare and give to the Minister, otherwise than under subsection (1), such reports on the operation of this Part as the Electoral Commission thinks appropriate.

Subject to section 109Z, the Electoral Commission must include in any report referred to in this section particulars of the operation of section 109N since the preparation of the last report referred to in this section that included particulars of the operation of section 109N.

(5) Section 34C of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 does not apply in relation to a report under subsection (1) of this section.

The Minister must cause a copy of a report given under subsection (1) or (3) to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the day on which the Minister receives the report.

A report referred to in this section need not include particulars of a matter if those particulars have been included in an earlier report referred to in this section.

This section applies if a notice is given under section 109N to a person whose name is included in a list in a report mentioned in subsection 109Y(2).

A report referred to in section 109Y must not include particulars of any information given or contained in documents produced in compliance with the notice under section 109N, unless, in the opinion of the Electoral Commission, the information relates to a contravention or potential contravention of a civil penalty provision in this Act.