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Suffrage in Australia is the voting rights in the Commonwealth of Australia, its six component states (before 1901 called colonies) and territories, and local governments. The colonies of Australia began to grant universal male suffrage from 1856, with women's suffrage on equal terms following between the 1890s and 1900s.
In Australia, voter registration is called enrolment, which is a prerequisite for voting at federal elections, by-elections and referendums. Enrolment is compulsory for Australian citizens over 18 years of age who have lived at their current address for at least one month. [2]
Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories are broadly similar to the electoral system used in federal elections in Australia.. When the Australian colonies were granted responsible government in the 19th century, the constitutions of each colony introduced bicameral parliaments, each of which was based on the contemporaneous version of the Westminster system.
Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory and for local government councils. Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar principles, although there are minor variations between them.
Māori voting rights in Australia have an unusual history compared to voting rights for other non-white minorities. Male Māori Australians were first given the vote through the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 , which specifically limited voting enrollment to persons of European descent , and aboriginal natives of New Zealand , [ 1 ] in an ...
Australia is the world's sixth oldest continuous democracy and largely operates as a two-party system in which voting is compulsory. [1] [2] The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Australia a "full democracy" in 2022. [3] [needs update]
That Act also disqualified from voting a number of categories of people, including Indigenous peoples from Australia, Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands (except New Zealand Māori), even if citizens of the British Empire. A plurality voting system ("first-past-the-post") was established. The legislation also made it clear that no person could ...
Australia's first council elections were held with male suffrage in 1840, while parliamentary elections were first conducted for the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1843, with voting rights (for males only) tied to property ownership or financial