who gets to vote at elections in australia
Electoral system of Australia Australian citizens over 18 years of age are required to enroll if they have lived at their current address for at least one month. Special rules apply to citizens going or living outside the country,[3] to military personnel and to prisoners, all of which do not reside at their normal residential address for electoral purposes. Homeless people or those otherwise with no fixed address have a particular problem with registration, not having a current address to give. Enrolment has been compulsory for federal elections since 1912. Enrolment is optional for 16 or 17 year olds but they cannot vote until they turn 18.[4] Enrolment is voluntary for residents of Norfolk Island. Residents in Australia who had been enrolled as British subjects in 1984 (ie., are non-citizens) can continue to be enrolled. (These comprise about 9% of the electoral roll.)
Government of Australia The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states. The terms of this contract are embodied in the Australian Constitution, which was drawn up at a Constitutional Convention and ratified by the people of the colonies at referendums. The Australian head of state is the Queen of Australia who is represented by the Governor-General of Australia,[1][2][3][4][5] with executive powers delegated by constitutional convention to the Australian head of government, the Prime Minister of Australia.