Victorian Current Acts

ELECTORAL ACT 2002 - SECT 3

In this Act—

"address" does not include a post-office box;

"Antarctica" means the Australian Antarctic Territory including—

        (a)     the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands; and

        (b)     Macquarie Island;

"Antarctic elector" means an elector who is, in the course of the elector's employment, in Antarctica on election day;

"Assembly" means the Legislative Assembly;

"authorised officer" means a person appointed to be an authorised officer for the purpose of issuing infringement notices under section 167;

S. 3 def. of authorised witness substituted by No. 30/2018 s. 3(1).

"authorised witness" means a person who—

        (a)     has attained 18 years of age; and

        (b)     is not a candidate at the election;

"ballot material" means ballot-papers, electoral rolls and electoral papers;

S. 3 def. of
by-election amended by No. 2/2003 s. 23(a).

"by-election" means an election at which a member of the Assembly is to be elected to fill the place of a member of the Assembly whose seat has become vacant otherwise than by the expiration or dissolution of the Assembly;

"candidate" means a person who is nominated under section 69 to stand for election to Parliament;

"Commission" means the Victorian Electoral Commission established under section 6;

"Commonwealth subdivision" means a subdivision of an electoral division for the election
of a member of the House of Representatives under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918;

S. 3 def. of composite name inserted by No. 30/2018 s. 3(2).

"composite name" means a name formed from the names of more than one registered political party;

S. 3 def. of contact person inserted by No. 13/2022 s. 18.

"contact person" means a person included on a nomination form under section 69(3)(bb);

S. 3 def. of corrupt conduct inserted by No. 82/2012 s. 172, amended by No. 82/2012 s. 307(a).

corrupt conduct has the meaning given in section 4 of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Act 2011 ;

"Council" means the Legislative Council;

S. 3 def. of Council election inserted by No. 2/2003 s. 23(e).

"Council election" means an election at which all the members of the Council have to be elected;

"declaration vote" means a vote on a ballot-paper marked under section 106, 108, 109 or  110;

district means electoral district;

S. 3 def. of election amended by No. 2/2003 s. 23(b).

"election" means—

        (a)     a general election; or

        (b)     a by-election; or

        (c)     a supplementary election; or

        (d)     a re-election;

"election day" means the day named as the election day in the writ for an election;

"elector" means a person whose name appears on the register of electors;

"electoral advertisement, handbill, pamphlet or notice" means an advertisement, handbill, pamphlet or notice that contains electoral matter, but does not include an advertisement in a newspaper announcing the holding of a meeting;

"electoral claim" means an application or declaration made under this Act;

Electoral Commissioner means the Electoral Commissioner appointed under section 12;

"electoral paper" includes any electoral claim and any prescribed form;

"electoral roll" means a list prepared under section 29 of the names and addresses of electors who are eligible to vote at a particular election;

"eligible overseas elector" means an elector who is enrolled under section 22(3);

"eligible political party" means a political party that is established on the basis of a written constitution (however described) that sets out the aims of the party and has at least 500 members who are—

        (a)     electors; and

        (b)     members in accordance with the rules of the political party; and

        (c)     not members of another registered political party or of a political party applying for registration;

"exit poll" means the canvassing of electors at large as to how they have voted at an election for the purpose of obtaining and publicly disseminating information about voting trends at the election;

S. 3 def. of general election inserted by No. 2/2003 s. 23(e).

"general election" means an election at which all the members of the Assembly and all the members of the Council have to be elected;

"general postal voter" means a person whose application to be a general postal voter is accepted under section 24;

"how-to-vote card" means any card, handbill, pamphlet or notice that—

        (a)     is or includes a representation or partial representation or purported representation or purported partial representation of a ballot-paper for use in an election; or

        (b)     lists the names of any or all of the candidates for an election with a number indicating an order of voting preference against the names of any or all of those candidates;

S. 3 def. of IBAC inserted by No. 82/2012 s. 172, amended by No. 82/2012 s. 307(b).

"IBAC "means the Independent Broad-based Anti‑corruption Commission established under section 12 of the Independent Broad‑based Anti-corruption Commission Act 2011 ;

S. 3 def. of IBAC personnel inserted by No. 82/2012 s. 172, amended by No. 31/2024 s. 113(Sch.  1 item 8).

"IBAC personnel" has the same meaning as it has in the Integrity Oversight Victoria Act 2011 ;

"infringement penalty" means the amount stated in an infringement notice issued under section 167 as payable in respect of the offence to which the notice relates;

itinerant elector means an itinerant elector who is enrolled under section 22(4);

S. 3 def. of mobile billboard inserted by No. 13/2022 s. 18.

"mobile billboard" means any billboard that is capable of being displayed while being transported by any means (including by a motor vehicle, utility vehicle, motorcycle or a person);

"name", in Parts 4 and 5, includes in respect of a political party—

        (a)     the full name of a political party; or

        (b)     the initials for, or acronym of, the full name of a political party; or

        (c)     the abbreviation of the full name of a political party;

"Order in Council" means an Order of the Governor in Council published in the Government Gazette;

"organisation" includes—

        (a)     a body corporate; or

        (b)     an association or other body of persons; or

        (c)     an association that consists of 2 or more organisations within the meaning of the preceding paragraphs; or

        (d)     a part of an organisation within the meaning of a preceding paragraph;

"part", in relation to an organisation, includes—

        (a)     a branch or division of the organisation; or

        (b)     a part of a part of the organisation;

S. 3 def. of police officer inserted by No. 37/2014 s. 10(Sch. item 50.1).

"police officer" has the same meaning as it has in the Victoria Police Act 2013 ;

"political party" means an organisation whose object or activity is to promote the election of a member of the party to Parliament;

"prescribed offence" means an offence specified in section 166(1) ;

"President" means the President of the Council and includes any person acting as the President of the Council;

"principal place of residence" includes the place of living to which a person, when temporarily living elsewhere, has a fixed intention of returning for the purpose of continuing to live at that place;

"printed electoral material" means an advertisement, handbill, pamphlet or notice that contains electoral matter;

S. 3 def. of province repealed by No. 2/2003 s. 23(c).

    *     *     *     *     *

"publish" means publish by any means including by publication on the Internet;

S. 3 def. of region inserted by No. 2/2003 s. 23(e).

"region" means electoral region;

"register of electors" means the register of electors for Victoria established and maintained under section 21 that contains the names and addresses of all electors and the particulars required under the Act;

Register of Political Parties means the Register of Political Parties established under section 43;

"registered how-to-vote card" means a how-to-vote card registered under section 77 or 79;

S. 3 def. of registered medical practitioner amended by No. 97/2005 s. 182(Sch. 4 item 17), substituted by No. 13/2010 s. 51(Sch. item 20).

"registered medical practitioner" means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law to practise in the medical profession (other than as a student);

"registered political party" means a political party that is registered under Part 4;

"relevant period", in relation to an election, means the period that—

        (a)     starts on the day a writ is issued for the election; and

        (b)     ends at 6 p.m. on election day.

"secretary", in relation to a political party, means the person who holds the office (however described) the duties of which involve responsibility for the carrying out of the administration, and for the conduct of the correspondence, of the party;

"silent elector" means an elector whose address is not on an electoral roll because of a request made under section 31;

S. 3 def. of simultaneous election repealed by No. 2/2003 s. 23(d).

    *     *     *     *     *

"Speaker" means the Speaker of the Assembly and includes any person acting as the Speaker of the Assembly;

"Tribunal" means the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal established under the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 ;

"voting centre" means a place appointed by the Commission for voting at an election as—

        (a)     an early voting centre;

        (b)     a mobile voting centre;

        (c)     an election day voting centre.

S. 3A inserted by No. 85/2004 s. 3.