Western Australian Current Acts

ELECTORAL ACT 1907 - SECT 4

4 .         Terms used

        (1)         In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —

        above-the-line square , in relation to a ballot paper for a Council election, means a square that is printed on the ballot paper under section 94D(6)(b)(ii);

        absent voter means any person who votes under section 97A(2);

        accountable person , for a how-to-vote card, means —

            (a)         the person who is named under section 89C(4)(d) in the application for the how-to-vote card; or

            (b)         the person who is the accountable person for the how-to-vote card under section 89H(2); or

            (c)         if paragraphs (a) and (b) do not apply and the card is distributed on behalf of a political party — the secretary of the party; or

            (d)         in any other case — the distributor of the how-to-vote card identified in the application for the how-to-vote card under section 89C(4)(b);

        amalgamated roll has the meaning given in section 76AD(1);

        approved form means a form that —

            (a)         is approved by the Electoral Commissioner; and

            (b)         has been published by the Electoral Commissioner by any means (including on the Commission website) that the Electoral Commissioner thinks fit;

        Assembly means the Legislative Assembly;

        assistant returning officer means an assistant returning officer appointed under section 141(5);

        Australian citizen has the meaning given in the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Commonwealth) section 4;

        below-the-line square , in relation to a ballot paper for a Council election that has at least 1 above-the-line square printed on the ballot paper, means a square that is printed on the ballot paper under section 94D(6)(a);

        business day means a day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday;

        candidate , in Parts II and VII, includes any person who, within 3 months before polling day in an election, publicly announces that they will be a candidate in the election;

        close of nominations means the time a writ fixes under section 69(a) for an election;

        close of the roll means the time stated in section 69A;

        Commission website means a website maintained by or on behalf of the Electoral Commissioner;

        conjoint election means a general election for the Council and the Assembly that both have the same polling day pursuant to writs issued on the same day;

        constitution , in relation to a political party, means a written set of principles and rules (however described) under which the party is governed;

        Council means the Legislative Council;

        Council ballot paper means a ballot paper used in a Council election;

        Council election means a general election or other election for the Council;

        counting place means —

            (a)         a polling place that is a counting place under section 141(1); or

            (b)         a place appointed to be a counting place under section 141(2);

        Deputy Electoral Commissioner means the person holding or acting in the office of Deputy Electoral Commissioner referred to in section 5A;

        designated entrance , for a mobile voting place or polling place, means an entrance designated under section 93A(1) or (2);

        disclose includes to give and give access to;

        district means an electoral district for the election of a member of the Assembly;

        early polling place means a polling place appointed under section 90(1)(c)(i) as a place at which a person may vote in an election on an early voting day for the election;

        early voting days , for an election, means the early voting days for the election fixed under section 91;

        elected member means a member of the Council or the Assembly;

        election means a Council election or an election in a district;

        election campaign worker —

            (a)         means a person who works or volunteers for a candidate, group or political party at a place to vote or a counting place; and

            (b)         includes a scrutineer;

        election year , in relation to a periodic election, means the year in which the writ for the periodic election is issued;

        elector means a person who is enrolled;

        Note for this definition:

                Under section 17AA(2), a person who is entitled to be enrolled under section 17AA(1) is taken not to be an elector until the person attains 18 years of age.

        electoral address , in relation to an elector, means the address entered on the register of electors under section 40A(c) or (d) in relation to the elector;

        Electoral Commissioner means the Electoral Commissioner appointed under this Act;

        endorsed candidate means a candidate in an election who has been endorsed by a political party;

        Note for this definition:

                See also subsection (4C).

        enrolled has the meaning given in section 40A;

        Note for this definition:

                See also subsection (4B) in relation to persons enrolled in the district.

        enrolment information means —

            (a)         a register extract; or

            (b)         information on the register; or

            (c)         a roll; or

            (d)         other information relating to electors;

        enrolment officer means an officer who the Electoral Commissioner directs to enrol persons on the register of electors and perform the other functions of an enrolment officer;

        error notice has the meaning given in section 89F(2);

        expiry year means a year in which an Assembly, if it is not previously dissolved, will expire by effluxion of time;

        general election —

            (a)         in relation to the Assembly, means the elections in the districts the writ for which is issued under section 64(1) or (2);

            (b)         in relation to the Council, means the election for the Council the writ for which is issued under section 64(3);

        general postal voter has the meaning given in section 61(1);

        group means a group constituted in accordance with section 80;

        how-to-vote card has the meaning given in section 89A;

        illegal practices has the meaning given in section 187(1);

        issuing officer means each of the following persons —

            (a)         the Electoral Commissioner;

            (b)         the Deputy Electoral Commissioner;

            (c)         a returning officer;

            (d)         a person appointed under section 15;

            (e)         a person employed in the Western Australian Electoral Commission;

            (f)         a person appointed to be an issuing officer under section 92A;

        lack of capacity notice has the meaning given in section 206A(3);

        mental impairment means any of, or a combination of, the following —

            (a)         an intellectual disability;

            (b)         a mental illness as defined in The Criminal Code section 1(1);

            (c)         an acquired brain injury;

            (d)         dementia;

        mobile voting officer , for a mobile voting place, means the presiding officer and other officer appointed for the mobile voting place under section 90D(1);

        mobile voting place means a place appointed as a mobile voting place under section 90(1)(d) or (e);

        mobile voting times , for a mobile voting place, means the times decided under section 90D(3)(b) for the mobile voting place;

        non-party candidate means a candidate in an election who is not an endorsed candidate;

        officer includes all persons appointed to any office under this Act or in the Western Australian Electoral Commission, or exercising any power or discharging any duty under this Act;

        official agent has the meaning given in section 4AA;

        official paper has the meaning given in section 94A(2);

        parliamentary party means a political party of which at least 1 member is a member of the Council or the Assembly;

        periodic election means —

            (a)         a general election for the Assembly the writ for which is issued under section 64(2); or

            (b)         any general election for the Council;

        permitted purpose means —

            (a)         for a member of the Council or the Assembly —

                  (i)         performing the member’s functions; or

                  (ii)         a purpose connected with an election or referendum; or

                  (iii)         monitoring the accuracy of information in the register of electors or a roll; or

                  (iv)         researching in relation to electoral matters;

                and

            (b)         for a parliamentary party —

                  (i)         assisting a member of the Council or the Assembly to perform the member’s functions; or

                  (ii)         a purpose connected with an election or referendum; or

                  (iii)         monitoring the accuracy of information in the register of electors or a roll; or

                  (iv)         researching in relation to electoral matters;

                and

            (c)         for a person to whom enrolment information is disclosed under section 62AC — the purpose for which the Electoral Commissioner agreed to disclose the enrolment information; and

            (d)         for a person employed in a department or an organisation referred to in section 62AD to whom enrolment information is disclosed under that section — performing functions of that department or organisation;

        place to vote means a polling place or mobile voting place;

        political party means —

            (a)         a body corporate or other body or organisation (not being a body corporate or other body or organisation described in paragraph (b)) having as one of the objects or activities of the body or organisation the promotion of the election to the Parliament of this State of an endorsed candidate; or

            (b)         the branch or division for this State of a body corporate or other body or organisation which —

                  (i)         is organised on a basis that includes this State and another State or Territory or other States or Territories; and

                  (ii)         has a branch or division for this State; and

                  (iii)         has as one of the objects or activities of the body or organisation the promotion of the election to the Parliament of this State of an endorsed candidate;

        Note for this definition:

                See also subsection (4D).

        polling day has the meaning given in section 69(b);

        polling place means any building or structure in which the polling at elections is appointed to take place under section 90(1)(a) or (b);

        postal ballot paper has the meaning given in section 100D(2)(a);

        postal voting means voting by means of a postal ballot paper;

        President means the President of the Legislative Council;

        presiding officer —

            (a)         for a polling place — means the person appointed as the presiding officer for the polling place under section 92C(1)(a); or

            (b)         for a mobile voting place — means the person appointed as the presiding officer for the mobile voting place under section 90D(1)(a);

        primary residential address , of a person, means the address of the person’s sole or principal place of residence;

        Note for this definition:

                See also subsections (4) and (4A).

        prison means a prison within the meaning of that expression as defined by section 3 of the Prisons Act 1981 ;

        referendum means the submission of a question to the electors pursuant to an Act but does not include an election under this Act, and a reference to an election being held on the same day as a referendum is a reference to the polling at an election being conducted on the day on which the votes of the electors are taken for the purposes of a referendum;

        register extract has the meaning given in section 62A(1);

        registered how-to-vote card means a how-to-vote card that is registered under Part IV Division 2A;

        registered officer , of a political party, means —

            (a)         the secretary of the party; or

            (b)         another person registered as a registered officer in the register of political parties;

        registered political party means a political party that is registered in the register of political parties;

        register of electors has the meaning given in section 19(1);

        register of political parties means the register kept under section 62D;

        Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages means the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages referred to in the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 section 5;

        relevant citizenship law means the Australian Citizenship Act 1948 ¹ of the Commonwealth, as amended and in force immediately before the day fixed by proclamation for the purposes of section 2(2) of the Australian Citizenship Amendment Act 1984 , of the Commonwealth, and the regulations in force immediately before that day under the Australian Citizenship Act 1948 of the Commonwealth ¹ , as so amended and in force;

        relevant number , in relation to a Council election, means the number of members of the Council that are to be returned at the election;

        returning officer means a returning officer appointed under section 6(1);

        Note for this definition:

                See also subsection (7).

        roll means a roll prepared for an election under section 76AA(1);

        scrutineer means a person appointed as a scrutineer under section 92F, 101D(1), 137(1), 146C or 156D(11);

        secretary , in relation to a political party, means —

            (a)         the person who holds the office of secretary or chief administrative officer (however described) of the party; or

            (b)         a person acting on behalf of the person mentioned in paragraph (a);

        silent elector means an elector —

            (a)         whose application to be a silent elector is granted under section 51B(3); and

            (b)         whose status as a silent elector is not revoked under section 51C(3);

        Note for this definition:

                A person who is enrolled under section 17AA(1) is taken, under section 17AA(2)(c), to be a silent elector until the person attains 18 years of age.

        single member election means —

            (a)         an election in a district; or

            (b)         a Council election where the relevant number is one;

        Speaker means the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly;

        suitable to be registered , in relation to a how-to-vote card, has the meaning given in section 89B;

        supplementary roll means a supplementary roll made under section 76AC(1);

        vote record has the meaning given in section 101B(1);

        voting area , in relation to a place to vote, means the voting area fixed under section 90(1)(f) for the place;

whole of State electorate has the meaning given in section 16C(1);

        writ means a writ directing the Electoral Commissioner to proceed with an election in a district, elections in all the districts or a Council election.

        (2)         A reference in this Act to a poll for a district or an election in or for a district is a reference to a poll or an election for the return by a district of a member of the Assembly.

        (3)         A reference in this Act to a poll or election for the Council is a reference to a poll or election for the return by the whole of State electorate of a member or members, as the case may require, of the Council but does not include the election of a member of the Council under sections 156C and 156D.

        (4)         A reference in this Act to a person living within a district is a reference to the person’s primary residential address being in the district, even if the person is not always living in the district.

        (4A)         A reference in this Act to a person’s primary residential address in relation to a person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment for an offence or is otherwise in lawful custody or detention in relation to an offence —

            (a)         is a reference to the person’s primary residential address before the person’s imprisonment, custody or detention; and

            (b)         is not a reference to the place of imprisonment, custody or detention.

        (4B)         For the purposes of this Act, a person is enrolled for a district if the person’s electoral address is in the district.

        (4C)         In this Act —

            (a)         a reference to an endorsed candidate of a political party includes a reference to a candidate endorsed by a body or organisation of which the party forms part or by a division of the party; and

            (b)         a reference to the endorsement by a political party of a candidate or group in an election includes a reference to the endorsement of that candidate or group by a body or organisation of which the party forms part or by a division of the party.

        (4D)         A reference in this Act to a political party, other than a reference to an endorsed candidate of the party or the endorsement by the party of a candidate or group in an election, does not include a reference to a part of the party.

        (5)         A reference in this Act to the functions of the Electoral Commissioner or the Deputy Electoral Commissioner is a reference to the person’s functions under this Act and other written laws.

        (6)         A reference in this Act to the functions of a returning officer is a reference to the returning officer’s functions under this Act.

        (7)         A reference in this Act to the returning officer, without reference to the returning officer being for the whole of State electorate or a district, is a reference to —

            (a)         in relation to an election in a district — the returning officer for the district; or

            (b)         in relation to a Council election — the returning officer for the whole of State electorate.

        (8)         A reference in this Act to a Commonwealth subdivision is —

            (a)         a reference to a Subdivision as defined in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 section 4(1); or

            (b)         a reference to a Division as defined in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 section 4(1) that is not divided into Subdivisions under that Act.

        [Section 4 amended: No. 44 of 1911 s. 2; No. 63 of 1948 s. 3; No. 34 of 1953 s. 2; No. 51 of 1962 s. 2; No. 33 of 1964 s. 4; No. 68 of 1964 s. 3; No. 28 of 1970 s. 3; No. 39 of 1979 s. 4 and 5; No. 9 of 1983 s. 3 and 29; No. 54 of 1983 s. 2; No. 66 of 1983 s. 3; No. 104 of 1985 s. 3; No. 40 of 1987 s. 17 and 84; No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 43 of 1996 s. 4; No. 36 of 2000 s. 4, 28(1), 43, 62, 67 and 82; No. 64 of 2006 s. 13; No. 7 of 2009 s. 4; No. 49 of 2011 s. 4; No. 35 of 2012 s. 4; No. 14 of 2016 s. 4; No. 20 of 2021 s. 10 and 94; No. 30 of 2023 s. 4.]