Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918

A person who is nominating for election as a Senator or a member of the House of Representatives:

may provide to the Electoral Commissioner, together with the nomination of the person (and not otherwise), the following additional documents:

documents providing particulars of the person’s Australian citizenship;

documents providing particulars that the person is satisfied support the person’s contention that the person is not disqualified or incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a Senator or member of the House of Representatives by reason of section 44 of the Constitution or this Act;

documents providing particulars as specified in the qualification checklist; and

if the person contends that the person has renounced citizenship, or lost the status as a subject or citizen, of another country—must provide to the Electoral Commissioner, together with the nomination, one or more documents that the person is satisfied supports the person’s contention.

See also sections 181A to 181C (publication and delivery to the Parliament, and certain laws do not apply).

A person may commit an offence under section 137.1 or 137.2 of the Criminal Code if the person provides a document under this subsection that the person knows is false or misleading.

Documents provided under subsection (1) must:

be able to be uploaded, or published electronically or on a website; and

if the Electoral Commissioner determines an electronic format under subsection (9)—be in that format.

Before a person provides a document under subsection (1), the person:

may omit, redact or delete from the document any information that the person does not wish to be published under section 181A or delivered to a House of the Parliament under section 181B; and

if the person does so—must indicate in the document, or in the manner (if any) determined under subsection (9), that information has been omitted, redacted or deleted; and

if the Electoral Commissioner has determined under subsection (9) a manner for omitting, redacting or deleting the information—must do so in that manner and only that manner.

The address of a person whose address is not shown on the Roll for a Subdivision under section 104 may be included in a document published or to be published under section 181A only if:

the person is the person who provides the document, and the person’s address is not shown on the Roll at the time the document is provided; or

the person has consented to the publication of the address.

A document published under section 181A includes the qualification checklist.

The Electoral Commissioner must delete an address, from a document published or to be published under section 181A, if the Electoral Commissioner becomes aware that:

the address of a person has been included in the document in contravention of subsection (4); or

the person’s address has been deleted from the Roll since the document was provided.

The Electoral Commissioner may omit, redact or delete, from a document published or to be published under section 181A, any information that the Electoral Commissioner is satisfied on reasonable grounds is unreasonable, unacceptable, inappropriate or offensive.

Subsections (5) and (6) apply in relation to a document that has been published only while the document is published on the Electoral Commission’s website.

The Electoral Commissioner is not:

under a duty to determine whether an address has been included in a document in contravention of subsection (4); or

permitted to omit, redact or delete any information from a document published or to be published under section 181A other than in accordance with subsection (5) or (6) of this section.

The Electoral Commissioner may determine, in writing:

an electronic format for the purposes of paragraph (2)(b); or

a manner for the purposes of paragraph (3)(b) or (c).

A determination under subsection (9) is not a legislative instrument.