Electoral Act 1992

There are 3 kinds of polling booths—

ordinary polling booths; and

mobile polling booths; and

pre-poll voting offices.

An ordinary polling booth is a building or other structure, or a part of a building or other structure, that the commission arranges to be available on polling day in relation to an election for the purpose of enabling electors in general to vote.

A mobile polling booth is—

an institution declared under subsection (4) to be a mobile polling booth; or

a building, structure, vehicle or other place declared under subsection (8) to be a mobile polling booth.

If the commission considers that patients or residents of an institution should be able to vote at the institution, the commission may declare the institution to be a mobile polling booth for the election.

The commission may require an issuing officer visiting an institution declared under subsection (4) to present how-to-vote cards to electors at the institution and present the cards in a particular way.

The issuing officer must comply with the requirement.

If the commission declares the institution to be a mobile polling booth, the person in charge of the institution must allow access by members of the commission’s staff, and by patients, residents or inmates of the institution, for the purpose of enabling voting to take place at the election.

If the commission considers an area is too remote to have enough electors to establish an ordinary polling booth, the commission may—

arrange for a building, structure, vehicle or other place to be available as a mobile polling booth for electors in the area to vote at the election; and

declare the building, structure, vehicle or other place to be a mobile polling booth for the election.

The commission, a returning officer or an issuing officer may change the arrangements made under subsection (8) at any time.

If the arrangements are changed, the commission, returning officer or issuing officer must take the steps that are practical and appropriate to give public notice of the changed arrangements.

The result of the election is not invalidated only because an issuing officer failed to visit a mobile polling booth as arranged.

A declaration made under subsection (4) or (8) must state—

the electoral districts for which electors may make an ordinary vote at the mobile polling booth; and

the days, during the period that starts 11 days before polling day and ends at 6p.m. on polling day, when electors may vote at the mobile polling booth; and

the voting hours for the mobile polling booth on those days.

The commission must publish a declaration made under subsection (4) or (8), and otherwise advertise the information stated in the declaration about the mobile polling booths, in the ways the commission considers appropriate, including, for example, on the commission’s website.