Referendums Act 1997

The following persons are the only persons who are entitled to vote at a referendum—

persons enrolled on the electoral roll for an electoral district;

persons who are not enrolled, but are entitled to be enrolled on the electoral roll for an electoral district because of the Electoral Act 1992, section 64(1)(a)(ii);

persons whose names are not on the electoral roll for an electoral district because of official error;

persons who—

are not enrolled on the electoral roll for any electoral district but are entitled under the Electoral Act 1992 to be enrolled on the electoral roll for an electoral district; and

after 6p.m. on the cut-off day for electoral rolls for the referendum and no later than 6p.m. on the day before the polling day, give the commission or an electoral registrar for the district a notice under the Electoral Act 1992, section 65.

However, a person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention of 1 year or longer is not entitled to vote at a referendum.

Also, a person is not entitled to vote more than once at a referendum.

For subsection (2), a person is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention only if—

the person is in detention on a full-time basis for an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory; and

the detention is attributable to the sentence of imprisonment or detention concerned.

Also, for subsection (2), any part of a sentence of detention that a person is serving as a term of imprisonment is taken to be attributable to the sentence of detention.

To enable the commission to decide the persons who are not entitled to vote because of subsection (2), the commission may ask—

the chief executive (corrective services) to give the commission information about persons who are serving sentences or terms of imprisonment for offences against a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or

the chief executive (youth justice) to give the commission information about persons aged at least 18 years who—

are serving a sentence of detention; or

were serving a sentence of detention of 1 year or longer and have been transferred to serve the sentence as a term of imprisonment.

The chief executive must give the commission the information as soon as practicable after receiving the request.

Subsection (7) has effect despite the provisions of any other Act that would otherwise permit or require the chief executive to refuse the commission’s request.