Referendums Act 1997

An elector must not—

fail to vote at a referendum without a valid and sufficient excuse; or

contravene section 44(2); or

state anything to the commission or the commission’s staff under section 44 the person knows is false or misleading in a material particular.

Maximum penalty—1 penalty unit.

Without limiting subsection (1)(a), if an elector believes it to be part of the elector’s religious duty not to vote at a referendum, that is a valid and sufficient excuse for failing to vote at a referendum.

A person may be prosecuted for an offence against subsection (1)(a) only if the person has been sent a notice about the referendum under section 44.

In a proceeding for an offence against subsection (1)(a), a certificate purporting to be signed by a member of the commission’s staff stating any of the following matters is evidence of the matter—

a referendum happened on a stated day;

an elector failed to vote at the referendum;

a notice was sent by the commission to the elector under section 44 on a stated day;

a form mentioned in section 44(1) was not received by the commission from the elector by the day stated under the subsection.

If a form is not received by the commission from the elector by the day stated under section 44(1), it is evidence the elector failed to vote at the referendum without a valid and sufficient excuse.

If a form is received by the commission about the elector’s compliance with section 44, statements in the form purporting to be made by—

the elector are evidence as statements made by the elector; and

another elector under section 44(3), are evidence as statements made by the other elector.

Subsection (1)(a) does not apply to an Antarctic elector.

For the Justices Act 1886, section 139, the place where an offence against subsection (1)(a) is committed is taken to be the office of the returning officer for the electoral district for which the elector was enrolled for the referendum.