Elections
Australia has been a pioneer in election law. The secret ballot, generally called the Australian ballot, was first introduced in Victoria in 1855, and South Australia granted women the right to vote in 1892. Women also made dramatic gains in representation, particularly since 1990. In modern elections, all citizens at least 18 years of age are eligible to vote. Voting itself is compulsory (with the exception of elections to South Australia’s Legislative Council), and nearly all citizens cast ballots in elections.
Retrieved from: Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). Australia. Britannica School. Retrieved November 14, 2025, from https://school-eb-com-au.db.scotch.wa.edu.au/levels/high/article/Australia/110544#228700-toc
Annabel Crabb’s Civic Duty - S01 E01
This series begins with one of the enduring oddities of the Australian electoral system - preferential voting. Vaunted by mathematicians and theorists as a fairer way of voting. Adopted, uniquely, by Australia in 1918.
Retrieved from: Annabel Crabb’s Civic Duty S1 • E1 - Fairness. (2019). ClickView. https://clickv.ie/w/MFl4
Retrieved from: That's Pretty Cool. (2022, April 24). How Voting In Australia Works (and why Australian elections are the best in the world). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaNSlWU0gdA
Retrieved from: AEC TV. (2025, January 22). Your vote is important (and compulsory). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s091A8XcNh0
Retrieved from: Robert Menzies Institute. (2024, June 18). Chris Monnox on How Compulsory Voting Changed Elections | “Persuasion very much a secondary concern.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYOsoIgkuKk
