5 October 2001

There may be more than four weeks until polling day but there is only a week until the rolls for Election 2001 close.

The Electoral Commissioner, Mr Andy Becker, said today that electors only had until 8pm Monday 15 October to make sure that they are correctly enrolled.

"The announcement of an election acts as a reminder to a lot of people who haven't yet enrolled to fill out an enrolment form," Mr Becker said.

"Most of these are young, first time voters who haven't got around to enrolling."

But by far the largest group of people who will contact the Electoral Commission over the coming days, will be people who have changed address and have forgotten to update their enrolment.

Everyone needing to check their enrolment can ring the AEC from Monday on 13 23 26 between 8am and 8pm 7 days a week local time.

At the 1998 Election there were 12 154 050 million people on the Commonwealth electoral roll. Currently there are approximately 12 500 000 million people on the roll. This figure may change significantly by the close of rolls.

Enrolment forms are available from Post Offices, AEC offices or they can be printed from the AEC website at www.aec.gov.au.

Completed cards must be received by the AEC by 8pm on 15 October 2001.

Enrolling and voting in federal elections are compulsory for all Australian citizens 18 years or older.

Further information:

Brien Hallett Asst Commissioner Information & Research Ph. (02) 6271 4477 Mobile 0413 274 798

Anthea Wilson Director Information Ph. (02) 6271 4415 Mobile 0413 452 539

2001 Federal Election Backgrounder

Federal Election Timetable

The announcement of an election signals the start of a period of frenetic activity for the Australian Electoral Commission. Usually there is just over a month between the announcement and polling day itself.

The election timetable is determined by the Constitution and the Commonwealth Electoral Act.

KEY DATES

The key dates in an election period are:

Announcement of Election:The Prime Minister announces the dissolution of Parliament and the intention to hold an election.

Issue of Writs:This is the official trigger for the AEC to conduct an election and writs must be issued within 10 days of the dissolution of Parliament.

The Governor in each State (and the Governor-General for the Territories) issues a writ for the Senate election to the Australian Electoral Officer for that State or Territory.

The Governor-General issues eight writs to the Electoral Commissioner for the House of Representatives, that is one writ for the elections in each State and Territory.

Close of Rolls:The rolls close at 8pm, between 7 and 17 days after the issue of the writs and eligible electors have until this date to ensure that they are correctly enrolled. Only those listed on the roll at the close of rolls will be able to vote in the election.

Close of Nominations:Candidates can nominatefor electiononce the writs have been issued up until the close of nominations date. Nominations close at 12 noon, between 10 and 27 days after the issue of the writs.

Declaration of Nominations:The nominations are publicly declared 24 hours after the close of nominations and are followed by a draw for ballot paper positions.

Polling Day:This is the day that eligible electors can have their say by voting. Polling day must be a Saturday and at least 33 days, but not more than 58 days, after the issue of the writs. More than 7775 polling places around Australian will be open between 8am and 6pm. on polling day.

Return of Writs: The writs must be returned within 100 days of their issue.

Meeting of Parliament: The new Parliament must meet within 30 days of the return of the writs.

2001 Election Timetable

Announcement of Election	5 October , 2001
Issue of Writs	8 October, 2001
Close of Rolls	8pm, Monday 15 October 2001
Close of Nominations	12 noon, Thursday 18 October 2001
Declaration of Nominations	12 noon, Friday 19 October 2001
Polling Day	Saturday, 10 November 2001
Return of Writs	By Wednesday, 16 January 2002

The Election Timetable

Election timetable according to the Constitution and Commonwealth Electoral Act

Expiry or dissolution of Parliament		Minimum.........Maximum No of days.......No. of days
Issue of writs Writs are issued within 10 days of dissolution of House of Representatives (Constitution s.12, 32) (s.151 of the Act)		0 days	10 days
Close of rolls Rolls close at 8pm, 7 days after issue of writs (s.155 of the Act)		7 days	17 days
Close of nominations Nominations close at 12 noon, between 10 & 27 days after issue of writs (s.156 of the Act)		10 days	37 days
Declaration of nominations Declaration of nominations is 24 hours after nominations close (s.176 of the Act)		11 days	38 days
Polling day Polling day is fixed between 23 & 31 days after the date of nominations (s.157 of the Act)		33 days	68 days
Return of writs Writs must be returned within 100 days of their issue (s.159 of the Act)			110 days
Meeting of Parliament New Parliament meets within 30 days of the day appointed for the return of the writs (s.5 of the Constitution)			140 days

Note: The House of Representatives expires three years after its first meeting but can be dissolved earlier (s.28 of the Constitution). Senators for the States serve terms of six years which are staggered so that half of the 72 Senators retire every three years. The terms of Senators for the Territories coincide with those of the members of the House of Representatives.