Electoral enrolment

All Australian citizens, aged 18 years and over are required to enrol on the Commonwealth electoral roll. Voting is compulsory for eligible electors.

British subjects who were on the roll immediately before 26 January 1984 are also qualified to enrol and vote. People who are 17 may provisionally enrol and are able to vote if their 18th birthday falls on or before polling day.

When an election is announced, there is a short period of time for people to ensure that they are correctly enrolled before the close of rolls. This period is seven days from the issue of thewrit.

1998 Federal Election

The close of rolls for the 1998 federal election was 8pm on Monday 7 September. A person is entitled to vote if their name is on the list of electors which was taken from the Commonwealth electoral roll at the close of rolls.

CLOSE OF ROLLS FIGURES AT PREVIOUS ELECTIONS

State/Territory		1996	1993	1990*	1987*
New South Wales		3 926 293	3 793 616	3 607 349	3 555 060
Victoria		2 954 596	2 925 654	2 776 263	2 698 043
Queensland		2 082 451	1 970 226	1 795 406	1 707 161
Western Australia		1 077 647	1 035 381	978 147	906 677
South Australia		989 885	1 014 648	963 686	942 840
Tasmania		325 750	327 879	307 846	300 763
Australian Capital Territory		200 828	190 458	169 531	162 717
Northern Territory		97 740	91 105	78 647	79 921
AUSTRALIA		11 655 190	11 348 967	10 666 875	10 353 182
* These figures do not include provisional voters.

CLOSE OF ROLLS FIGURES

State/Territory		As at 8 pm 7, September 1998
New South Wales		4 031 749
Victoria		3 056 887
Queensland		2 177 556
Western Australia		1 140 845
South Australia		1 006 398
Tasmania		329 751
Australian Capital Territory		208 684
Northern Territory		104 755
AUSTRALIA		12 056 625

The enrolment figures by Federal Division are detailed on pages 2 and 3 of this Newsfile. These figures are calculated as at close of rolls 8pm, 7 September 1998 and also include those provisionally enrolled electors who will turn 18 on or before the close of polling on 3 October 1998.

Divisional enrolment figures at close of rolls

NEW SOUTH WALES
Banks	79 625
Barton	82 246
Bennelong	83 167
Berowra	85 439
Blaxland	79 703
Bradfield	80 330
Calare	77 137
Charlton	85 321
Chifley	81 116
Cook	79 763
Cowper	78 140
Cunningham	76 544
Dobell	81 849
Eden-Monaro	77 685
Farrer	74 336
Fowler	89 181
Gilmore	78 091
Grayndler	84 458
Greenway	85 391
Gwydir	72 185
Hughes	87 303
Hume	74 637
Hunter	76 193
Kingsford-Smith	79 447
Lindsay	83 254
Lowe	81 150
Lyne	81 300
Macarthur	90 862
Mackellar	80 498
Macquarie	80 920
Mitchell	82 196
Newcastle	77 327
New England	73 624
North Sydney	86 882
Page	79 045
Parkes	79 096
Parramatta	78 108
Paterson	81 181
Prospect	77 211
Reid	81 941
Richmond	86 664
Riverina	78 787
Robertson	79 596
Shortland	77 871
Sydney	85 433
Throsby	78 233
Warringah	78 089
Watson	80 891
Wentworth	81 620
Werriwa	80 683
NSW Total	4 031 749

VICTORIA
Aston	84 512
Ballarat	80 864
Batman	88 134
Bendigo	83 185
Bruce	84 224
Burke	79 448
Calwell	86 521
Casey	79 674
Chisholm	84 668
Corangamite	79 406
Corio	80 957
Deakin	82 874
Dunkley	81 059
Flinders	81 996
Gellibrand	84 159
Gippsland	80 364
Goldstein	86 544
Higgins	84 207
Holt	80 486
Hotham	87 626
Indi	81 461
Isaacs	78 670
Jagajaga	85 645
Kooyong	83 537
Lalor	80 548
La Trobe	78 699
McEwen	80 839
McMillan	81 120
Mallee	80 238
Maribyrnong	81 813
Melbourne	87 768
Melbourne Ports	82 231
Menzies	80 957
Murray	82 662
Scullin	82 622
Wannon	80 551
Wills	86 618
VIC Total	3 056 887

QUEENSLAND
Blair	73 981
Bowman	80 281
Brisbane	88 550
Capricornia	80 142
Dawson	83 390
Dickson	79 567
Fadden	79 030
Fairfax	75 761
Fisher	75 380
Forde	76 440
Griffith	86 005
Groom	79 852
Herbert	83 783
Hinkler	78 077
Kennedy	83 680
Leichhardt	79 568
Lilley	85 790
Longman	75 568
McPherson	81 916
Maranoa	82 555
Moncrieff	81 104
Moreton	85 297
Oxley	78 933
Petrie	84 261
Rankin	77 614
Ryan	83 255
Wide Bay	77 776
QLD Total	2 177 556

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Brand	76 733
Canning	79 456
Cowan	76 681
Curtin	84 985
Forrest	81 814
Fremantle	84 440
Kalgoorlie	81 901
Moore	76 988
O’Connor	83 227
Pearce	80 871
Perth	83 671
Stirling	84 376
Swan	82 649
Tangney	83 053
WA Total	1 140 845

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Adelaide	81 506
Barker	84 059
Bonython	77 783
Boothby	80 877
Grey	82 360
Hindmarsh	83 095
Kingston	87 886
Makin	89 182
Mayo	90 255
Port Adelaide	81 532
Sturt	79 306
Wakefield	88 557
SA Total	1 006 398

TASMANIA
Bass	65 833
Braddon	62 364
Denison	67 280
Franklin	65 680
Lyons	68 594
TAS Total	329 751

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Canberra	104 968
Fraser	103 716
ACT Total	208 684

NORTHERN TERRITORY
Northern Territory	104 755
NT Total	104 755

AUSTRALIA
National Total	12 056 625

Please note: these figures include 8958 provisional electors who will turn 18 between the close of rolls on Monday 7 September 1998 and the close of polling on Saturday 3 October 1998 for the 1998 federal election.

AEC contacts

Central Office

Electoral Commissioner:
Bill Gray (02) 6271 4400

Deputy Electoral Commissioner:
Andy Becker (02) 6271 4410

Director, Information:
Brien Hallett (02) 6271 4415

Assistant Directors, Information:
Bernadette O’Meara (02) 6271 4548
Ian Stringall (Acting) (02) 6271 4431

Editor, Newsfile:
Margaret Meneghel (02) 6271 4505

1998 Federal Election
KEY DATES

ISSUE OF WRIT	Monday 31 August 1998
CLOSE OF ROLLS	8.00 pm Monday 7 September 1998
CLOSE OF NOMINATIONS	12 noon Thursday 10 September 1998
DECLARATION OF NOMINATIONS	12 noon Friday 11 September 1998
POLLING DAY	8.00am - 6pm Saturday 3 October 1998
RETURN OF THE WRIT	Wednesday 9 December 1998

The AEC produces a range of information materials for candidates, journalists and other people interested in the electoral process. Some of the information materials available are:

A range of other AEC publications are available including:

1998 Electoral Atlas: a publication that details the characteristics of each federal division

Nominations Pamphlet: key facts for people considering standing for election

Candidates’ Handbook: information to assist candidates in the election

Scrutineers’ Handbook: information to assist scrutineers in the election

1998 Federal Electoral Boundaries Map

STATE /TERRITORIES

The administration of federal elections in each State and Territory is under the control of the Australian Electoral Officer (AEO) for that State or Territory. An AEO for the ACT is temporarily appointed for each election.

AEOs may be contacted on the following numbers.

New South Wales	Frances Howat Ph. (02) 9375 6333 Fx. (02) 9281 9384
Victoria	David Muffet Ph. (03) 9285 7171 Fx. (03) 9285 7178
Queensland	Bob Longland Ph. (07) 3834 3400 Fx. (07) 3831 7223
Western Australia	Andrew Moyes Ph. (08) 9470 7299 Fx. (08) 9472 3551
South Australia	Geoff Halsey Ph. (08) 8237 6555 Fx. (08) 8231 2664
Tasmania	Nick Tall Ph. (03) 6235 0500 Fx. (03) 6234 4268
Northern Territory	Kerry Heisner Ph. (08) 8981 1477 Fx. (08) 8981 7964
Australian Capital Territory	William Hogan Ph. (02) 6271 497 Fx. (02) 6271 560

Media Liason

Members of the media are asked to use the AEC Central and Head Office contact numbers listed above rather than the general enquiry line below which appears on AEC advertising.

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