Enrolment for Referendum '99

When a referendum is announced there is a short period of time for people to ensure they are correctly enrolled before the rolls close. This period is seven days from the issue of the writ. The writ for the 1999 Referendum was issued on 1 October, therefore the rolls for the 1999 Referendum closed on 8 October at 8.00pm.

All Australian citizens, aged 18 years and over are required to enrol for federal elections and referendums. 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 eligible to vote if their 18th birthday falls on or before polling day. Voting is compulsory for eligible electors.

At the close of rolls for the 1999 referendum there were 12 361 694 eligible Australian electors.

Close of Rolls Figures

State/Territory	As at 8 October 1999
New South Wales	4 133 205
Victoria	3 161 187
Queensland	2 221 830
Western Australia	1 171 754
South Australia	1 027 992
Tasmania	325 826
Australian Capital Territory	211 975
Nothern Territory	107 925
AUSTRALIA	12 361 694

Enrolment figures by Federal Division are detailed on pages 2 and 3 of this Newsfile. These figures were calculated at the close of rolls and include those provisionally enrolled electors who will turn 18 on or before the close of polling on 6 November 1999.

Close of Rolls Figures at Previous Elections
State / Territory	1998	1996	1993	1990*
New South Wales	4 031 749	3 926 293	3 793 616	3 607 349
Victoria	3 056 887	2 954 596	2 925 654	2 766 263
Queensland	2 177 556	2 082 451	1 970 226	1 795 406
Western Australia	1 140 845	1 077 647	1 035 381	978 147
South Australia	1 006 398	989 885	1 014 648	963 686
Tasmania	329 751	325 750	327 879	307 846
Australian Capital Territory	208 684	200 828	190 458	169 531
Northern Territory	104 755	97 740	91 105	78 647
AUSTRALIA	12 056 625	11 655 190	11 348 967	10 666 875
* These figures do not include provisionally enrolled electors who turned 18 by polling day.

Divisional enrolment figures at close of rolls

NEW SOUTH WALES
Banks	80 171
Barton	83 671
Bennelong	84 889
Berowra	87 165
Blaxland	80 957
Bradfield	81 621
Calare	78 707
Charlton	87 612
Chifley	83 601
Cook	81 137
Cowper	80 379
Cunningham	77 626
Dobell	85 997
Eden-Monaro	79 630
Farrer	74 602
Fowler	92 752
Gilmore	81 217
Grayndler	86 257
Greenway	88 330
Gwydir	73 368
Hughes	89 513
Hume	75 643
Hunter	77 320
Kingsford-Smith	80 382
Lindsay	85 631
Lowe	83 573
Lyne	84 154
Macarthur	95 964
Mackellar	83 307
Macquarie	83 379
Mitchell	85 978
Newcastle	78 283
New England	74 612
North Syndey	89 164
Page	80 648
Parkes	78 167
Parramatta	79 819
Paterson	84 011
Prospect	79 001
Reid	83 040
Richmond	90 003
Riverina	80 354
Robertson	82 434
Shortland	80 484
Sydney	90 822
Throsby	80 106
Warringah	79 999
Watson	81 665
Wentworth	82 518
Werriwa	83 542
NSW Total	4 133 205
VICTORIA
Aston	87 800
Ballarat	83 756
Batman	89 122
Bendigo	85 590
Bruce	86 191
Burke	84 054
Calwell	92 338
Casey	82 700
Chisholm	86 220
Corangamite	82 429
Corio	84 178
Deakin	84 713
Dunkley	84 022
Flinders	86 358
Gellibrand	85 449
Gippsland	82 338
Goldstein	89 701
Higgins	87 325
Holt	84 685
Hotham	89 415
Indi	84 185
Isaacs	81 240
Jagajaga	87 955
Kooyong	86 516
Lalor	84 494
La Trobe	83 153
McEwen	84 723
McMillan	83 491
Mallee	81 554
Maribyrnong	83 748
Melbourne	92 531
Melbourne Ports	85 088
Menzies	83 389
Murray	84 538
Scullin	86 090
Wannon	82 022
Wills	88 086
VIC Total	3 161 187
QUEENSLAND
Blair	74 718
Bowman	82 018
Brisbane	90 855
Capricornia	80 054
Dawson	85 427
Fadden	80 888
Fairfax	78 112
Fisher	78 685
Forde	78 505
Griffith	88 600
Groom	81 750
Herbert	85 434
Kennedy	84 270
Leichhardt	79 726
Lilley	86 070
Longman	77 895
McPherson	86 148
Maranoa	83 108
Moncrief	83 500
Moreton	86 034
Oxley	80 345
Petrie	85 861
Rankin	79 599
Ryan	84 983
Wide Bay	78 301
QLD Total	2 221 830
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Brand	80 040
Canning	81 586
Cowan	79 253
Curtin	86 191
Forrest	84 734
Fremantle	86 155
Kalgoorlie	82 471
Moore	81 247
O'Connor	84 200
Pearce	83 979
Perth	85 709
Stirling	86 137
Swan	84 421
Tangney	85 631
WA Total	1 171 754
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Adelaide	86 234
Barker	86 117
Bonython	83 613
Boothby	89 330
Grey	86 980
Hindmarsh	84 350
Kingston	83 077
Makin	87 257
Mayo	83 634
Port Adelaide	86 391
Sturt	85 702
Wakefield	85 307
SA Total	1 027 992
TASMANIA
Bass	64 642
Braddon	61 527
Denison	65 979
Franklin	65 421
Lyons	68 257
TAS Total	325 826
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Canberra	105 871
Fraser	106 104
ACT Total	211 975
NORTHERN TERRITORY
Northern Territory	107 925
NT Total	107 925
AUSTRALIA
National Total	12 361 694

Please note: these figures include 7 676 provisional electors who will turn 18 between the close of rolls on 8 October 1999 and the close of polling on Saturday 6 November 1999 for the 1999 Referendum.

Key Dates:

Official Announcement: 12 August 1999

Joint media release issued by the Attorney General and the Special Minister of State.

Issue of Writ: Friday 1 October 1999

The issue of the Writ triggers the referendum process. It is a document directing that a referendum be held and contains dates for the close of rolls, the day of voting (which must be a Saturday) and the return of the Writ.

The Writ was issued by the Governor General.

Close of rolls: Friday 8 October 1999

Electors had until 8pm, seven days after the Writ was issued to enrol or to update their details on the Commonwealth electoral roll.

Polling day: Saturday 6 November 1999

The day on which the majority of electors cast their vote at a polling place. It must be not less than 33 days and not more than 58 days after the issue of the Writ.

Return of the Writ: Sunday 9 January 2000 The Writ, with the results of the referendum, must be returned to the Governor General by this date.

AEC Contacts

Central Office

Electoral Commissioner (02) 6271 4400
Bill Gray

Deputy Electoral Commissioner (02) 6271 4410
Andy Becker

Director, Information (02) 6271 4415
Brien Hallett

Assistant Director, Information (02) 6271 4431
Silvana Puizina

Editor, Newsfile (02) 6271 4505
Margaret Meneghel

National Enquiry Sevice
13 23 26 from anywhere in Australia for the cost of a local call.

State/Territory Head Offices
The administration of the 1999 referendum 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 temporarliy appointed for each referendum.

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
A/g Alex Stanelos Ph. (03) 6235 0500 Fx. (03) 6234 4268 Northern Territory
A/g Kathy Mitchell Ph. (08) 8982 8000 Fx. (08) 8981 7964