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✶ Calendar · writs · polling days

Always
a Saturday.

Federal, state and territory elections are held on Saturdays. Five states and both territories fix their dates in law; Tasmania and the Commonwealth do not. The next federal election must be held by 23 September 2028.

2025 to 2030 · 18 polls

Every election
on the calendar.

2025

  1. Saturday 8 March 2025 · State · WA Western Australian state election Labor, Roger Cook. Labor 46, Liberal 7, National 6 of 59. WA Electoral Commission · secondary source
  2. Saturday 3 May 2025 · Federal · FED Federal election (House and half-Senate) Labor, Anthony Albanese. Labor 94, Liberal 18, Liberal National (Qld) 16, National 9, Greens 1, Katter's Australian 1, Centre Alliance 1, Independent 10 of 150. Australian Electoral Commission · source
  3. Saturday 19 July 2025 · State · TAS Tasmanian state election (snap) Liberal (minority), Jeremy Rockliff. Liberal 14, Labor 10, Greens 5, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers 1, Independent 5 of 35. Tasmanian Electoral Commission · secondary source

2026

  1. Saturday 21 March 2026 · State · SA South Australian state election Labor, Peter Malinauskas. Labor 34, Liberal 5, One Nation 4, Independent 4 of 47. Electoral Commission of South Australia · secondary source
  2. Saturday 21 March 2026 · First Nations body · SA SA First Nations Voice election Electoral Commission of South Australia · source
  3. Friday 24 April 2026 · First Nations body · VIC First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria (Gellung Warl) election Voting ran from March into April; results declared 24 April 2026 Treaty Authority · source
  4. Saturday 9 May 2026 · By-election · FED Farrer by-election (NSW) One Nation gain from Liberal, David Farley. One Nation 1. Australian Electoral Commission · secondary source
  5. Tuesday 27 October 2026 · Local · TAS Tasmanian local government elections (29 councils) —, —. Councillors (441 candidates) 213 of 213. Postal; poll closed 2 pm Tuesday 27 October 2026 Tasmanian Electoral Commission · source
  6. Saturday 28 November 2026 · State · VIC Victorian state election Victorian Electoral Commission · source

2027

  1. Saturday 13 March 2027 · State · NSW New South Wales state election Moved forward from the fourth Saturday in March (27 March, Easter Saturday) NSW Electoral Commission · source
  2. Wednesday 7 April 2027 · Local · SA South Australian council elections Postponed from 11 November 2026 by the Local Government (Elections) (Periodic Elections) Amendment Act 2026; voting closes 7 April 2027 Electoral Commission of South Australia · source

2028

  1. By 20 May 2028 · Federal · FED Next federal election Latest date for a House and half-Senate election held together: 20 May 2028 (senators' terms end 30 June 2028). Earliest simultaneous date 7 August 2027. A House-only election could be as late as 23 September 2028 (the House first met on 22 July 2025, s 28). Australian Electoral Commission · secondary source
  2. Saturday 26 August 2028 · Territory · NT Northern Territory general election Fourth Saturday in August (computed from the fixed-term rule) NT Electoral Commission · secondary source
  3. Saturday 21 October 2028 · Territory · ACT ACT Legislative Assembly election Elections ACT · source
  4. Saturday 28 October 2028 · State · QLD Queensland state election Last Saturday in October Electoral Commission of Queensland · secondary source

2029

  1. Saturday 10 March 2029 · State · WA Western Australian state election Second Saturday in March WA Electoral Commission · secondary source
  2. By 31 July 2029 · State · TAS Next Tasmanian state election No fixed date; due by mid-2029 Tasmanian Electoral Commission · secondary source

2030

  1. Saturday 16 March 2030 · State · SA South Australian state election Third Saturday in March Electoral Commission of South Australia · secondary source

Victoria · Saturday 28 November 2026

Four weeks
from writ to poll.

The Electoral Amendment Act 2026 shortened Victoria's timetable and abolished group voting tickets for the Legislative Council. These are the VEC's dates; times are AEDT.

  1. Tuesday 3 November 2026, 6 pm Writs issued
  2. Tuesday 3 November 2026, 8 pm Electoral roll closes
  3. Wednesday 4 November 2026, 9 am Nominations and postal vote applications open
  4. Monday 9 November 2026, noon Nominations close (all candidates)
  5. Tuesday 10 November 2026, 9 am How-to-vote card registration opens
  6. Tuesday 17 November 2026 Low-sensory voting session (10 am – 4 pm)
  7. Wednesday 18 November 2026 Early voting and telephone-assisted voting open
  8. Friday 20 November 2026, noon How-to-vote card registration closes
  9. Wednesday 25 November 2026, 6 pm Postal vote applications close
  10. Friday 27 November 2026, 6 pm Early voting closes (no early voting on Sunday 22 November)
  11. Saturday 28 November 2026, 8 am Election day, 8 am – 6 pm
  12. Saturday 19 December 2026 Last day for the return of the writs

The count from 6 pm →

How a federal election runs

From the writ
to the return.

  1. 1
    Dissolution or expiry Constitution ss 5, 28

    The Governor-General, on the Prime Minister's advice, dissolves the House (or it runs out three years after it first met). For the Senate, the Governor-General asks the state governors to issue writs for the half-Senate election.

  2. 2
    The writ Constitution s 32 · CEA s 152

    Issued within ten days of the dissolution. It sets the dates for the close of rolls, of nominations, polling day and the return of the writ.

  3. 3
    Rolls close CEA s 155

    At 8 pm on the seventh day after the writ. New enrolments and changes of address after that wait for the next election.

  4. 4
    Nominations close CEA s 156

    10 to 27 days after the writ. Candidates are declared the next day and the ballot draw sets the order of names.

  5. 5
    Polling day CEA ss 157, 158, 220

    A Saturday, 23 to 31 days after nominations close. Polling places are open from 8 am to 6 pm local time; early voting runs in the two weeks before.

  6. 6
    Count and declaration CEA Part XVIII

    First preferences and an indicative two-candidate-preferred count on the night; then the full distribution of preferences in every division and the Senate count, state by state.

  7. 7
    Return of the writ CEA s 159

    Within 100 days of its issue, endorsed with the names of the members elected. The new House meets within 30 days of the day appointed for the return (Constitution s 5).

Try it · Constitution ss 28, 32, 57 · Commonwealth Electoral Act ss 156–158

The latest possible election

  1. House expires (s 28)Friday 21 July 2028
  2. Last day for the writ (s 32: 10 days)Monday 31 July 2028
  3. Last day for nominations to close (s 156: 27 days)Sunday 27 August 2028
  4. Latest polling day (s 157: 31 days, s 158: a Saturday)Saturday 23 September 2028
  5. Last day for a double dissolution (s 57: not within 6 months of expiry)Thursday 20 January 2028

Is this a valid polling day?

Saturdays allowed for this writ: 7 August 2027 to 28 August 2027.

Constitution s 57 · 7 double dissolutions

When the Senate
says no twice.

Deadlocks: if the Senate twice rejects a bill three months apart, the Governor-General may dissolve both houses (a double dissolution); a joint sitting can then pass it.

A double dissolution sends all 76 senators to the voters, not half, so each state elects 12 and the quota falls from about 14.3% to 7.7% of the vote. Senators elected then are split by the Senate into six-year and three-year terms. If the bills that triggered it fail again in the new Senate, a joint sitting of both houses may pass them by an absolute majority of the total membership. It cannot be granted in the six months before the House would expire.

  1. 1914 Polling 5 September 1914 · called by Joseph Cook, won by Andrew Fisher
  2. 1951 Polling 28 April 1951 · called by Robert Menzies
  3. 1974 Polling 18 May 1974 · called by Gough Whitlam Followed by the only joint sitting of both houses (6–7 August 1974), which passed six bills including Medibank.
  4. 1975 Polling 13 December 1975 · called by Malcolm Fraser Fraser advised the dissolution as caretaker Prime Minister on the day of the Dismissal.
  5. 1983 Polling 5 March 1983 · called by Malcolm Fraser, won by Bob Hawke
  6. 1987 Polling 11 July 1987 · called by Bob Hawke
  7. 2016 Polling 2 July 2016 · called by Malcolm Turnbull

Parliament of Australia: House of Representatives Infosheet 18 – Double dissolution · The 1975 Dismissal →

What may be published, and when

An ad blackout,
no poll blackout.

Australian law does not stop opinion polls from being published, before or on polling day, and does not embargo exit polls or results. The one restriction is on broadcasting: from the end of the Wednesday before polling day until the close of the poll, commercial and community TV and radio and subscription services may not air election advertisements (Broadcasting Services Act 1992, Sch 2 cl 3A). It does not apply to newspapers, websites or social media.

This site adds two rules of its own. Results, exit polls and projections for an election wait until its last polling places have closed, 6 pm local time in the westernmost state voting (Western Australia, for a federal election). Prediction-market odds are hidden while polls are open, and are never shown as links: the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (s 61EA) prohibits advertising unlicensed interactive gambling services, and ACMA has had Polymarket blocked since August 2025.

Try it · Broadcasting Services Act 1992, Sch 2 cl 3A · our house rules

Ads on air, results on screen?

TV and radio election ads (law)
Opinion polls (law)
May be published at any time: no Australian law restricts them.
Results and projections on this site (our rule)
Prediction-market odds on this site (our rule)

States and territories

Fixed four-year terms,
except Tasmania.

Jurisdiction Fixed date Last Next Chambers Run by
New South Wales Fourth Saturday in March every four years; the 2027 poll was moved forward two weeks to avoid Easter 25 March 2023 13 March 2027 Legislative Assembly (93), four years, fixed; Legislative Council (42), eight years NSW Electoral Commission
Victoria Last Saturday in November every four years 26 November 2022 28 November 2026 Legislative Assembly (88), four years, fixed; Legislative Council (40), four years, elected with the assembly Victorian Electoral Commission
Queensland Last Saturday in October every four years 26 October 2024 28 October 2028 Legislative Assembly (93), four years, fixed (since 2020) Electoral Commission of Queensland
Western Australia Second Saturday in March every four years 8 March 2025 10 March 2029 Legislative Assembly (59), four years, fixed; Legislative Council (37), four years, elected with the assembly WA Electoral Commissionpartly from a secondary source
South Australia Third Saturday in March every four years 21 March 2026 16 March 2030 House of Assembly (47), four years, fixed; Legislative Council (22), eight years Electoral Commission of South Australiapartly from a secondary source
Tasmania None: elections can be called early (the last was a snap poll on 19 July 2025) 19 July 2025 by 2029No fixed date; due by mid-2029 House of Assembly (35), up to four years, no fixed date; Legislative Council (15), six years Tasmanian Electoral Commission
Australian Capital Territory Third Saturday in October every four years 19 October 2024 21 October 2028 Legislative Assembly (25), four years, fixed Elections ACT
Northern Territory Fourth Saturday in August every four years 24 August 2024 26 August 2028Computed from the fourth-Saturday-in-August rule (2024 was 24 August); the NTEC site refused our request Legislative Assembly (25), four years, fixed NT Electoral Commissionpartly from a secondary source