Voters are required to cast two ballots in a federal election – one for the Lower House, or House of Representatives (HOR), and one for the Upper House, or Senate.
Government is formed in the HOR. This means that the party that has the majority here, rules. The Prime Minister usually serves as a member of the HOR.
The Senate acts as a House of Review, as it can not introduce Appropriation bills, or legislation that authorises how the government spends money. The Senate can also not introduce bills to do with taxation. It can, however, reject or amend these bills once they have passed the HOR.
The Senate
Electors across a state or territory will vote for the same candidates in the Senate. Each state or territory acts as just one electorate.
In this system of voting, parties win seats in proportion to the total votes they receive. This system of voting is called proportional representation.
The states each have 12 Senators and territories each have two. Senators have six-year terms. Since a federal election is held every three years, half the Senate is elected each time.
The House of Representatives
There are 150 seats in the HOR. These seats are divided up according to population size.
This system of voting calls for each candidate on the ballot to be numbered in order of preference. If one candidate gets more than 50 per cent of the vote, they are automatically elected. However, if no candidate receives an absolute majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is excluded and these votes redistributed. This continues until one candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the vote.
