After the First World War, there was a significant decline in voter turnout in Australia from 71 per cent at the 1919 election to less that 60 per cent at the 1922 election. In order to address the problem, concerned political parties agreed to introduce a system of compulsory voting, and a private member's bill to amend the Electoral Act was introduced in 1924.
According to the Australian Electoral Commission, the impact was immediate, with voter numbers at the 1925 election rising to more than 91 per cent.
In the years that followed, states across the country introduced compulsory voting starting with Victoria in 1926, NSW and Tasmania in 1928, Western Australia in 1936 and South Australia in 1942.
"To force people to vote who don’t want to be there, who don’t know what they are doing, is frankly quite ludicrous"
When Indigenous Australians were given the right to vote at a federal level in Australia in 1962, it was on a voluntary basis. This changed in 1984 when voting became compulsory for all eligible voters.
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