JACS Committee is inquiring into lowering the voting age. The Assembly is considering a Bill that would require people aged 16-17 years to vote in Territory elections, and Canberrans are invited to have their say.
| Inquiry status: On-going | Date started: 8 December 2021 | Submissions close: 28 January 2022 | Reporting date: Report released 18 February 2022 |
The Electoral Amendment Bill 2021 was presented in the Assembly on 2 December 2021. It proposes to lower the voting age for Territory elections from 18 years to 16 years.
Justice and Community Safety Committee has been asked to examine the Bill, and report back to the Assembly by 3 March 2022.
The committee sees this short inquiry as a valuable opportunity for community views to inform the Assembly debate on the Bill
Click here to read the inquiry's terms of reference.
People can participate in the inquiry by:
- completing an online survey (available at bit.ly/ACT-voting-age)
- making a submission.
Submissions close on 28 January 2022, and the online survey closes on 7 February 2022.
The committee will conduct a public hearing on 3 February 2022, and must report back to the Assembly by 3 March 2022, before the Bill is debated.
This inquiry is now complete.
The Committee’s report was released on 18 February 2022 and is available under the “Reports” tab above.
The Government Response to the report is due on 18 June 2022 and, when published, will be available under the “Government Responses” tab above.
The Committee thanks all those who contributed to the inquiry by making a submission or participating in hearings.
For further information, please contact the Secretariat:
- By email (preferred): LACommitteeJCS@parliament.act.gov.au
- By post: Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety, ACT Legislative Assembly, GPO Box 1020, Canberra ACT 2601
| Description | Word | |
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| Terms of Reference |  PDF (154.8 KB) |
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(183.6 KB)
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| Description | Word | |
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| Submission 18 - Australia Institute | PDF (517.8 KB) |
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| Submission 17 - Martin Gordon | PDF (367.0 KB) |
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| Submission 16 - Canberra Liberals | PDF (1.1 MB) |
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| Submission 15 - ACT Electoral Commission | PDF (569.7 KB) |
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| Submission 14 - Zhenghao Dai | PDF (375.8 KB) |
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| Submission 13 - ACT Government | PDF (858.5 KB) |
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| Submission 12 - ACTCOSS | PDF (354.6 KB) |
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| Submission 11 - Youth Coalition of the ACT | PDF (9.3 MB) |
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| Submission 10 - ACT Labor | PDF (656.2 KB) |
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| Submission 09 - Northside Community Service | PDF (401.4 KB) |
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| Submission 08 - Name withheld | PDF (326.6 KB) |
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| Submission 07 - Jahin Tanvir | PDF (303.0 KB) |
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| Submission 06 - Professor Judith Bessant and 29 others | PDF (564.6 KB) |
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| Submission 05 - The Green Institute | PDF (321.2 KB) |
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| Submission 04 - ACT Greens | PDF (416.6 KB) |
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| Submission 03 - Name withheld | PDF (414.8 KB) |
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| Submission 02 - Dr Bruce Baer Arnold | PDF (334.0 KB) |
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| Submission 01 - Professor George Williams | PDF (458.1 KB) |
Public hearings
3 February 2022, 1:00 pm - 3:50 pm
View current Public hearings schedule and click here to read transcripts from these hearings.
| Description | Word | |
|---|---|---|
| Report 4 - Inquiry into the Electoral Amendment Bill 2021 (with Dissenting report from Mr Braddock MLA) | PDF (664.0 KB) |
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| Report 4 - Inquiry into the Electoral Amendment Bill 2021 | PDF (487.1 KB) |
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(3.2 MB)
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| Report 4 - Dissenting report from Mr Braddock MLA | PDF (177.1 KB) |
| Description | Word | |
|---|---|---|
| Government Responses tabled 24 March 2022 | PDF (418.8 KB) |
| Description | Word | |
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| QTON 1 Answer - ACT Electoral Commissioner - 3 February 2022 | PDF (291.6 KB) |
| Description | Word | |
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| Media release - Report on lowering the Voting Age (18 February 2022) | PDF (158.9 KB) |
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(184.9 KB)
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| Media release - Public hearing on the Voting Age (2 February 2022) | PDF (179.5 KB) |
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(185.0 KB)
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| Media Release - Have your say on the Voting Age (14 December 2021) | PDF (159.4 KB) |
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(184.3 KB)
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