Why is voting compulsory?

The Australian Constitution gives the Australian Parliament the power to make laws about how elections should be run. In 1924, the Parliament made a law which made voting in federal elections compulsory. Until then voting had been voluntary. (From 1911 it was compulsory to enrol to vote.)

In 1924, Senator Herbert Payne introduced a bill – a proposed law – which would make voting compulsory. Senator Payne was concerned about a big drop in the number of people voting. At the 1919 election, over 71% of enrolled voters cast a vote; at the 1922 election this was less than 60%. Senator Payne said that a Parliament elected by only about half of all voters was making laws for all Australians. He said that if voter participation rates continued to drop, then the Parliament would not truly represent the will of the Australian people or make laws in the interest of all Australians.

When the bill was passed in 1924, the law applied to Australians aged 21 years or old, because at the time 21 was the age at which you were considered an adult. The impact of the change was immediate, with voter turnout at the 1925 election rising to over 91%.