Dent v Australian Electoral Commission (No 2) [2008] FCAFC 153

Dent v Australian Electoral Commission (No 2) [2008] FCAFC 153

The AAT did not err in refusing Mr Dent's s 104 request. Under the Act, no address of an itinerant elector appears on the Roll, and neither a former residence nor a correspondence address would be entered as the elector's address merely because itinerant status ends. An address is attributed only through the s 101 enrolment or transfer process, at which time s 104 protection is available if required. Accordingly, s 104 need not be available to an elector registered initially as an itinerant elector under s 96.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
21 August 2008
Procedural Posture
Appeal From a Decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and Related Applications for Extensions of Time / Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia Judgment on the Remaining Issue After Leave to Appeal From the AAT Decision Was Granted
Outcome
Appeal from the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal made on 23 November 2007 dismissed; appellant ordered to pay respondents' costs of the appeal and related applications.
Legal Topics
['electoral Roll' 'itinerant Electors' 'silent Electors' 'commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (cth) Ss 96, 101, 102 and 104']
['electoral Law' 'administrative Law'] ['electoral Roll' 'itinerant Electors' 'silent Electors' 'commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (cth) Ss 96, 101, 102 and 104']

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 1 Authorities cited 2 Party arguments 1 Amounts and remedies 1
Sign in to unlock

Procedural Posture

Appeal From a Decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and Related Applications for Extensions of Time / Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia Judgment on the Remaining Issue After Leave to Appeal From the AAT Decision Was Granted

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal erred in law in deciding that Mr Dent, having been entered on the electoral Roll in the name Albert Langer under s 96 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth), was ineligible to make a request under s 104 for his address not to be shown on the Roll.' "Whether a person registered as an itinerant elector under s 96 may be eligible to make a request under s 104 that the person's address not be shown on the electoral Roll."]

Ratio Decidendi

The AAT did not err in refusing Mr Dent's s 104 request. Under the Act, no address of an itinerant elector appears on the Roll, and neither a former residence nor a correspondence address would be entered as the elector's address merely because itinerant status ends. An address is attributed only through the s 101 enrolment or transfer process, at which time s 104 protection is available if required. Accordingly, s 104 need not be available to an elector registered initially as an itinerant elector under s 96.

Court Disposition

Appeal from the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal made on 23 November 2007 dismissed; appellant ordered to pay respondents' costs of the appeal and related applications.

Orders

  • ['The appeal from the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal made on 23 November 2007 be dismissed.' 'The appellant pay to the respondents costs of the appeal from the Orders of the Court made on 14 December 2007, and of the application for an extension of time within which to appeal from the costs orders...