At stake in this election:

• 40 seats in the Senate

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Kevin RUDD **
• Assembly: Australia has a bicameral Federal Parliament consisting of the Senate with 76 seats and the House of Representatives with 150 seats.

* Queen Elizabeth II is represented by Governor-General Quentin BRYCE.

** The Prime Minister is appointed having been judged by the Governor-General to be capable of commanding the support of a majority of members of the House of Representatives.

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen of Australia is hereditary N/A.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the governor-general.
• In the Senate 76 members are elected through a single transferable vote (STV) proportional representation system to serve 6-year terms*. In the House of Representatives 150 members are elected through an alternative voting system to serve 3-year terms.**

* 72 members of the Senate represent the States (12 per each of the six states) and serve six-year terms, with half of these seats renewed every three years. The four remaining members of the Senate represent the two mainland Territories. Parties may present a Group Voting Ticket, by which they recommend to their supporters orders of preferences for the various candidates . Electors can cast a ballot in two ways. The first method is by marking a "1" in a party's box indicating they wish to adopt the party’s recommendation as their vote. These votes then counted as if the elector had ranked the candidates in the party-recommended order. Alternatively, electors may choose to rank candidates individually, from one to as many candidates as are on the ballot. If voters do not rank every candidate on the ballot, their votes will generally be invalid, though some allowance is made for the counting of votes on which only a limited number of mistakes have been made. Senate candidates must obtain a certain “quota” of votes to be elected. This quota is calculated by dividing the number of valid votes cast by one more than the number of vacancies being filled, and increasing by one the quotient so obtained (with any remainder disregarded). After counting all first preference votes, candidates who meet the quota are declared winners and their surplus votes are reallocated via a fractional transfer.

** Members are elected in 150 single-member constituencies spread among the 6 states and 2 mainland territories of Australia according to population. If electors do not rank every candidate on the ballot their ballot is considered invalid. Voting is compulsory.

Main parties in the electoral race:

*Seats won in the last Senate election reflect only those won during the 2010 Federal Election, not the total seats held in Congress.

• Party: Australian Labor Party (ALP)
  • Leader: Kevin RUDD
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 15
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 31
• Party: Liberal Party of Australia**
  • Leader: Tony ABBOTT
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 18
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 44
• Party: National Party of Australia
  • Leader: Warren TRUSS
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 6
• Party: Liberal National Party (LNP)****
  • Leader: Campbell NEWMAN
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 21
• Party: The Greens
  • Leader: Christine MILNE
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 6
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 1
• Party: Katter's Australian Party******
  • Leader: Bob KATTER
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A
• Party: Democratic Labour Party
  • Leader: John MADIGAN
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 1
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Independent(s): Independents
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 4

** The Liberal Party of Australia contests elections as part of a coalition with the National Party, Country Liberal Party, and the Liberal National Party. Senate seats won in the last election indicate total seats won by the Coalition.
**** Only contests elections in Queensland.
****** Party was registered in 2011 by Independent MP Bob Katter. In the 2012 state election in Queensland, Katter's Australian Party won 2 seats.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 22,262,501 (July 2013 est.)
• Registered Voters: 14,030,528 (August 2010 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 11,559,792 (2013)

·         Is Australia a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Australia ratified CEDAW: Yes (28 July 1983)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 39 (House of Representatives); 16 (Senate) (as of 2013 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 2 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Australia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Australia ratified CRPD: Yes (17 July 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 3,339,375 (est.)