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 John Winston HOWARD
• Assembly: Australia has a bicameral Federal Parliament consisting of the Senate with 76 seats and the House of Representatives with 148 seats.

* Queen Elizabeth II is represented by Governor-General Sir William DEANE.

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen of Australia is hereditary.
• The Prime Minister is elected by parliament.
• 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 148 members are elected through an alternative voting system to serve 3-year terms.

* 72 members of the Senate represent the Federal 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 Federal Territories and are elected for three-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Australian Labor Party (ALP)
  • Leader: Kim BEAZLEY
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 17
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 14
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 67
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 49
• Party: Liberal Party of Australia (LP)
  • Leader: John Winston HOWARD
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 15
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 17
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 64
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 76
• Party: National Party of Australia (NP)
  • Leader: Timothy FISCHER
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 1
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 2
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 16
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 18
• Party: Australian Democrats (DEM)
  • Leader: Meg LEES
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 4
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 5
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0

Last Parliamentary election:

• Parliamentary elections were last held on March 2, 1996.
  Seats decided in the last election to the Senate: 40
  Seats decided in the last election to the House of Representatives: 148

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 18,631,100 ( est.)
• Registered Voters: 12,154,050 (October 1998)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population:9,387,372 (1998)

·         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: 32 (House of Representatives); 23 (Senate)

·         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:2,794,665 (est.)