Key Points:
The High Court considered, and rejected, five arguments
against the reforms.
On 13 May 2016, the High Court ruled that recent reforms made to
the Senate electoral process were constitutionally valid. The
decision underscores that the Commonwealth Parliament's
constitutional power to prescribe the method of choosing Senators
is broad. The decision means that the reforms will be effective for
the upcoming double dissolution election, in which all Senate seats
will be contested (Day v Australian Electoral Officer for the State
of South Australia [2016] HCA 20.).
The reforms
In the proceedings, incumbent Senator for South Australia Robert
Day (and others) challenged the constitutional validity of
amendments made to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) by the
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Act 2016 (Cth).
