The Constitution and the Electoral Act provide the rules about election timing, but there are other practicalities such as school holidays. The Act says an election can only be held on a Saturday.
The writs for an election can be issued at any time the Governor-General accepts the Prime Minister’s advice to dissolve Parliament. It would take no more than a day. Malcolm Fraser in 1983 was made to wait a few hours.
Once the writs are issued, a minimum of 11 days must be given for candidates’ nominations to be received. A further minimum of 22 days must be allowed between nominations and the election day.
An election could thus be called today for November 25, December 2 or December 9. After that, school holidays start in several states and territories, making the use of schools for polling booths difficult. Realistically, a school-holidays election is ruled out.
But December elections are the most common in Australia’s history. Thirteen of the 37 House of Reps elections have been held in December, in pre-war year quite late in December. The next most common month is November with 5. March, May September and October have four each.
If the election is not called for this year, the Prime Minister would have to wait for people to come back from their holidays in early February before making an announcement. The 33-day minimum would run from then.
Realistically he would not run on the minimum times. An election in middle or the end of March is most likely. It gives the Parliament a three year-term from the last election on March 13, 1993. April is messed up by Anzac and Easter and May or June start looking desperate. There can be slightly more than three years between elections.
The Constitution provides: “”Every House of Representatives shall continue for three years from the first meeting of the House, and no longer, but may be sooner dissolved by the Governor-General.”
After the March 13, 1993, election, the House of Representatives did not meet until May 4. This means that the House of Representatives is not to meet after May 4, 1996. The Constitution provides that writs for the election must issue within 10 days of that day, making it May 14, at the latest.
Under the Commonwealth Electoral Act, nominations must be called not less than 11 nor greater than 28 days after the writ (June 11 at the latest) and the election itself must be not less than 22 and not greater than 30 days after the nominations. This comes to July 11, but it has to be a Saturday so the latest possible date is July 6.
However, a half Senate election must be held before June 30 and the Electoral Act says elections must be held on a Saturday, so that makes June 29 the last possible date because it would be impractical to hold the Senate election on June 29 and a Reps election on July 6.
But only a desperate Prime Minister would squeeze out the extra few weeks. In 1972, Billy McMahon went to the polls three years and five weeks after the previous election.