When did women first vote in a federal election?
The first federal Parliament, elected in 1901, was elected on the basis of colonial electoral laws. This meant that women from South Australia and Western Australia were eligible to vote in this election, while others were not. The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 enabled all women (with the exception of Indigenous women in some states) to vote in the federal election of 1903. From this time women have also been eligible to stand for and to be elected to the federal Parliament.
