Election events

The Electoral Commission of Queensland is an independent and impartial organisation established under the Electoral Act 1992 to administer the following electoral events.

Local government elections

Local government elections are held every four years on the last Saturday in March, unless changed by regulation.

There are 77 local government areas within Queensland. A divided council has internal boundaries known as divisions or wards and voters elect a councillor to represent their division. In an undivided council, voters elect all the councillors for their local government area.

The 2020 local government elections were held on 28 March. You can view the results on the results site.

State government elections

Queensland is transitioning to four year fixed-terms following the 2016 referendum. The next state election is due to be held on 31 October 2020.

Queensland comprises of 93 electorates. For more information see electoral boundaries.

The ECQ recently ran state by-elections for the state electorates of Currumbin and Bundamba.

State government election procedures

Procedures for Counting of Absentee Votes for State Elections and Referendums PDF (0.26 MB)

By-elections

By-elections may be held if a vacancy occurs during a term of office for a member of parliament, a mayor or a councillor.

Vacancies can occur for many reasons, including death, resignation, absence without leave, expulsion or disqualification.

In March 2020, the ECQ ran by-elections for the state electorates of Currumbin and Bundamba.

For information about historical elections, see the Election Results page.

Referendums

A referendum is held when the government would like to change the State Constitution and provides electors with the opportunity to give their opinion. Voting in a referendum is compulsory.

In a state referendum, you'll be asked to vote in favour of ("yes") or against ("no") one or more questions, rather than selecting a candidate/s as a representative for state district or local government area.

Referendum results

Proposal	Date	Votes in Favour ("Yes")	Votes Against ("No")	Result
Fixed Four (4) Year Terms	19 March 2016	52.96%	47.04%	Passed
Daylight Savings	22 February 1992	40.57%	48.60%	Failed
Extension of Parliamentary Terms from Three (3) to Four (4) years	23 March 1991	772,647	811,078	Failed
Control or Prohibition Liquor	3 October 1923			Failed
Control or Prohibition Liquor	30 October 1920			Failed
Abolition of the Legislative Council	5 May 1917	119,909	179,105	Failed
Religious Instruction	13 April 1910	74,228	56,681	Passed
Federation	2 September 1899	38,488	30,996	Passed

Industrial elections

ECQ is responsible for conducting industrial elections under the Industrial Relations Act 2016. Applications may be made to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) seeking an election of office-bearers. Prescribed election information (form 65) must be lodged with the QIRC. This form can be found on the QIRC website. If the application is approved, the QIRC will issue a decision instructing ECQ to conduct the election.