Disqualification of members of Parliament in Victoria

Abstract

Laws restricting eligibility for membership apply to all Australian parliaments, but their meaning and effect are often uncertain. The laws governing membership of the Parliament of Victoria are particularly archaic and confused. Successive amendments have been poorly integrated, creating awkward problems of interpretation. Most of the grounds of disqualification were originally derived from British models, but some have remained in Victorian law long after their abolition in the United Kingdom. Questions about their effect arise regularly, but few cases reach the courts, partly because of limitations on justiciability. This article explores the Victorian disqualifications, considering in particular the position of government office-holders and government contractors, and avenues for raising disqualification questions.