Jurisdiction | Date | Notes |
Federal | Before the expiry of the current House of Representatives' term on 1 July 2022 |
The caretaker period begins when the House of Representatives is dissolved by the Governor-General. |
ACT | 10 September 2020 to 17 October 2020 |
The caretaker period begins 37 days before polling day. |
NSW | 3 March 2023 to 25 March 2023 |
The caretaker period begins following the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly on the Friday before the first Saturday in March, and continues until after the election on the fourth Saturday in March. |
NT | July 2020 - August 2020 |
The caretaker period began following the suspension of the Legislative Assembly and issuing of writs for the Territory election on 30 July, with the election taking place on 22 August. |
QLD | 19/09/2020 |
The caretaker period is normally 30 to 60 days before the election. |
SA | 19 February 2022 to 19 March 2022 |
The caretaker period begins from the issuing of the writs for the fixed term election date - which by law must occur 28 days before the election - and lasts until the electoral outcome is known. |
TAS | 3 March 2022 to 3 May 2022 (latest permissible date) |
The caretaker period begins with the dissolution of the House of Assembly, and lasts until election results are clear or a new government has been installed (if applicable). The next election is currently expected by May 2022. |
VIC | 1 November 2022 to 26 November 2022 |
A normal caretaker period of 25 days applies before the fixed election date. The period can last up to 65 days if the Legislative Assembly is dissolved due to a no confidence vote or blocked supply bill |
WA | TBA early 2021 |
The caretaker period begins following the issuing of writs for the state election. The next election will be held on 13 March 2021. |
NZ | By November 2020, following the election |
New Zealand does not have a pre-election caretaker period, though recent governments have avoided making major decisions shortly before the election. Instead, caretaker conventions apply post-election if it is not clear who will form the next government, or in the interregnum period until the next government has taken office. |