The voters of the Melbourne electorate of Isaacs will go to the polls on Saturday 12 August to elect a replacement for the former Labor member, Greg Wilton.
The date was announced by the House of Representatives Speaker, Neil Andrew, before Question Time commenced today.
The ALP holds the seat with a margin of over 6%. Recent speculation suggests that the Liberal Party will not field a candidate in the election.
The Speaker of the House is given responsibility under Section 33 of the Constitution to issue writs to fill vacancies in the lower house.
This will be the first by-election held during this Parliament.
The timetable for the by-election is:
- Fri 30 June – Issue of Writ
- Fri 11 July – Close of Rolls
- Thu 13 July – Close of Nominations
- Sat 12 August – Polling Day
- Sun 08 October – Return of Writ on or before this date