The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which set out who was entitled to vote in Australian federal elections. The act established, in time for the 1903 Australian federal election, suffrage for federal elections for those who were British subjects over 21 years of age who had lived in Australia for six months. However, consistent with the White Australia policy, the act excluded natives of Australia, Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands (other than New Zealand) from the federal franchise, unless they were already enrolled to vote in an Australian state. The act gave Australian women the right to vote and stand for parliament at the federal level unless they fell into one of the categories of people excluded from the franchise. The act was repealed and replaced by the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. History Before the Federation of Australia in 1901, Australia consisted of six colonies, each with its own voting system and franchise. After federation, the colonies became states with the constitutional power to determine their own voting system and franchise. Women were excluded from the vote in all states except South Australia and Western Australia. In Western Australia, Indigenous Australians, Asians and Africans were excluded from voting unless they met a property qualification. In Queensland, 'Aboriginal natives of Australia, India, China or the South Sea Islands' could not vote unless they met a property qualification. Section 41 of the Constitution of Australia governed how the first federal election in 1901 was to be conducted. It provided that any person who was enrolled and eligible to vote in a State election could also vote in a federal election. The 1902 Commonwealth act defined the franchise for federal elections. The bill was introduced into the Senate by Richard O'Connor, the Vice-President of the Executive Council, and later in the House of Representatives by the Minister for Home Affairs, William Lyne. It is one of the few major pieces of legislation to be introduced in the Senate before the House. In 1918, the 1902 act was repealed and replaced by the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Many of the present features of the Australian electoral system were introduced after the 1918 act came in force. Instant-runoff voting was introduced for the House of Representatives in 1918, compulsory voting was introduced in 1924, and the single transferable vote was introduced for the Senate in 1949. All