Australian Human Rights Commission recommended fixing Electoral Acts in 2014

Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher explained in May 2022 AHRLC newsletter  that the Unsound Mind Provisions of the Electoral Act 1918 are incompatible with UN Charter of Human Rights and Disability Rights. 

Here are the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws (Report 124, August 2014)

9. Electoral Matters
Recommendation 9–1               The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) should be amended to repeal:

s 93(8)(a), which provides that a person of ‘unsound mind’ who is ‘incapable of understanding the nature and significance of enrolment or voting’ is not entitled to have their name on the electoral roll or to vote in any Senate or House of Representatives election; and
s 118(4), which relates to objections to enrolment on the basis that a person is of ‘unsound mind’.

which is based on the principles

Principle 1: The equal right to make decisions

All adults have an equal right to make decisions that affect their lives and to have those decisions respected.

Principle 2: Support

Persons who require support in decision-making must be provided with access to the support necessary for them to make, communicate and participate in decisions that affect their lives.

Principle 3: Will, preferences and rights

The will, preferences and rights of persons who may require decision-making support must direct decisions that affect their lives.

Principle 4: Safeguards

Laws and legal frameworks must contain appropriate and effective safeguards in relation to interventions for persons who may require decision-making support, including to prevent abuse and undue influence.