The procedure for counting the Legislative Assembly votes is detailed in the Seventh Schedule of The Constitution Act 1902.

In order to be elected a candidate must receive more than half the number of the formal first preference votes taken in the electoral district, that is, 50% + 1 of the total formal first preference votes.

If no candidate receives more than half of the first preference votes a distribution of preferences takes place. In this process the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and his/her ballot papers are distributed to the remaining candidates according to the next available preference shown on them.

Those ballot papers on which only a first preference is shown cannot be distributed and are set aside. Those ballot papers which are set aside are exhausted and not classified as remaining in the count. This reduces the number of votes remaining in the count and therefore the number of votes required to be elected.

The distribution process is repeated, one candidate is eliminated at a time, until a candidate has more than half the number of the votes remaining in the count.

An example of the process is shown.