AAP FactCheck - A viral post suggesting it's fraudulent to vote in the federal election relies on several nonsense sovereign citizen-based claims for its faulty verdict.
The various claims - featured in a Facebook post1 that's been shared thousands of times - have been debunked several times and have no basis in fact.
The post's caption makes several claims, including that it's a crime to vote and there are no lawful political candidates in Australia.
"It is in fact a crime to participate in fraud," it reads.
It goes on to state the federal government is a registered corporation "masquerading as our government" and the Facebook user states in the comments that it's treason to cast your vote.
An accompanying video features several debunked claims that originate in the sovereign citizen2 movement, a group that finds various ways to dissociate from societal structures.
The video appears to have been published on TikTok3 originally.
The first claim is that the Australian government is not lawfully established (timestamp 10 seconds).
It makes reference to the Royal Style and Titles Act 19734, a favourite piece of legislation of the sovereign citizen movement.
They claim the change means there has been no valid head of state since 1973 and therefore government and elections are invalid.
As explained in previous AAP FactCheck5 debunks, the act merely set out the formal title for the Queen, used in relation to her role as Australia's head of state at the time.
The legislation has no effect on any other laws.
Constitutional law experts, such as the University of Melbourne's Cheryl Saunders6, told AAP FactCheck that High Court decisions had repeatedly made this clear.
The video's second claim is that the 1973 legislation transformed the government into a corporate entity (0:32).
Those who push the claim point to the government's registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the fact that some government departments have Australian Business Numbers (ABNs).
Experts have explained to AAP FactCheck7 that ABNs are used by departments for operational activities such as ordering and invoicing or registering an Australian government domain name.
Meanwhile, being registered with the US SEC is a "routine process8" for selling bonds, experts said.
Neither measure makes the government a corporation, experts have repeatedly confirmed.
The video also claims the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has no lawful foundation (1:00).
Specifically, it states the ATO is not listed as a legal entity under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act9, and claims it's a private corporation registered in Washington DC.
However, the ATO is classified under the act as a "non-corporate Commonwealth entity", which is how it appears, under the Treasury portfolio, on the Department of Finance's list of Commonwealth entities and companies10 (page 32).
It is also established as a statutory agency under the Public Service Act 199911 and also features in the Taxation Administration Act 195312.
AAP FactCheck13 has previously debunked a similar claim that the ATO does not legally exist.
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