"The three percent national vote threshold for proportional representation has been abolished for the 2026 election, so any party can win PR seats with a small vote share."

Under the current legal framework, the proportional representation tier for the House of Representatives still applies a national threshold. Parties must obtain at least three percent of the valid proportional vote and win at least one first-past-the-post seat to qualify as a national party entitled to PR seats.

What has caused confusion is that parties and independents with small vote shares can still win seats under the first-past-the-post system if they come first in a constituency. Some commentaries also refer loosely to the possibility of revisiting thresholds in future reforms, which some readers mistakenly interpret as changes that already apply to the 2026 election.

In this election, no formal amendment has removed or lowered the three percent threshold in force for the proportional tier. It remains a binding rule for the allocation of PR seats, so statements suggesting that any party, regardless of vote share, can enter parliament via PR alone are misleading.