People who live in Australia but have no permanent residential address can apply for enrolment.

This is not available to people who have a permanent home address but who are temporarily living elsewhere. For example, itinerant workers living away from home for periods of time, or persons travelling round Australia on extended holidays, but who have a permanent home to which they intend to return, do not qualify. People in these categories should remain enrolled for their home address, but should notify their Divisional Returning Officer of their absence to prevent their names being removed from the roll in error.

Persons with no fixed address must enrol in the Division in which they were last entitled to enrolment. If they have not previously been entitled to enrolment they can enrol for the division in which their next of kin is enrolled, or, if there is no next of kin, the division in which they were born. Electors not born in Australia can enrol in the division with which they have the closest connection.

• Australian Capital Territory [PDF 92KB]
• New South Wales [PDF 100KB]
• Northern Territory [PDF 70KB]
• Queensland [PDF 94KB]
• South Australia [PDF 194KB]
• Tasmania [PDF 72KB]
• Victoria [PDF 71KB]
• Western Australia [PDF 188KB]

Tips for completing your no fixed address enrolment form

The enrolment form provides information and step-by-step instructions, and you can ask someone to help you if you need assistance. Some tips are:

• in the section of the form which asks for a short statement to support your application you should state that you are experiencing homelessness.
• even though you do not have a permanent home address, you will need to be enrolled to vote, and vote, for an electoral division (also called an electorate). The form asks you to identify a residential address for which you can claim enrolment, and has instructions on which address you should use.
• you will need to provide proof of your identity. There are three ways in which you can do this.

1. Provide your Australian driver’s licence number, learner’s permit number or provisional licence number and the state/territory of issue on the enrolment form. The law is that if you have a current Australian driver’s licence you must use it to prove your identity when filling in the enrolment form.

2. If you don’t have a driver’s licence you can show an original version of one identification document to an authorised person who is on the electoral roll, who will then sign a declaration on your enrolment form.

There are several types of identification documents that can be used, including:

• an Australian birth certificate (or an extract) issued at least 5 years ago
• a Concession card from Centrelink (must be current), or
• a Medicare card.
  

There is a wide variety of authorised persons, including managers of a women’s refuge or crisis and counselling centre (including SAAP services).

A complete list of authorised persons and identification documents is on the enrolment form and is also found in the Proof of Identity


3. If you don’t have a driver’s licence or an acceptable identity document you can have two people who are already on the electoral roll, and who have known you for at least a month, to confirm your identity by signing the enrolment form. This includes SAAP services staff or workers.

Contact your local AEC office

The AEC is organised on a wide geographic basis, with a National Office located in Canberra and a State Office in each capital city. In addition, there are separate Divisional Offices that service the 150 House of Representatives electoral divisions. For assistance completing AEC forms, or for more information, please contact your local AEC office.