Enrolment – Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to enrol?

Any person who:

• is 18 years of age or over, and
• is an Australian citizen, or
• was a British subject on a Commonwealth electoral roll as at 25 January 1984. More information is available about British Subjects Eligibility; and
• has lived for at least one month at their current address.

See Eligibility for further information.

Who is not eligible to enrol?

You are not eligible to enrol if you:

• are not 18 years of age or over (17 year olds may enrol provisionally but can not vote until they turn 18);
• are not an Australian citizen;
• are of unsound mind (incapable of understanding the nature and significance of voting);
• have been convicted of treason or treachery and have not been pardoned.
• are a permanent resident but not an Australian citizen

Am I on the electoral roll?

To verify your enrolment details please use our check enrolment tool. For your search to be successful you must enter your details exactly as they appear on the electoral roll. If you are unable to verify your details it could be that you are enrolled at a different address or under a different name (e.g. maiden name). If after re-checking you are still unable to verify your enrolment and you believe that your name should be on the electoral roll, please contact us.

How do I enrol?

Please see enrolment information.

Can I enrol and vote if I am experiencing homelessness?

Yes. You can enrol with a no fixed address enrolment form, further information on enrolment and voting is available on the people experiencing homelessness factsheet.

How do I change my enrolment details?

Complete an enrolment form to update your details.

What address should I enrol for?

You can remain on the electoral roll for your permanent address, or 'real place of living', while you temporarily reside elsewhere. For example, while you are studying at college or university you can remain on the roll for your home address.

Section 4 "Interpretation" of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 states:

"Real Place of Living includes the place of living to which a person, when temporarily living somewhere else, has a fixed intention of returning for the purpose of continuing to live at this place."

This means that you should enrol for the address that you intend to return to for the purpose of living. Remember that you must vote for the electorate that you are enrolled in.

Which electoral division am I enrolled in?

To check which division you are enrolled in, please use our find my electorate tool. You are able to search by suburb or postcode. If your suburb is covered by more than one electorate please contact us for further information.

Alternatively you can check which division you are enrolled in by using our check enrolment tool. For your search to be successful you must enter your enrolment details exactly as they appear on the electoral roll. If you are unable to verify your details it could be that you are enrolled at a different address or under a different name (e.g. maiden name). If after re-checking you are still unable to verify your enrolment and you believe that your name should be on the electoral roll, please contact us.

How is someone of unsound mind removed from the roll?

A person may be removed from the roll where a registered medical practitioner has certified in writing that the person is incapable of understanding the nature and significance of enrolment and voting. This certificate needs to be accompanied by a "Claim that an elector should not be on the roll" form, available by contacting us.

I am physically disabled and cannot sign an enrolment form. How do I enrol?

If you have a physical disability which precludes you from signing the form, you can obtain a special enrolment form by contacting us or downloading it from this website. If you are enrolling this way you may also be eligible to apply to become a general postal voter (refer to General Postal Voters).

Do older electors have to remain on the roll and vote?

All Australian citizens 18 years and older are required by law to enrol and vote in federal elections, including older Australians.

The AEC caters for elderly and less mobile electors through the provision of postal voting, mobile polling to nursing homes and hospitals, and assistance and disabled access at polling places.

The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 allows for the removal of names from the electoral roll if an elector is of unsound mind, and unable to understand the nature and significance of enrolment and voting. Requests based on this reason must be made by completing an objection form (please contact us) and accompanying this with a certificate from a registered medical practitioner specifying that the person is of unsound mind and incapable of understanding the nature and significance of enrolment and voting.

An organisation claims they got my name off the electoral roll. Who has access to my enrolment details?

The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (CEA) requires that the public electoral roll, containing electors' name and address information, be available for public inspection at any AEC office. The electoral roll is made public so that electors can verify the openness and accountability of the electoral process and object to the enrolment of any elector.

The CEA provides that Members of Parliament, political parties, approved medical researchers and public health screening programs may be supplied with confidential elector information, including name and residential address, gender and date of birth details.

The CEA also provides that certain government agencies may have access to confidential elector information for purposes permitted by the Privacy Act 1988 including law enforcement and protection of the public revenue. See the full list of government agencies entitled to receive confidential elector information and the purposes for use of the information.

What is the "close of rolls"?

The electoral roll is continuously updated, however, following the issue of the 'writ' for an election, which sets the election timetable, the roll for the election is closed. The roll for the election closes at 8pm local time on the third working day after the writ is issued and cannot be updated after that date. The close of rolls for people newly enrolling or re-enrolling is 8pm on the day on which the writ is issued.

I haven't been enrolled for the last XX years. Will I be penalised?

If you fill in an enrolment form now, you won't be penalised.

Where a person may have overlooked the responsibility to enrol and vote, the AEC's main interest is to ensure that eligible people do actually enrol.

Section 101 (7) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 states,

"Where a person sends or delivers a claim for enrolment, or for transfer of enrolment, to a Divisional Returning Officer or an Australian Electoral Officer, proceedings shall not be instituted against that person for any offence – committed before the claim was so sent or delivered."

This means that once a person gives the AEC a completed enrolment form, we cannot prosecute the person for not enrolling before, no matter how long he or she has technically been in breach of the law.

Therefore you can be assured that anyone who may have overlooked correct enrolment in the past and who decides to now enrol to vote in federal elections may do so without any fear of incurring a penalty.