Information for Indigenous Australians

Updated: 25 January 2012

The Louder than One Voice DVD marks the 50th Anniversary of the Indigenous right to vote at federal elections. The video celebrates this momentous occasion by highlighting the importance of the right to vote.

A classic poster series encouraging Indigenous Australians to participate in the electoral process has been reproduced by the AEC in the lead up to the 50th anniversary of the Indigenous right to vote in 2012.

The Louder than one voice 2012 calendar, issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Indigenous right to vote includes images of Indigenous community leaders and cultural identities.

Indigenous Electoral Participation Program (IEPP)

As part of the 2009 Budget process, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) received $13 million over four years to establish the Indigenous Electoral Participation Program (IEPP). The IEPP is part of the Government's Closing the Gap initiatives.

The IEPP is a multi-faceted national program administered by the Australian Electoral Commission. The program operates Australia wide, in remote, rural and urban areas.

The four objectives of the IEPP are:

  • to increase levels of knowledge of democratic and electoral processes
  • to increase levels of enrolment
  • to increase levels of participation in democratic and electoral processes
  • to decrease levels of informal voting

The program components include an extensive field program, programs for schools, TAFEs and communities, prison visits, small community activity sponsorships; a future leaders program, an ambassador program; and increasing and supporting Indigenous employment in Australia's electoral processes.

The program began in April 2010 and is funded as part of the Government's Closing the Gap initiatives. Funding has been provided for an initial 4 years.

Program Management and Field Staff

The IEPP program management team is based in the Education and Communications Branch in the AEC's National Office in Canberra. The program management team consists of:

  • Director (EL2)
  • Assistant Director (EL1)
  • Project Manager IT Project (APS6)
  • Administration Officer (APS4)

The IEPP has 23 field officers (APS5) who deliver the face to face elements of the program: WA – 4, NT – 4, QLD – 4, NSW – 4, VIC – 1, SA – 1 and TAS – 1. Also, WA, QLD and NSW each have a State Coordinator at the APS6 level.

What does IEPP look like?

The IEPP is a broad and comprehensive program with a variety of different components which have been developed following extensive consultation with stakeholders.

A key IEPP component is an in-depth education and enrolment program delivered face-to-face with Indigenous audiences by trained AEC field staff.

The curriculum for the field program covers the following topic areas:

Introductory modules

  • Introduction to the AEC
  • Electoral Principles
  • Introduction to Democracy
  • Why vote?
  • History of the Indigenous Vote

Core modules

  • Representation
  • Levels of Government
  • Enrolment
  • Voting
  • Candidates and Political Parties
  • Federal Parliament: Two Houses
  • How laws are made
  • The Constitution

Extension modules

  • Referendum
  • What is democracy
  • Representative Democracy
  • Participatory Democracy

Want more information?

Contact the IEPP team by emailing iepp@aec.gov.au or by phoning 02 6271 4464.

Your vote matters DVD

The Your vote matters DVD for Indigenous Australians provides information on why we vote, how to register to vote and what to do with the ballot papers. You can download segments below.

Messages from the AEC's Indigenous Community Education and Information Officers

The AEC's Indigenous Community Education and Information Officers (CEIOs) have been visiting indigenous communities to encourage Indigenous people to enrol and make their votes count. They have also appeared on radio and television and in the Koori mail, encouraging Indigenous people to vote on election day. Listen to their messages below.

History of the Indigenous Vote

The AEC has produced the educational resource History of the Indigenous Vote, which traces the history of Indigenous people's right to vote in Australia, from Indigenous voting prior to federation through to recent times.

For a shorter summary of Indigenous voting in Australia, you can read 'Indigenous people and the vote' an article by Pat Stretton (Research Officer with the State History Centre in South Australia).

See Also