To apply for a postal vote for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly Election, please go to Elections ACT.
To apply for a postal vote for the 2024 Queensland State General Election, please go to the Electoral Commission of Queensland website.
Electors who are registered as general postal voters will be sent ballot papers as soon as practicable after the declaration of nominations for a federal election, the issue of writs for a federal referendum, or according to the legislative timeline for a state or local government election (contact your state Electoral Commission for more details).
Once you are registered as a general postal voter, you will automatically receive your ballot papers in the mail after an election has been announced. You do not need to re-apply for future elections.
Alternatively, if you are eligible, you may apply for a postal vote for a single electoral event only. Instructions for submitting these requests will be available on the website once that electoral event has been announced.
You are eligible to register as a general postal voter if you are already on the electoral roll and you are unable to attend a polling place because you are:
If you don’t have any of the above forms of identification, please use a paper form below. If you are not enrolled you need to enrol online before applying.
The Commonwealth of Australia
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is authorised under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (CEA) to collect and verify the information you have been asked to complete on this form. The information provided will assist the AEC to maintain electoral rolls.
The AEC may disclose electoral information to persons or organisations in accordance with the CEA. This may include:
For more information on privacy, visit The office of the Australian Information Commissioner website.
States and territories
The New South Wales Electoral Commission is authorised under the New South Wales Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 to collect and provide such electoral information as title, name and postal address, date of birth, gender and electoral area to:
Under the Victorian Electoral Act 2002, enrolment information is available to:
Electoral Commission Queensland provides electoral information to organisations authorised under the Queensland Electoral Act 1992.
Similar information to that provided to Commonwealth agencies is provided by the Western Australian Electoral Commission to state agencies for law enforcement and medical research and to local governments for electoral purposes.
Similar information is provided by the Electoral Commission of South Australia as authorised under the State Electoral Act 1985.
Roll information may be supplied by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission to Members of Parliament, registered political parties, candidates and organisations approved by the Commission.
The Commission may approve the supply of roll information for ethically approved medical research, to assist in investigation and prevention of breaches of the law or protection of public revenue, and for other purposes considered to be for the benefit of the individual or the community as a whole.
The Electoral Act 2004 provides penalties for the use of rolls other than for a purpose permitted under the Act or as approved by the Commission.
Public roll information may be supplied to Members of the Legislative Assembly, candidates, registered political parties and other organisations – for purposes permitted under the Electoral Act 1992 (ACT).
The ACT Electoral Commission provides electoral information including name and postal address, date of birth and gender to the ACT Supreme Court for purposes permitted by the Juries Act 1967 (ACT), the Chief Health Officer to maintain the cancer register under the Public Health Regulation 2000 (ACT) and the Chief Executive of the Treasury to contact former Totalcare Industries Ltd employees about superannuation.
Electoral information including title, name and postal address, date of birth, occupation and gender is provided:
It is also provided upon request for medical research and health screening programs where the Electoral Commissioner believes the public interest outweighs privacy considerations. This information may include title, name and address, postal address, age range, occupation and gender.
Every time you change your address or change your name you need to update your details on the electoral roll.
There is no need to reapply to be a general postal voter if one of the circumstances listed above still apply to you.
Complete and print the correct form below and return it to the AEC.