Australian Politics and Voting

Federal Elections

When are you allowed to Vote in an Australian Election ?

Enrolling and voting in Commonwealth elections and referendums is compulsory if you are:

18 years of age or over
an Australian citizen (or a British subject who was on a Commonwealth of Australia electoral roll on 25 January 1984), and
you have lived at your current address for at least the last month

People who are 17 years old can provisionally enrol so that they can vote at elections when they reach 18 years of age.

The only non-Australian citizens eligible to enrol and vote at federal elections in Australia are British subjects who were on a Commonwealth Electoral Roll on 25 January 1984, at which time the eligibility requirements were altered.
As there are minor differences in the eligibility criteria for State purposes, please check the enrolment form of the State for which you wish to enrol.

Claimants for enrolment need to satisfy the enrolment eligibility criteria listed above.

The following people are NOT entitled to enrol and vote:

people who, by reason of being of unsound mind, are incapable of understanding the nature and significance of enrolment and voting
prisoners serving a sentence of five years or more
people who have been convicted of treason and not pardoned
Australian citizens permanently living overseas who do not have a fixed intention of returning to Australia
any person who renounces their Australian citizenship.

http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/what/enrolment/general.htm

Who’s Who in Parliament

This page provides details of all the Federal Politicians in Australia.

http://www.aph.gov.au/whoswho/index.htm

This allows you to access contact pages for your local MP.

Australian Electoral Commission

This page allows you to search for the Federal Politician that covers any specific area, town, suburb etc.

http://apps.aec.gov.au/esearch

Federal Elections are held every three years.

There are two sections of Parliament, the Representatives and the Senate (like the UK Upper House).

The Representative members serve a three year term, whilst the Senators serve a six year term, although half of the seats are re-elected every three years.

State Elections

To be eligible to enrol to vote, you must be:

18 years of age and over, an Australian citizen, and have an address in that State.
British subjects who were on the Commonwealth or State electoral roll on 26 January 1984, reside in the State and are enrolled to vote, are also eligible to vote in State elections.

As there are minor differences in the eligibility criteria for State purposes, please check the enrolment form of the State for which you wish to enrol.

http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/what/enrolment/forms.htm

Council Elections

Different rules may apply for Council elections in each State.

VICTORIA

Council Elections
Voting in local government elections is compulsory for citizens aged 18 and over. Non-residents who own or occupy property in Victoria may also vote in local government elections but it is not compulsory for them to do so.

http://www.parliament.curriculum.edu.au/vic.php3#local &
http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/lgelections.html

QUEENSLAND

Council Elections

Voting in council elections is compulsory for all people qualified to vote in State elections.

You must qualify as an elector under the Electoral Act 1992 in order to vote.
This means :

You must be 18 years of age (If you are 17 years of age and you turn 18 after the close of rolls but before polling day, you can still vote),
You must be an Australian citizen, and
You must have lived for at least one month in the local government area for which you are enrolling.
http://www.parliament.curriculum.edu.au/qld.php3#local and
http://www.lgp.qld.gov.au/?id=158

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Council Elections

Voting in local government elections is voluntary. Anyone who is enrolled to vote in Western Australia on the State or Commonwealth electoral roll is allowed to vote, as are any Australian citizens who own or occupy land in their particular locality.

http://www.parliament.curriculum.edu.au/wa.php3#local and
http://www.citizenscape.wa.gov.au/index.cfm?fuseaction=government.local

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Voting in council elections is not compulsory.
Everyone listed on the State electoral roll is allowed to vote.
The councils also have a list of other voters, including non-naturalised citizens and rate payers who live in other council areas.

You must be enrolled on the Council voters roll to be able to vote. You are eligible to vote if you are:

18 years of age or over at the time of voting; and
a resident in the Council area. You do not have to own a house or property to enrol to vote – tenants have those rights too.
Owners of property who are not residents, including body corporates or groups, also have entitlements to enrol to vote.

www.parliament.curriculum.edu.au and
www.lga.sa.gov.au/

TASMANIA

Voting in municipal elections is not compulsory, but all people listed on the House of Assembly electoral roll can vote. Voting is also open to ratepayers and occupiers aged 18 years or over who are not on the House of Assembly electoral roll.

http://www.parliament.curriculum.edu.au/tas.php3#local

NSW

Voting is compulsory for all people enrolled to vote in State elections. Citizens who own property in council areas other than their place of residence may apply to vote as a non-resident.

http://www.parliament.curriculum.edu.au/nsw.php3#local

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Voting in Northern Territory Legislative Assembly elections is open to all citizens aged 18 years or over who are listed on the Northern Territory roll for Federal elections.

http://www.parliament.curriculum.edu.au/nt.php3#who