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Australian Electoral Commission
The AEC has sent email and SMS messages to encourage people to enrol or update their enrolment details.
If you have received an email or sms message it is because the AEC has information that indicates you may either need to enrol or update your enrolment details.
The AEC has sent these messages via email or SMS where email addresses and/or mobile phone number has been provided to either the AEC as part of an enrolment application, or to another government agency.
All Australian citizens aged 18 years or over are required by law to enrol and keep their enrolment details up to date. The AEC regularly contacts electors where we receive information that indicates you may either need to enrol or update your enrolment details.
More information is available to help you either enrol for the first time, update your address or change your name.
The 'close of rolls' is the date the electoral roll closes for the federal election. When the writs are issued for the federal election, a date is set for the close of rolls. After this date, you cannot enrol or update your details on the electoral roll for the federal election.
The close of rolls date is 8pm local Australian time on the seventh calendar day after the writs are issued for the federal election.
You must be enrolled at your current address so you can vote for the candidates in your electorate (also known as electoral division) in the federal election.
Yes. New laws passed by the Australian Parliament allow us to directly enrol or update your address on the electoral roll based on information from other government agencies.
This does not happen automatically. The AEC has comprehensive checks in place to confirm if you are eligible to enrol and that you live at a particular address.
More details about this process are available here:
This process will not affect everyone and it is still your responsibility to enrol to vote and keep your enrolment details up-to-date.
Legally you can only be enrolled at one address. The law requires that you have lived at an address for more than one month before you can enrol at that address. If you are absent from the address that appears on the electoral roll for a period of time but have an intention to return to that address, you do not need to update your enrolment. Some degree of permanence, or continuity of living at the address shown on the electoral roll is a vital legal requirement before you should change your enrolment.
When you fill in an enrolment form, you are making a declaration that you are eligible for the address you have put on the form, and that the information on the form is correct. For more information about the declaration see Completing an enrolment form – your declaration.
Remember you must vote for the electorate you are enrolled in.
When you complete an enrolment form, you are required to make a declaration that you are eligible to enrol for the address you provide on the form, and that the information you have provided on the form is true and correct. Giving false or misleading information is a serious offence under section 137.1 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
The AEC has commenced sending electors acknowledgement of their enrolment via email.
If you provided an email address to the AEC when you completed an enrolment application, confirmation of your enrolment may be sent via email. In cases where an email fails to reach a designated email account, a printed acknowledgement letter will be sent to your mailing address.
Email acknowledgements may be sent to electors who enrol for the first time, update their address or change their name.
No. Even if you have not enrolled before, you can do so now and you will not be fined. The AEC encourages all eligible Australians to enrol to vote and keep their details up-to-date on the electoral roll.
Yes, you are required by law to enrol and vote in federal elections and referendums.
If you find it difficult to get to a polling place on election day, you can apply to become a General Postal Voter to receive your ballot papers in the mail. The AEC provides mobile polling to some nursing homes and hospitals, and assistance and disabled access at polling places.
If you're a relative of a person with dementia who is on the electoral roll you can request they be removed from the electoral roll.
You will need to complete a form to remove their name from the electoral roll. The medical certificate on the form must be completed and signed by a registered medical practitioner.
Once the form is completed please return it to the AEC.
Yes, you are required by law to enrol and vote in federal elections and referendums.
If you find it difficult to get to a polling place on election day, you can apply to become a General Postal Voter to receive your ballot papers in the mail. The AEC provides mobile polling to some hospitals, and assistance and disabled access is available at polling places.
If you have a physical disability that prevents you from writing, you can get someone else to complete and sign an enrolment form for persons unable to sign their name on your behalf.
If you're a relative of a person with dementia who is on the electoral roll you can request they be removed from the electoral roll.
You will need to complete a form to remove their name from the electoral roll. The medical certificate on the form must be completed and signed by a registered medical practitioner.
Once the form is completed please return it to the AEC.
The AEC is authorised under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to collect your details to maintain the electoral roll. To help ensure an open and accountable electoral process, the electoral roll (containing names and addresses) is available for public inspection at any AEC office. The publicly available roll does not contain your date of birth or contact details such as phone number or email address.
The AEC may disclose your details to prescribed authorities with access to enrolment information, and:
If you believe having your address shown on the electoral roll puts you or your family at risk, you can apply to register as a silent elector.
The AEC receives external data from a range of federal and state departments and agencies to use in the management of the electoral roll. The external data received may include details of an individual's surname, given name(s), date of birth, and address.
That data is then examined and matched against the electoral roll to identify people who are entitled to enrol and are not currently enrolled, and those who are entitled to enrol and vote and require an update to their enrolment details.
| Data Source | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| State and Territory Driver's Licence Authorities | Australia |
| Department of Human Services – Centrelink | Australia |
| Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | Australia |
| Australian Tax Office | Australia |
| Department of Immigration & Border Protection | Australia |
| Public Sector Mapping Agency Ltd (PSMA) | Australia |
| Births, Deaths and Marriages Authorities | Australia |
| Correctional Services Authorities | Australia |
| Departments of Education | Qld, SA, ACT |
| Departments of Housing | Qld, WA |
| Office of Rental Bonds | ACT |
| ACTEWAGL | ACT |
The AEC also shares information with all state and territory electoral commissions for the purposes of managing and maintaining the electoral rolls.
