When can I vote?

You must be aged 18 years or older to vote in any election, whether state, federal or local government.

Who can vote?

To be eligible to vote you must be:

When can I enrol to vote?

You can enrol to vote once you turn 16 years of age however you cannot vote until you turn 18. This is called a ‘provisional’ enrolment and allows you to register before you turn 18 so that if you turn 18 after the close of the electoral rolls but before the polling day then you will be able to vote. For further information see the Australian Electoral Commission.

Do I have to enrol to vote?

It is compulsory to enrol to vote for federal elections once you turn 18.

While the AEC only runs federal elections, the action taken by completing an AEC enrolment form is applied for federal and any relevant state, territory or local government elections. The Electoral Commission South Australia uses a joint roll with the Australian Electoral Commission. The roll is maintained by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).Only one form needs to be completed to enrol for all federal, state and council elections in South Australia.

While initial enrolment is not compulsory for state elections, once you are enrolled (via the one form) you are required to vote and keep your enrolment up to date.

What happens if I don’t vote after enrolling?

You will be sent an ‘Apparent Failure to Vote Notice’ asking why you did not vote. It is an offence to fail to vote and also to not respond to the notice. You can be fined if you are unable to provide a valid reason for failing to vote.