Being homeless does not make you vote-less
Why should you enrol?
How do you enrol?
Keeping your enrolment up-to-date
Assisting people without a home to enrol
People without a permanent home have the same right to enrol and vote as every other Australian citizen. Your living circumstances have no relevance when it comes to enrolling and voting. There are a number of enrolment options available if you are experiencing homelessness or living in temporary accommodation.
Voting is about having a say on who you think should represent you in Parliament. Parliament makes decisions on all sorts of issues that affect your life, such as housing, hospitals, public transport, employment and education. You should vote for who you think will make the best decisions on these issues.
In order to vote, you must be enrolled. If you don’t vote, then you miss out on having your say!
No Fixed Address enrolment
If you do not have a home or will not live at a place for more than one month, you should enrol as an elector with no fixed address (PDF, 46 KB).
As an elector with no fixed address, you enrol using the address of one of the following:
If you enrol under this option and do not vote at an election, you will not be fined. Your name will remain on the electoral roll of Victoria. To ensure that your name is not removed from the Federal roll, you will need to re-enrol to vote at future Federal elections if you do not vote.
Ordinary elector
If you will live at an address for more than one month, you should enrol as an Ordinary elector. (PDF, 119 KB).
You are required to give your current address. If you fail to vote at an election as an ordinary elector, you may receive a fine for not voting.
Silent elector
If you believe that having your address on the electoral roll will put your personal safety or your family's safety at risk, you should apply to become a silent elector (PDF, 146 KB).
This involves having a statutory declaration signed.
The enrolment forms are in pdf format. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. If you would prefer a hard copy, please contact the VEC
You have until 8.00 pm on the day the Federal election is officially announced to enrol if:
You have until 8.00 pm three working days after the Federal election is officially announced to enrol if:
Update your enrolment when your circumstances change so that you remain eligible to vote.
These rules do not apply for local and State government elections.
Complete an enrolment form with the client
Completing an enrolment form may seem daunting to some, so we recommend you fill out the enrolment form with the client. The enrolment form generally takes no more than ten minutes to complete.
Hold an “enrolment session” for your clients
A number of organisations have held enrolment sessions to enable their clients to enrol. We will provide you with enrolment forms and resources to enrol your clients. If you work for a large-scale organisation, our staff can attend your enrolment session and assist with enrolling your clients.
Include an enrolment form in client information kits
If you provide clients accessing your service with information kits on housing matters, you may wish to include an enrolment form in the kit to ensure clients keep their details up-to-date and current.
Display enrolment forms at your premises
To make enrolment accessible to people without a home, we recommend you display enrolment forms in a visible location.
For further information on assisting people experiencing homelessness, please contact the VEC
Order (PDF,315 KB) enrolment forms and electoral information to be sent to you. The order form is in pdf format. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it. If you would prefer a hard copy, please contact the VEC
How do you enrol?
Keeping your enrolment up-to-date
Assisting people without a home to enrol
People without a permanent home have the same right to enrol and vote as every other Australian citizen. Your living circumstances have no relevance when it comes to enrolling and voting. There are a number of enrolment options available if you are experiencing homelessness or living in temporary accommodation.
Why should you enrol?
It is important that every eligible person aged 18 and over votes at local, State and Federal elections.Voting is about having a say on who you think should represent you in Parliament. Parliament makes decisions on all sorts of issues that affect your life, such as housing, hospitals, public transport, employment and education. You should vote for who you think will make the best decisions on these issues.
In order to vote, you must be enrolled. If you don’t vote, then you miss out on having your say!
How do you enrol?
There are a number of enrolment options available if you do not have a home or you are living in temporary accommodation.No Fixed Address enrolment
If you do not have a home or will not live at a place for more than one month, you should enrol as an elector with no fixed address (PDF, 46 KB).
As an elector with no fixed address, you enrol using the address of one of the following:
- the address where you were last eligible to enrol;
- the address where a next of kin lives;
- your place of birth; or
- if you were not born in Australia, a place you feel the closest connection to.
If you enrol under this option and do not vote at an election, you will not be fined. Your name will remain on the electoral roll of Victoria. To ensure that your name is not removed from the Federal roll, you will need to re-enrol to vote at future Federal elections if you do not vote.
Ordinary elector
If you will live at an address for more than one month, you should enrol as an Ordinary elector. (PDF, 119 KB).
You are required to give your current address. If you fail to vote at an election as an ordinary elector, you may receive a fine for not voting.
Silent elector
If you believe that having your address on the electoral roll will put your personal safety or your family's safety at risk, you should apply to become a silent elector (PDF, 146 KB).
This involves having a statutory declaration signed.
The enrolment forms are in pdf format. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. If you would prefer a hard copy, please contact the VEC
Keeping your enrolment up-to-date
The deadlines for the close of rolls for Federal elections have changed, so if you are not on the roll or your details are not up-to-date when a Federal election is called, you might not be able to vote.You have until 8.00 pm on the day the Federal election is officially announced to enrol if:
- you are enrolling for the first time; or
- you are re-enrolling after being removed from the roll.
You have until 8.00 pm three working days after the Federal election is officially announced to enrol if:
- you are on the roll but your details are not up-to-date;
- you will become an Australian citizen between the issue of the writs and election day; or
- you are 17 and will turn 18 between the issue of the writs and election day.
Update your enrolment when your circumstances change so that you remain eligible to vote.
These rules do not apply for local and State government elections.
Assisting people without a home to enrol
If you are a service provider working with people experiencing homelessness, you may wish to consider how you can assist your clients to enrol and vote.Complete an enrolment form with the client
Completing an enrolment form may seem daunting to some, so we recommend you fill out the enrolment form with the client. The enrolment form generally takes no more than ten minutes to complete.
Hold an “enrolment session” for your clients
A number of organisations have held enrolment sessions to enable their clients to enrol. We will provide you with enrolment forms and resources to enrol your clients. If you work for a large-scale organisation, our staff can attend your enrolment session and assist with enrolling your clients.
Include an enrolment form in client information kits
If you provide clients accessing your service with information kits on housing matters, you may wish to include an enrolment form in the kit to ensure clients keep their details up-to-date and current.
Display enrolment forms at your premises
To make enrolment accessible to people without a home, we recommend you display enrolment forms in a visible location.
For further information on assisting people experiencing homelessness, please contact the VEC
Order (PDF,315 KB) enrolment forms and electoral information to be sent to you. The order form is in pdf format. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it. If you would prefer a hard copy, please contact the VEC