Didn't vote?
Didn't vote at an election?
In Victoria, if you are enrolled to vote, you must vote in all Federal, State and council elections. If you do not vote, you may get a fine.The process
Step 1: Apparent failure to vote notice
We will send you an 'Apparent failure to vote' notice if it appears you did not vote in an election.
This notice is an opportunity to explain why it appears that you didn’t vote, and is not a fine.
Do not ignore this notice, you must respond within 28 days.
Step 2: Infringement notice (a fine)
You will receive an Infringement notice with a fine if you did not vote and:
- you did not respond to an Apparent failure to vote notice
- your excuse for not voting was not considered valid and sufficient.
You have 28 days to pay the fine or take other action.
The fine for not voting is $92.00 for elections held after 1 July 2022.
This amount is indexed at the beginning of every financial year (1 July).
Step 3: Penalty reminder notice
If you do not pay your fine by the due date on the Infringement notice, or take other action to deal with it, you will be:
- issued with a Penalty reminder notice
- required to pay the original fine plus a Penalty reminder notice fee of $26.60
- required to pay or take other action by the due date on the Penalty reminder notice.
You have 28 days to pay or take other action.
What are my options?
If you receive an Infringement notice or a Penalty reminder notice, your options are to:
If you do not pay or take action to deal with a Penalty Reminder notice, we will refer your matter to Fines Victoria for further enforcement action.
When a matter is with Fines Victoria, we cannot consider requests for payment plans, payment extensions or internal reviews.
Pay your fine with Fines Victoria.
More information
If you are unsure about what to do, or you need more information call 1300 551 575.
Want this information in your language? Contact us through an interpreter.