Postal voting? Action needed

Apr 24, 2025

Voters needing to vote by post are encouraged to apply early.

If you are needing to vote in the federal election via a postal vote, but have not yet applied, you need to do so.

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If a voter can turn up to a voting centre, then that is what they must do.

While the legislated deadline for postal vote applications is Wednesday, April 30, anyone who leaves it until the final week risks their postal vote pack not arriving in time.

People can apply for a postal vote on the Australian Electoral Commission’s website at aec.gov.au/election/pva.htm

Voters who do not receive their postal vote pack by Friday, May 2, should, if at all possible, make arrangements to vote in-person on election day.

Voters who fail to cast a vote will be contacted by the AEC and asked to explain why they did not vote.

Received your postal vote pack? Don’t delay in returning it.

As of the close of business on Tuesday, April 22, around 2.39 million people had applied for a postal vote.

With around 2.2 million postal vote packs already distributed, the AEC is also urging anyone who has received their postal vote ballot papers to complete them as soon as possible and put them in the return mail (using the reply-paid envelope supplied as part of the pack).

Once a postal vote pack is received, a voter must have completed their ballot paper, placed it in the return envelope and had it witnessed before the close of polling on election day.