You can vote early, either in-person or by post, if on election day you:

• are outside the electorate where you are enrolled to vote
• are more than 8km from a polling place
• are travelling
• are unable to leave your workplace to vote
• are seriously ill, infirm, or due to give birth shortly (or caring for someone who is)
• are a patient in hospital and can't vote at the hospital
• have religious beliefs that prevent you from attending a polling place
• are in prison serving a sentence of less than three years or otherwise detained
• are a silent elector
• have a reasonable fear for your safety.

Consider your options carefully. Voting early in-person may be a better option than voting by post.

If you are a registered general postal voter, you will automatically receive a postal vote pack in the mail once candidates are finalised and ballot papers are printed. You do not need to re-apply for a postal vote in future elections.

Note: If your postal address has changed or you have been affected by events such as natural disasters, you can update your postal address via the online enrolment form or you can contact us.

If you are registered as a silent elector, and you are not a general postal voter, you can complete a postal vote application or vote in person at an early voting centre or on election day.

The online postal vote application system has strict security measures in place to protect your personal information. The AEC also has authentication procedures in place to verify that the person who applied for the postal vote is the same person who completed the postal vote.

The AEC needs to finalise the candidates and print the ballot papers before we can send you your postal vote. The AEC will commence sending postal votes once they are printed.

The AEC processes a high volume of postal vote applications. If there are differences between your enrolment details and your postal vote application, it may also take additional time to process your application.

If you provided your postal vote application to a political party, they may not have delivered your application to the AEC immediately. The AEC can only begin to process your request once the political party has forwarded your form to us.

Postal votes are sent by Priority Post through Australia Post. Please allow at least a few days for ballot papers to reach you by mail, especially if you are in a regional or remote location or are overseas.

If you provided your email or mobile number on your postal vote application, we will send you status updates on your application (so long as you did not opt-out of notifications).

Please note that the AEC is unable to provide delivery tracking information once your postal vote has been handed to Australia Post.

The AEC will send your postal vote by Priority Post through Australia Post or by international courier if you are overseas.

If you have received a text message saying that your ballot papers have been delivered to Australia Post, it simply means that we have lodged your postal vote pack with Australia Post and they will now deliver them to you.

Your ballot papers will be delivered to the address you requested. Please allow at least a few days for ballot papers to reach you by mail, especially if you are in a regional or remote location or are overseas.

Please note that the AEC is unable to provide delivery tracking information once your postal vote has been handed to Australia Post.

Look for the folded piece of paper that has ‘POSTAL VOTE CERTFICATE’ written on it. It will also list your ‘ELECTOR DETAILS’ underneath.

The inside of the certificate has instructions on how to complete your postal vote. You can also use the QR code on your postal vote certificate to watch a video on how to complete your postal vote.

Your witness needs to be enrolled to vote but cannot be a candidate in the election. A witness can be anyone who knows you, including a family member, a friend, or a neighbour. Your witness will make sure you fill out your own ballot papers – this is one of the ways the AEC makes sure that postal voting is secure.

If you are outside Australia, other acceptable witnesses include:

• an officer of the Defence Force or of the naval, military or air forces of a Commonwealth country,
• a person appointed or engaged under the Public Service Act 1999,
• a member of the civil or public service of a State or Territory or of a Commonwealth country,
• a Justice of the Peace for a State or Territory or a Commonwealth country,
• a minister of religion or medical practitioner resident in a State or Territory or a Commonwealth country,
• an Australian citizen.

If you are overseas and still cannot find a witness, please see overseas postal voting or refer to the How to complete your overseas postal vote leaflet for instructions on what to do.

Once you have completed steps 1 to 4 on the postal vote certificate, you can follow the steps below on how to place your certificate and ballot papers inside the return envelope:

1. Detach the green ballot paper and fold it in half
2. Carefully refold your white ballot paper the same way as you received it, so it folds flat along the original fold lines
3. Place both ballot papers inside the postal vote certificate (on the shaded area of the ‘How to make your postal vote count’ instructions) and refold close.
4. Line up the arrows on the edge of the folded Postal Vote Certificate with the opening of the return envelope, keeping your ballot papers inside. Use the return envelope for one person’s vote only.
5. If your return envelope
   1. Has a window on its front - check to make sure the Divisional Returning Officer address is clearly visible from the outside, then seal the envelope and return.
   2. Does not have a window but the address is pre-printed – seal the envelope and return.
   3. Does not have a window, and the address is not pre-printed - write the correct address clearly and seal the envelope. If you are overseas, go to Voting from overseas to find the correct address to return your postal vote.

Postage is paid within Australia. If you are overseas, please remember to affix stamps before posting.

There is also a QR code on your postal vote certificate to watch a video on how to complete your postal vote. This video includes how to put the certificate inside the return envelope.

A white return envelope is included in your postal vote pack which should be used to return your postal vote to the AEC. This return envelope will hide your personal details on the postal vote certificate while it’s on its way back to us.

It is important to follow the instructions on how to insert your postal vote certificate and ballot papers inside the return envelope. You can use the QR code on your postal vote certificate to watch a video on how to complete your postal vote. This video includes how to put the certificate inside the return envelope.

You must complete your postal vote on or before election day. Remember that both you and your witness must sign the declaration part on your postal vote certificate by 6pm on election day.

Make sure you return your postal vote as soon as possible. We need to receive your postal vote by the 13th day after the election to include it in the count.

You may also return it by hand:

• To a polling place in Australia before 6pm on election day.
• To any AEC office before or after election day.

If you are overseas, find your nearest return address.

If the ballot papers and certificate are still usable, you can use sticky tape to tape the damaged sections back together and proceed with completing your postal vote. If we can still read it, we will count your vote. Please do not use staples or clips as they may damage our letter opening machines.

Please contact the AEC on 13 23 26, if the materials are:

• significantly damaged
• wet and totally unusable
• significantly torn and unrepairable, or
• not usable.