Voters who are blind or have low vision can cast a vote using the AEC’s dedicated telephone voting service. The registration process for telephone voting will be open from Tuesday 22 April 2025. The service operates 8:30am to 5:30pm Australian Eastern Time (AET) Monday to Friday for the 10 business days immediately prior to polling day (excluding national public holidays), and 8am to 6pm AET on polling day.

Telephone voting is also available for those stationed in Antarctica.

Telephone voting is not available for people with COVID-19 – this was a temporary, emergency legislative measure for the 2022 federal election due to the pandemic. Telephone voting is also not available to people overseas who are not blind or have low vision.

The number to call is 1800 913 993 domestically and +61 2 6271 4611 if overseas.

Step 1: Registration

When you call, an AEC operator will ask you some questions to confirm that you are enrolled to vote, and that you are eligible to vote by telephone.

Once we have confirmed you are eligible to vote, we will ask you to choose a personal identification number (a PIN). We will then send you a registration number. You will need to provide both of these numbers when you call back to vote.

Step 2: Casting a vote

Once you have registered for telephone voting, you can call back and cast your vote. You will need to provide your registration number and PIN before you cast your vote. If you forget either number, you can re-register for a telephone vote as long as you haven't voted.

When you call, to protect your privacy, you will be asked for your registration and PIN rather than your personal details to mark you off the electoral roll. This means your vote remains secret because the AEC voting assistant will not know your name or address.

An AEC voting assistant will record your vote. A second person (the 'witness') will introduce themselves and explain their purpose is to listen to the vote taking call to ensure your vote is recorded correctly onto the ballot paper. Once your vote has been recorded you can choose whether it is the operator or the witness that reads your vote back to you. Once your vote is complete, your vote will be placed into a secure ballot box.

Accessible information

Advertising

The AEC is advertising on print handicapped radio through all phases of the campaign via the Radio Reading Network. The network covers community media outlets that provide access to published materials to those with a print disability.

Resources

The AEC is working closely with Vision Australia to develop and help distribute accessible election information materials.

The booklet, Your official guide to the 2025 federal election, will be available in accessible formats including large print and audio, and can be provided in braille on request.

Candidates lists for the federal election will be made available on request in accessible formats, including large print, audio and braille, shortly after the election is announced.

Vision Australia will email information about the available products to people on their database.

Information for Candidates and Scrutineers

Further information for candidates and scrutineers about the locations and hours of operation of call centres is available by contacting the AEC on 132326 or emailing info@aec.gov.au.