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Australian Electoral Commission
When you enrol to vote, your name and address is added to the 'electoral roll' – the list of people entitled to vote in an election.
If you are an Australian citizen aged 18 and over, you are required by law to keep your details on the electoral roll correct and up-to-date.
You only need to complete one enrolment form to enrol for federal, state and local government elections. The electoral roll is shared with the relevant state electoral commissions to ensure you can vote in all elections.
The electoral roll is not available for sale in any format. The AEC protects personal information on the electoral roll from being misused under the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988.
It is the responsibility of each individual eligible Australian to enrol and keep their enrolment details up to date. However, the AEC does receive data that can be used to remind people of their enrolment obligations and, in some cases, update the roll directly.
Enrolment actions that the AEC may take based on verified data that has been received includes adding someone to the roll, updating a person’s enrolment record or removing someone from the roll.
Data is received from a range of federal and state departments/agencies and may include an individual's surname, given name(s), date of birth, and address. Information is examined and matched against the electoral roll to identify people who may need an enrolment action to be taken.
While trusted third-party data is used to directly enrol and update the enrolment details of eligible Australians, this is only possible when strict data verification checks are met. This third-party data is often also used to communicate with other Australians about the potential need for them to take enrolment action.
Enrolment reminders are sent via email and text message. If you receive an enrolment reminder via email or text message but are already enrolled at your current residential address then you can simply ignore the communication.
Enrolment reminder emails and text messages distributed by the AEC will never ask you to respond to that communication or ask you to provide personal details outside of an official AEC enrolment form.
| Data Source | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| State and Territory Driver's Licence Authorities | Australia |
| Services Australia – Centrelink | Australia |
| Australian Taxation Office | Australia |
| Department of Home Affairs | Australia |
| Public Sector Mapping Agency Ltd (PSMA) | Australia |
| Births, Deaths and Marriages Authorities | Australia |
| Correctional Services Authorities | Australia |
| Departments of Education | ACT |
| Departments of Housing | Qld |
| Office of Rental Bonds | ACT |
| ACTEWAGL | ACT |
An electronic copy of the current national roll is available for public inspection at any AEC state office. Public access terminals at AEC divisional offices provide access to the electoral rolls of the division/s represented by that office.
Alternatively, you can check your current electoral enrolment online.
You may not copy, record or photograph any information from the electoral roll with any electronic device.
The publicly available roll does not contain your date of birth.
To view the Public Access Terminal in Victoria State Office, please call (03) 9285 7171 in advance to make a booking.
The AEC does not keep historic electoral rolls for public viewing.
The National Library of Australia in Canberra has available selected microfiche of the Commonwealth Electoral Rolls from 1901 to 2008. The library also holds a limited number of state electoral rolls on microfiche for the time prior to Federation.
The state libraries and some local libraries may hold copies of electoral rolls. A guide to researching historic Australian electoral rolls is also available on the National Library of Australia website.
A person (or their representative) who is registering a new political party or is nominating as an independent candidate for an election may attend an AEC office to check the enrolment details of their supporters.
This group of people can also use the online enrolment verification facility available on the AEC website.
Under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, the electoral roll (containing names and addresses) may be supplied to prescribed authorities, members of parliament, political parties, approved medical researchers, public health programs and electoral researchers.
The AEC does not provide your email address or phone number to these recipients.
The AEC acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.