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Australian Electoral Commission
The latest AEC enrolment statistics were released last week, reflecting a new record in the overall national enrolment rate and exponential growth in estimated Indigenous enrolment during the past six months.
Below is some further analysis of the growth in estimated Indigenous enrolment – nationally and for each state and territory.
The estimated national rate of Indigenous enrolment now sits at 94.1% - the first time in Australia’s history it has been above 90%.
This rate has gone up from 74.7% in 2017 – a rise of nearly 20 percentage points in six years. The past six months has accounted for approximately half of that growth.
The number of Indigenous Australians on the electoral roll as at 30 June 2023 is estimated to be 534,209. This is approximately 169,000 more Indigenous Australians on the electoral roll than what was estimated in 2017, and 60,000 more than the estimate just six months ago.
The estimated national rate of Indigenous enrolment (94.1%) is just marginally behind the overall estimated national enrolment rate (97.5%) – a difference of just 3.4 percentage points. In 2017, the gap was 20.4 percentage points. The gap has been closing quickly.
In NSW, the estimated Indigenous enrolment rate is 97.5% - bringing it in line with the current overall national enrolment rate.
In 2017, this rate was 85.9% - it has grown more than 10 percentage points since then and come up from 91.3% in the past six months.
There is an estimated 180,675 Indigenous Australians enrolled in NSW – the most in the country. This has grown approximately 40,000 in the past six years.
In the NT, since 2017 the Indigenous enrolment rate has increased from 67.1% to 87.0% - an increase of nearly 20 percentage points.
This enrolment rate is marginally behind the overall NT enrolment rate of 92.0% (a gap of five percentage points). However, it is much improved from the gap of 16 percentage points in 2017.
There is an estimated 47,253 Indigenous Australians on the electoral roll in the NT. This has grown by approximately 14,000 in the past six years.
In SA, the estimated Indigenous enrolment rate is 92.7%.
In 2017, this rate was 67.9% - it has grown almost 25 percentage points since then and come up from 82.0% in the past six months alone.
There is an estimated 27,534 Indigenous Australians enrolled in SA. This has grown approximately 10,000 in the past six years.
In VIC, the estimated Indigenous enrolment rate is 95.5%.
In 2017, this rate was 73.6% - it has grown more than 20 percentage points since then and come up from 85.3% in the past six months.
There is an estimated 40,865 Indigenous Australians enrolled in VIC. This has grown approximately 14,000 in the past six years.
In the ACT, the estimated Indigenous enrolment rate is 95.8%.
In 2017, this rate was 76.2% - it has grown almost 20 percentage points since then and come up from 87.9% in the past six months.
There is an estimated 5,937 Indigenous Australians enrolled in the ACT – the least in the country. This has grown approximately 2,000 in the past six years.
In WA, the estimated Indigenous enrolment rate is 86.9%.
In 2017, this rate was 62.8% - it has grown almost 25 percentage points since then and come up from 74.1% in the past six months alone.
Recent WA floods meant direct enrolment wasn’t able to apply to some people. We expect the rate to lift again when this isn’t a factor.
There is an estimated 62,804 Indigenous Australians enrolled in WA. This has grown approximately 23,000 in the past six years.
TAS has set the record for the highest percentage of Indigenous population enrolled, compared to any state in Australia, with 97.7%, which is above the overall national enrolment rate of 97.5%.
In 2017, this rate was 83.3% - it has grown almost 15 percentage points since then and come up from 91.6% in the past six months.
There is an estimated 19,551 Indigenous Australians enrolled in TAS. This has grown approximately 5,000 in the past six years.
In QLD, the estimated Indigenous enrolment rate is 95.3%.
In 2017, this rate was 70.0% - it has grown more than 25 percentage points - the state with the largest increase in Indigenous enrolment rate in that time. It has come up from 83.2% in the past six months alone.
There is an estimated 149,590 Indigenous Australians enrolled in QLD. This has grown approximately 57,000 in the past six years.
The year-on-year growth in estimated Indigenous enrolment rates since 2017 can be attributed primarily to the AEC’s work in remote communities – through partnerships and our own community engagement officers.
The significant, further uplift in Indigenous enrolment during the past six months is a reflection of the expansion of the AEC’s direct enrolment program combined with other initiatives.
We have dedicated staff working in communities and with 80+ community partners to help enrol and engage voters in the voting process. This work aims at helping Australians in remote communities enrol and better understand, and connect to, the electoral system.
There are many different types of engagements. Our work with partners is tailored according to the opportunities available. It can involve funding a portion of a person’s salary to foster enrolment and engagement when in community regarding other matters. It can involve the provision of AEC educational material at local community events or premises. We also have Community Engagement Officers who run dedicated electoral education sessions, participate in community meetings or have an AEC presence at local events.
Medicare cards were introduced in early 2023 as an additional form of evidence of identity for enrolling to vote.
The AEC lobbied for this change to regulations because it provided a clear avenue to enrolment for people who otherwise may not have had the required evidence of identity.
Federal direct enrolment was expanded in 2023 into more remote communities through the use of community mailbags and email as part of the required notifications for the enrolment process.
The AEC runs regular and targeted enrolment campaign advertising and uses bulk text and emails to people we believe need to enrol or update their details. Earlier this year, we sent almost 400,000 emails and texts to remind Australians to enrol. Of the 400,000, it is estimated that 65,000 identified as Indigenous.
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.