Voter services in residential care facilities will begin progressively from Monday 2nd October 2023. Information about mobile polling teams, including the time and date, will be provided by your facility's administration.
The AEC sends mobile polling teams to many residential aged care facilities, residential mental health facilities, homeless shelters and prisons. These visits occur with the cooperation and agreement of facility administrators.
This service may be provided in a communal area or, where required for high needs residents, as a bed-to-bed service.
Information for voters
If you are a resident in a residential aged care facility, a residential mental health facility, a homeless shelter or a prison, an AEC mobile polling team may visit your facility if the administrator of your facility provides access.
If you cannot vote in-person, you can apply for a postal vote or you may be eligible to cast a vote via telephone.
Information about our visit, including the time and date, will be provided by your facility's administration. If you are unsure whether we will be visiting your facility, please speak to the facility's staff.
Mobile polling teams are AEC staff who will mark you off the electoral roll and collect your referendum ballot paper to be counted. You can ask our staff for assistance casting your vote if you need it.
Mobile voting can be observed by scrutineers. If they are in attendance, you can also ask a scrutineer for assistance casting your vote.
Information for administrators and staff
If your facility has agreed to provide access to AEC mobile polling staff, our mobile polling team will be in touch with your facility's administration to provide details about when we'll be visiting. Please ensure that all residents at your facility are aware of the date and time we'll be attending your facility.
If your facility has not agreed to provide access to AEC mobile polling staff, or we are unable to attend your facility, residents in your facility should be encouraged to consider other options for voting at the referendum. These include voting in-person, postal voting and telephone voting for blind or low-vision voters.