Voter FAQs

Yes. If you are an Australian citizen aged 18 years or more, you are required to enrol and vote in federal, state and local government elections and by-elections. If you do not vote, you may receive a penalty notice.

To find out where to vote in an election, enter your home address (do not include apartment/unit numbers) in the Find my electorate tool to check which state electoral district or council/ward you are enrolled in.

Select your address from the dropdown results and press ‘Find’. For state elections, select your state district. For local government elections, select your council and also the ward (if applicable). These pages will provide the details of your closest voting centre and the accessibility level of each venue.

For state and local government by-elections, voting centre locations are found on the relevant election event page.

Details about when to vote at state and local government elections are published on each relevant election event page.

All candidates who have nominated for an election are published on our website following the ballot paper draw. You can find this information on each relevant election event page under the “Who are the candidates?” heading.

We also publish how-to-vote information if the candidate and/or their affiliated party have provided us with this information.

If you didn’t vote in an election you were eligible for in NSW, and you don’t have a valid reason, we will send you an ‘Apparent failure to vote notice’ in the post. The penalty for not voting in NSW is a $55 fine. You must respond within 28 days of the issue date of the notice. Read more information on the I didn’t vote page.

Under the Electoral Act 2017 it is an offence to vote more than once in the same election. Schedule 6 to the Act also provides for the Electoral Commissioner to declare a person reasonably suspected of being a multiple voter to be a ‘special elector’ and be noted as such on any authorised roll or list of electors. 

Following an election, the authorised printed rolls are scanned to identify people who voted, those who appeared not to have voted and anyone who appeared to have voted more than once on election day. Comparisons are then made against electors’ names that were marked off the electronic roll (used at early voting centres). Analysis is carried out to identify those electors who may have voted using various early voting channels and perhaps also voted on election day. 

Learn more about multiple voting

To find your electorate, enter your home address (do not include apartment/unit numbers) in the Find my electorate tool to check which state district, council and ward you are enrolled in.

Select your address from the dropdown and press ‘Find’. For state elections, select your state district. For local government elections, select your ward.

We publish information about all elections conducted by the NSW Electoral Commission.

You can sign up to our free election reminder service to receive SMS and/or email reminders about upcoming state and local government elections.

The key dates for every election conducted by the NSW Electoral Commission are published on the election event page underneath the “What are the key dates?” heading.

You can also find voting centre opening times on each relevant election event page.

The ‘How voting works’ section of our website has information about voting in New South Wales elections.

We offer opportunities to work at state and local government elections. Work is available on election day and throughout the election period. This includes the weeks before and after election day.

Applications are encouraged from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability and people who speak a language other than English.

Read more about working at an election.

To get in touch with us, visit our Contact us page.

Visit our ‘Welcome to voting’ pages to find out all about voting at elections in New South Wales and what to expect if you vote at a voting centre.

You can check your enrolment details using the NSW Electoral Commission’s verify your enrolment service.

If your address or name has changed since the last election, you can change your details on the Australian Electoral Commission’s website.

Update your name or address

Yes, you still need to update your address.

To register to vote, you can either enrol online or download an enrolment form to complete and upload.

The online enrolment link will take you to the enrolment form on the Australian Electoral Commission’s website. By completing this form, you will be enrolled to vote in federal, state and local government elections.

We offer a range of voting options, including:

• voting on election day
• postal voting
• early voting (pre-poll voting)
• telephone assisted voting for voters who are blind or have low vision
• interstate or overseas voting options
• visits to declared institutions and facilities. 

Early voting (pre-poll) is available two weeks before election day. Out of area (absent) voting is not available at local council elections in NSW. You must vote in your local area or use an early voting option.

You can vote before election day at an early voting centre. Use the address lookup tool to identify your state electoral district or council area/ward and find your nearest early voting centre (polling place).

Read about the criteria for early voting.

We visit some nursing homes, convalescent homes, hospitals, and similar institutions to allow residents to vote from home before election day. Find out more about declared facilities.

There are several options available if you will not be in your council area, ward, or district on election day.

State elections:

• Interstate: If you are interstate during a state election, you can vote in-person at an interstate voting centre or by postal vote.
• Overseas: If you are overseas during a state election, you will need to vote by post.

Local government elections:

• Interstate: If you will be interstate during a local government election, you can vote at an early voting (pre-poll) centre before you leave, or by postal vote.
• Overseas: If you are overseas during a local government election, you will need to vote by post.

For more information, view our interstate or overseas voting page.

Eligibility for postal voting can be found on the postal voting section of our website.

Information about postal vote applications can be found on the postal voting section of our website.

No. Registered general postal voters are not required to make a separate postal vote application for each election. General postal voters will automatically receive their ballot papers for all federal, state and local government elections.

Damaged ballot papers can still be returned if your preferences are clear on the ballot paper. If you have misplaced the paper or your preferences are illegible, contact us on 1300 135 736 for other options.

If you need help casting your vote, you ask a friend, carer or family member to help you. If you are voting in-person, you can also for help from an election official at the voting centre (polling place).

Additionally, election officials can help you mark your ballot papers as you instruct or put your completed ballot papers into the ballot box for you. Election officials cannot tell you who to vote for.

For information on venue accessibility and for information in a language other than English, visit the Assistance for voters section of our website.

We provide information on our website about the accessibility of every voting centre to help you choose the best venue for your needs. This information is published closer to each election day via the relevant election event page.

Certain cardboard material, such as the ballot box, have bright contrast markings to assist voters with depth perception issues.

Additionally, all voting centres have handheld magnifying sheets and maxi pens. If you need either of these items, please ask an election official.

Please contact us through the National Relay Service (NRS) to discuss the services available to you. Choose your access option and ask for 1300 135 736.

Yes. You can view information on elections, enrolling and voting in the Information in your language section on our website.

If you need an interpreter, call TIS National on 131 450 and ask them to call the NSW Electoral Commission on 1300 135 736.