All you need to know about voting in the upcoming Federal Election

Published on 15 April 2025

The 2025 Federal Election is taking place on Saturday 3 May 2025.

A record 98.2% of eligible Australians are enrolled to vote in the upcoming federal election. There are 18,098,797 people enrolled for the election.

The roll has increased by 870,000 people since the 2022 federal election, a rise of 5.0%.

Australia’s youth enrolment rate is 92.0%.

How to Vote in the 2025 Federal Election

There are a number of different ways that you can cast your vote.

1) On election day (Saturday 3 May), in person

There are many polling stations set up at local schools, churches, community halls and public buildings within the Woollahra Council area. Voting opens at 8am on election day and closes at 6pm.

Search for a polling station near you.

The AEC website details the process of voting at a polling place on election day so you know what to expect. Find out more here.

2) Postal votes

If you are unable to get to a polling place to vote in the federal election, you may be eligible to apply for a postal vote. This means your ballot papers will be sent to you in the mail for the election. Carefully consider your options as voting early in person may be an easier option than voting by post.

Voters are eligible for early voting, either in-person or by post, if on election day you:

• are outside the electorate where you are enrolled to vote
• are more than 8km from a polling place
• are travelling
• are unable to leave your workplace to vote
• are seriously ill, infirm, or due to give birth shortly (or caring for someone who is)
• are a patient in hospital and can't vote at the hospital
• have religious beliefs that prevent you from attending a polling place
• are in prison serving a sentence of less than three years or otherwise detained
• are a silent elector
• have a reasonable fear for your safety.

You can also vote early in person by visiting an early voting centre. Consider your options carefully. Postal delivery timeframes have changed, so voting early in-person may be a better option than voting by post.

Postal vote applications are now open for the 2025 federal election.

WARNING: The AEC advises voters that unsolicited postal vote application forms are sent by a political party or candidate, not the AEC. These may be received via email, SMS or delivered to your mailbox. They are reportedly used by political parties to collect data about voters before forwarding to the AEC. This can affect timeliness of applications getting to the AEC and the privacy of an applicant’s details.

If you are eligible to vote via post, you can apply directly with the AEC. This will avoid delays and protect the privacy of your details. It is important to do this as soon as possible to ensure you receive your ballot papers in time.

If voters wish to cast a postal vote, voters are able to apply directly on the AEC website before Wednesday 30 April.

3) Early voting, in person

Hundreds of early voting centres will be open progressively across the country from Tuesday 22 April 2025 and will run up to and including Friday 2 May.

Check the opening dates as not all early voting centres are open for the entire two-week early voting period. 

All early voting centres will be closed on Easter Monday, 21 April, and Anzac Day, Friday 25 April.  

Search for an early voting station near you.

How to vote

During the voting process, you will cast a vote for:

• House of Represenatives (Voters in each electoral division elect one person to represent them in the House of Representatives

and

• Senate (Each state has twelve Senate positions with six year terms and each territory has two Senate positions with three year terms.)

The AEC website has a practice voting section which contains tools that have been developed to explain the easiest way to make sure your vote will count in federal election events. They are interactive with easy to follow instructions on how to complete your ballot papers correctly.

Did You Know....?

Key statistics:

• 710,000 more people on the electoral roll (2022 federal election - end 2024)
• 570 early voting centres
• 7,000 polling places
• 100+ overseas voting centres
• 100,000 staff needed, 240,000 vests
• 250,000 pencils, 250,000 lengths of string
• 40,000 transport routes, 90,000 transport containers, 5,000 rolls of tamper proof tape
• 80,000 ballot boxes, 1.4 millions security seals