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Australian Electoral Commission
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.
You may receive unsolicited postal vote application forms and SMS prompts from political parties encouraging you to vote by post. If you are eligible to vote by post, apply directly with the AEC. This will avoid delays in postal votes being sent, and protects the privacy of your details.
Postal vote applications are now open for the 2025 federal election.
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, click on the link below to apply. It is important to do this as soon as possible to ensure you receive your ballot papers in time.
You can apply for a postal vote if on election day you:
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.
The AEC cannot send your postal voting pack until the ballot papers have been printed. Printing will occur after the Declaration of Nominations at 12pm local time on Friday 11 April 2025. The Declaration of Nominations determines the order candidates will appear on the ballot paper.
If you are registered as a general postal voter you will automatically receive a postal vote pack in the mail, you do not need to re-apply for a postal vote. If your postal address has changed, you can update your postal address online. Please ensure it’s updated before 8pm local time Monday 7 April 2025.
Use the printable paper form [PDF] if you cannot apply online.
Once you have completed your application, email to applications@pva.aec.gov.au, or see the back of the form for instructions on how to post it back to the AEC.
Your federal election postal vote pack will contain:
Watch a video on how to complete your postal vote here.
Your postal vote certificate and ballot papers must be completed on or before election day. We encourage you to do this as soon as possible after receiving your postal vote pack. You must return your ballot papers to the AEC no later than 13 days after the election or your vote will not be included in the count.
Please refer to the ‘How to complete your postal vote’ pamphlet included in your postal pack for the ‘Things to check’. Completing these steps accurately will ensure your postal vote reaches us and is able to be counted. Further information on how to complete and return your postal vote is also provided in the Frequently asked questions – Postal voting.
You can vote from overseas by visiting an overseas voting centre or completing a postal vote. You will need to provide an overseas address to receive your postal vote pack.
We encourage you to apply for a postal vote pack as early as possible to ensure that you receive your postal vote pack in time.
The AEC can only legally count postal votes that are completed on or before election day and received by the AEC in Australia by the 13th day after election day.
See Overseas voting for more information on how to vote from overseas.
For more information on postal voting see this factsheet.
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.