Every citizen needs to vote in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum on 14 October, even the newest Australians.
People who are scheduled to attend citizenship ceremonies on or before the day must complete the provisional enrolment form available on the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) website.
If you’ve been notified of your citizenship ceremony date, that makes you eligible.
Completed forms must be received by 8pm local time Monday 18 September. They can be returned via fax, post, in person to an AEC office or by uploading to the AEC website.
The AEC has translated voting information to 34 languages and can connect people with translators.
It also has resources for hearing and vision impaired people including a phone voting line for vision impaired people.
Sunday 17 September marks citizenship day, when thousands of people will become Australian citizens in ceremonies around the country.
Australia’s last referendum was in 1999, meaning it’s not just new Australians who will be voting in a referendum for the first time, but anyone under the age of 42 will be newbies too.
Voters are asked to write Yes or No on the ballot which asks if people want to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory group in the constitution.
It’s important to have the details of your current address accurate and up to date ahead of the referendum.
The simplest way to update your details is via the AEC website, where you can also check your details, but you can fill in a paper form.
To maintain your privacy, your enrolment will only be confirmed if the details you enter exactly match those on the electoral roll.
Updating your details will also require identification documents, similar to those required for enrolment, such as a driver’s licence, Australian passport number, Medicare card number or an Australian citizenship number.
You can also fill in physical forms which are available online or from an AEC office, and return them to the AEC office.
The AEC may have updated your details if they have obtained your details from another government agency, which the law allows them to do.
