Voting+in+Australia

=__Voting in Australia__= In Australia it is compulsory to vote once you reach the age of 18. This means that you have to vote, otherwise you will be fined. You are currently fined $60 for not voting in a state election or a council election, and $20 for not voting at a federal election.



All 18 year or older Australian citizens have the right to vote. Each person's vote is equal. However, this was not always the case in Australia. Many people were unable to vote for a variety of reasons. You can find out more about the history of voting in Australia at the [|History of Voting.]

Why should you vote? Go to this interactive activity to find out: [|Why vote?]

You need to enrol to vote by filling in a form that you can obtain from any post office in Australia.

You have to vote at every Federal election, every election in the state or territory that you reside in and you also have to vote in council elections held in the municipality you live in.



We have a preferential voting system in Australia, which means that you have to vote for all of the candidates by numbering them in order of your preference. First preference votes are counted first. If there isn't a winner the vote then goes to second preferences, and so on, until a winner is achieved.

You can find more about the preferential voting system by visiting the following websites.

Virtual Voting Experience explains how you vote at a state or federal election. At one point you have to type in your name so that you can see how you would be marked off on the electoral roll. You can experience the Virtual Voting Experience here: [|Virtual Voting Experience]

How to vote for the House of Representatives: [|How to vote - HOR]

How to vote for the Senate: [|How to vote for the Senate]

You can practise voting for the House of Representative and the Senate by clicking on the links below:

[|Practise voting for the House of Representatives]

[|Practise voting for the Senate]



You can explore how voting needs to be fair for everyone and have a set of rules by seeing how the children at Possum Pine School choose their new school captain. This activity allows you to come up with a set of rules to ensure an election is fair. Visit Possum Pine School and [|Take a vote.]

[|Counting your vote]explains about electorates in Australia, different types of voting systems and the secret ballot preferential system that we still use in Australia.

Do you want to find out what happens on election day? If you do, you might want to visit [|Election Day.]

Do you think that you now know all about elections? Prove it at [|Voting Challenge - What Do You Know?]

The VEC (Victorian Electoral Commission runs elections in Victoria and also provides electoral education. They will be coming to Seaholme in the last week of term 2 2015 to help us run a grade 5/6 election. In order to help raise your awareness of issues you need to complete the 4 sections on the Passport To Democracy - Decide page. The 4 areas are How Political Am I?, What's Important?, Who Decides? and Powers of Persuasion. [|Passport to Democracy - Decide]