How to vote early in the 2025 Australian federal election

West Australian

30-04-2025

Record numbers of Australians have already hit early polling booths to cast their votes ahead of election day on Saturday.
As of Tuesday, 22 per cent of voters - about four million people - had cast their ballots at one of 570 early voting centres across the country.
Footy fans are among those being urged to get their votes in early, with more than 150,000 people expected to travel to Brisbane for the NRL's Magic Round this weekend.
Extra interstate polling booths have been set up to accommodate the anticipated influx of travellers.
For those just looking to beat the election day crowds, this is how you can have your say - wherever you may be - ahead of Saturday.
Australia is a democracy, which means the people decide who runs the country.
We make that decision through a collective vote called 'the election'.
In Australia, the federal election happens every three years.
There are plenty of countries in the world that are not democracies, meaning regular people don't have any power or controlover the political direction of their nation.
We're lucky to be a democracy in Australia. So get ready for a democracy sausage and the chance to make your voice heard.
We vote for people to represent us in two power centres in the national parliament: The House of Representatives and the Senate.
The House of Representatives is called the Lower House and it is made up of 151 electorates, also known as 'seats' or divisions.
Each of the 151 seats encompasses a particular zone or area within Australia.
If you live in a certain seat, you vote for candidates running to represent that seat.
For example, the seat of Reid covers portions of western Sydney such as the suburbs of Strathfield, Burwood and Drummoyne.
It is currently represented by Labor MP Sally Sitou.
So if you live these Sydney suburbs, you live in the seat of Reid and you determine who represents your area in parliament.
The party that wins 76 seats wins a majority in the House of Representatives and they form government.
There are multiple political parties in Australia, each with distinct values and ideas about how society should be organised.
The two main parties are the Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and the Coalition, made up of the Liberaland National parties, led by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
We also vote for a Senate, which is called the Upper House.
The Senate is made up of 76 senators, who can represent political parties or serve as independents.
Senators represent whole states and territories, rather than individual seats.
The central function of the Senate is to monitor the government and assess, block or amend new bills, or legislation comingfrom the House of Representatives.
The Senate must approve bills from the House of Representatives for them to become a law.
Is it just a matter of go to a voting centre, tick one box and walk out?
No. In Australia, we choose our candidates based on our 'preferences', from highest to lowest.
So we end up marking multiple boxes.
You will receive two ballot papers, one for the House and one for the Senate.
You take you ballot paper to your own private cardboard station at the voting centre to mark your vote.
It's completely private, so no one can force you to vote a certain way.
It's entirely up to you.
The location of an early voting station can be found on the Australian Electoral Commission website.
Not voting in Australia's compulsory system can lead to a $20 fine