Who may vote in Council Elections?

Changes have been made to voters' rolls for local government elections.  These changes came into operation, in the Local Government Act 1989, on 31 December 2004.

A voter in a council election must be at least 18 years of age by the election day and must be entitled to be enrolled on the voters' roll.  To be entitled to be enrolled a person must qualify as a resident or as a ratepayer.

Residents

For council elections, a resident is a person who is enrolled on the State electoral roll for an address in the council area.  State rolls are maintained by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC).

A State elector must be an Australian citizen (or a British subject who was on an Australian electoral roll on 26 January 1984).  The address for which a State elector is enrolled must have been the person's principal place of residence for at least one month prior to application.  An Electoral Enrolment Form is available from the VEC website at www.vec.vic.gov.au/Forms/Enrolment.pdf or from post offices, town hall receptions and Coles supermarkets.

Ratepayers

For council elections, ratepayers are owners or occupiers of rateable property in the council area.  Lists of ratepayer voters are compiled by Port Phillip Council.

The Council will generally enrol the owner of the property without requiring an application.  There are exceptions to this:

• If there are more than two owners, a maximum of two can be enrolled.
• If an owner lives at the property the council will not automatically enrol them because they will normally be on the State electoral roll.  A resident owner, who is not on the State roll, can apply for enrolment on the council roll Owner Application Form C.
• If an owner is a corporation the council will not automatically enrol it.  A corporation can apply to enrol one of its directors or company secretaries as a voter Corporate Owner Appointment Form G. 

Some occupiers of rateable property are required to pay council rates as a condition of their lease.  They may apply for enrolment on the council roll as ratepayers. 

• Owners and occupiers may not both be enrolled for the same rateable property.  If occupiers are enrolled, owners will not be enrolled for the property.
• No more than two occupiers can be enrolled for a single rateable property.
• The enrolment of occupiers is subject to written agreement from the owner(s) unless council rate notices are addressed directly to the occupiers  Occupier Application Form D and Corporate Occupier Appointment Form H.

Enrolments by application, from occupiers or resident owners, are valid for a single term of the council.  Before the next election the council will send a letter to each person whose enrolment is due to expire, advising them how they can re-enrol if they are still eligible. (All enrolment applications must be lodged by the entitlement day).

One enrolment only

A person can only be enrolled once in a council area, even if the person has entitlements in more than one ward.

• If a person is on the State electoral roll for an address in the municipality he or she will only be enrolled for that address, irrespective of any other entitlement.
• If a person owns more than one property he or she can only be enrolled for one of those properties.
• A person can not apply for enrolment as an occupier or a corporation representative if he or she is enrolled as a resident or as an owner.

If you change your residential address you should complete an Electoral Enrolment Form to amend your address on the State and Federal electoral roll. This will flow through and change your status on the appropriate council voters' roll.

The Electoral Enrolment Form is available from the Victorian Electoral Commission website or from post offices, town hall receptions and Coles supermarkets. Completed forms should be sent to the Victorian Electoral Commission at the address shown on the form.

If you buy or sell property in the City of Port Phillip, the person undertaking the conveyancing  is required to notify the council of the purchase or sale. This ensures that the council's rate records can be amended to show current ownership details. Further information can be found in the Change of Ownership section.

If you change your residential or postal address then you should also complete aChange of Address form and return it to council. We can then change your details on the council's database so that future correspondence will go to your correct address.

For more information, contact the Governance team via eServices or phone ASSIST on (03) 9209 6777 or TTy (03) 9209 6713.