Enrolling to vote

You must enrol and vote if you:

• are 18 years or older on election day
• are an Australian citizen, or a Commonwealth citizen who has registered to vote before 1984
• have lived at your address in the municipality of Melbourne for at least one month before close of roll.

For more information, visit the Victorian Electoral Commission website.

Council-enrolled voters are property owners, occupiers or representatives of companies within the City of Melbourne who are:

• 18 years or older on election day
• not state-enrolled voters for the municipality of Melbourne.

Council ratepayers

You are entitled to vote in the 2024 council elections if you:

• own and pay rates on a property in the council area
• are 18 years or older on election day
• are not a state-enrolled voter living in the City of Melbourne.

This includes:

• Australian citizens who own a property in the municipality but do not live in the area (for example, an investment or a holiday home)
• non-citizens, 18 years or older on election day, who own a property in the municipality and live within the municipality.

Ratepayers who live in Australia but outside the municipality must vote in council elections. Council uses its council records to enrol up to two ratepayers per property.

If you are a ratepayer who lives in the City of Melbourne and are not an Australian citizen, you are eligible to vote in the council elections, but you will not automatically be enrolled. You must submit a form to enrol.

If you are a ratepayer who lives overseas, you are eligible to vote in the council elections, but you will not automatically be enrolled. You must submit a form to enrol.

Council property occupiers

You are entitled to vote in the 2024 council elections if you are:

• on a lease as an occupant for a property that contributes rates to the City of Melbourne
• 18 or older on election day
• not a state-enrolled voter.

For example:

• you could be an international student, or a visa holder currently renting in the City of Melbourne and named on the lease
• or a business owner occupying a commercial property.

Commercial occupiers who live in Australia but outside the municipality must vote in council elections. Council uses its election records to enrol up to two business occupiers per property. Each occupier only gets one vote in the council elections.

If you are a property occupier living in the City of Melbourne or living overseas, you are eligible to vote in the council elections but must submit a form to enrol. Up to two occupiers are permitted to be enrolled per property, but each person only gets one vote.

Corporations

A corporation that exclusively owns or occupies rateable property in the City of Melbourne must register two company officers to vote on behalf of the company in the council elections. Unless two representatives are nominated, City of Melbourne will attempt to deem two officers of the company to vote in the council elections.

Corporations that share ownership or occupancy of a rateable property in the municipality (with other corporations or individuals) are entitled but not obligated to vote.

You can apply to enrol to vote on behalf of a corporation if you:

• are a director or company secretary of a corporation that pays rates (either as an owner or an occupier) in the council area
• have consented to being appointed as the corporation’s representative
• are 18 or over on election day
• are not already a state-enrolled voter or council-enrolled voter for the same council.

Each person can have only one vote in the council elections. Once enrolled, officers of the company must vote for the October 2024 elections and all future elections until they no longer work for the company.

Visit the Corporations page for more information about enrolments.