The AEC has received a record number of enrolments for the 2025 election. Photo: AEC.
A record number of Australians have registered to vote in the 3 May federal election, according to data just released by the Australian Electoral Commission.
The AEC announced on Friday (11 April) that 98.2 per cent of eligible Australians are enrolled to vote for the upcoming federal election, totalling 18,098,797 people on the rolls.
The roll has increased by 870,000 people since the 2022 federal election, a rise of 5 per cent.
In the 11 days following the announcement of the election, the AEC added about 85,000 new voters to the roll and helped more than 419,000 other voters update their enrolment details.
Australia’s youth enrolment rate is at 92 per cent.
In the ACT, there are 322,356 registered voters; with 5,694,989 in NSW; 4,580,348 in Victoria; 3,738,087 for Queensland; 1,888,877 in WA; 1,306,900 South Australia; 411,681 in Tasmania; and 155,559 in the Northern Territory.
Acting Australian Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope said the numbers were the result of a lot of work on the Commission’s part, plus a healthy engagement by Australians in their political processes.
“This is the third election in a row at which we’ve set a record for Australia’s national enrolment rate,” he said
“Record enrolment like this doesn’t happen by accident. It represents a huge amount of work on the part of the AEC to engage with voters and reduce barriers for enrolment, and, of course, a fantastic effort from eligible Australians to get enrolled.
“We’re particularly focused on Australia’s youth enrolment rates, and I’m pleased to report that it’s now extremely healthy.
“Well done, Australia.”
The AEC also noted some false claims are being circulated on social media, attributing the growth of the electoral roll to new migrants.
The Commission said this claim has been debunked multiple times.
New migrants make up approximately 30 per cent of new enrolments in Australia, with the vast majority of enrolment growth being younger voters turning 18 and enrolling to vote for the first time.
There are an estimated 333,396 eligible Australians who are registered to vote, including 7,412 in the ACT.
The ACT has a 97.8 per cent enrolment rate.
Enrolment and voting are compulsory for every Australian citizen aged 18 years or older, and every year, the AEC encourages Australians to comply with their legislated obligation to enrol to vote and to keep their details current on the electoral roll.
The AEC’s goal is to ensure that at least 95 per cent of eligible Australians are on the electoral roll at all times.
The Commission publishes statistics on a regular basis to show the number of Australians enrolled nationally, by state/territory and by division.
The federal electoral roll closed at 8 pm local time on Monday, 7 April 2025.
It is now too late to enrol or update your details for the 2025 federal election.
Australians currently aged 16 or 17 can enrol now for future elections, so when they turn 18, they will be able to vote.
As previously reported, the AEC also has a record number of overseas voting places lined up around the world to give Australian voters abroad more options in this election to cast their ballots at embassies and high commissions.
The total number is 111 polling centres across 83 countries worldwide.
That is an improvement from what was available at the 2023 referendum and quite a jump from what was available overseas for the last federal election.
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
