The next Victorian election will be held on Saturday 28 November.
All Victorian citizens aged 18 and over have the right to vote (except some prisoners), to have a say on the issues that impact them.
If you are experiencing homelessness, it is not compulsory for you to vote, though you have the right to if you want to.
If you are supporting someone experiencing homelessness, here’s what to keep in mind ahead of the election and how to help someone enrol to vote.
Voting FAQs
The Victorian Election Commission has useful resources for homelessness workers who want to support someone to vote, including this handy FAQ guide.
If you’d like more support, you can also book an info session for your organisation delivered by VEC staff. To book a session head here.
Key dates
This year, these are the key dates to note:
- Tuesday 3 November 2026: Electoral roll closes (8:00 pm)
- Tuesday 17 November 2026: Low sensory voting
- Wednesday 18 November 2026: Early voting opens
- Saturday 28 November 2026: Election Day
How to help someone to enrol
It’s fairly easy to help someone enrol to vote or, if required, update their enrolment. This year, make sure you do so before the electoral role closes at 8pm Tuesday 3 November.
Note that enrolment is not compulsory for people experiencing homelessness who are not already enrolled. However, if they are enrolled, it is compulsory to maintain enrolment.
There are two main steps to helping someone without a home to enrol to vote.
1/ Check enrolment
Checking enrolment can be done via the Victorian Electoral Commission website at enrolment.vec.vic.gov.au
When checking if someone is on the roll, remember to try searching for their First and Middle names, if they have them.
You will also need to ask them to try to recall the suburb and street name which they might be enrolled under.
2/ Update enrolment or enrol for first time
If a person has an Australian driver’s licence, Australian passport number, Medicare Card number, or Australian citizenship number, it’s fairly simple to enrol or update their enrolment online.
Fill out a No fixed address enrolment form on the Australian Electoral Commission website with the person you are supporting. They can enrol to vote in the electorate:
where they last lived for at least a month
where one of their family currently lives
where they were born, if neither of the above applies
If the person does not have any of the above forms of identification, they should fill out a paper form.
You can still help someone to update their enrolment or enrol for the first time using the paper form, however you must also be:
willing to confirm their identity, and
enrolled yourself.
This method will require printing an Enrolment for persons with no fixed address in Victoria form from the Australian Electoral Commission and filling it out in hardcopy.
The paper form can then be submitted by post, fax, online, or in-person. Further details are included on page one of the form.
Within three weeks of receiving the enrolment form, the Australian Electoral Commission will confirm enrolment.
How to help someone with the voting process
People experiencing homelessness can vote:
in person at a voting centre (either early voting
centres or on election day)
by post
in person at a mobile voting service (these will be available at some homeless support services from 17 November).
According to the VEC, a support worker can help a voter:
understand the process
read or complete the ballot paper (if asked to by the voter)
navigate the voting experience
Important: The vote must reflect the voter’s own choice. Support workers must not influence decisions.
For more information, visit vec.gov.au or contact the VEC Public Engagement Branch on 131 832.