Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918

An application must be in writing in the approved form and must contain a declaration by the applicant that he or she is entitled to apply for a postal vote.

An application made in Australia shall be made to the Electoral Commissioner.

An application made outside Australia shall be made to an Assistant Returning Officer or the Electoral Commissioner.

An application for a postal vote may not be made until after the issue of the writ for the election in relation to which a postal vote is sought or the public announcement of the proposed date for the polling, whichever is the earlier.

An application for a postal vote fails to meet the deadline if it is not received by the Electoral Commissioner or the Assistant Returning Officer until after 6 pm on the Wednesday that is 3 days before polling day in the election.

If an application for a postal vote fails to meet the deadline, the Electoral Commissioner or the Assistant Returning Officer must make, or arrange for the making of, reasonable efforts to advise the applicant that his or her application for a postal vote failed to meet the deadline, and that the applicant will have to vote by other means.

The Electoral Commissioner must cause a number to be allocated to each application for a postal vote.