Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918

A person may apply to the Electoral Commissioner for enrolment for a Subdivision if, at the time of making the application:

the person has ceased to reside in Australia; and

the person is not enrolled; and

the person is not qualified for enrolment, but would be so qualified if he or she resided at an address in a Subdivision of a Division, and had done so for at least a month; and

the person intends to resume residing in Australia not later than 6 years after he or she ceased to reside in Australia.

An application:

must be in the approved form; and

must be signed by the applicant; and

must be made within 3 years of the day on which the applicant ceased to reside in Australia; and

must comply with section 98AA (evidence of identity requirements).

The Electoral Commissioner must add the person’s name to the Roll:

for the Subdivision for which the person last had an entitlement to be enrolled; or

if the person has never had such an entitlement, for a Subdivision for which any of the person’s next of kin is enrolled; or

if neither paragraph (a) nor (b) applies, for the Subdivision in which the person was born; or

if none of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) applies, for the Subdivision with which the person has the closest connection.

If:

the application is received by the Electoral Commissioner after 8 pm on the day of the close of the Rolls for an election to be held in a Division; and

the application relates to a Subdivision of that Division;

The Electoral Commissioner must notify the person in writing:

of a decision to grant or refuse the application; or

of the Electoral Commissioner’s opinion that the application cannot be proceeded with because of subsection (4).

If the application is granted, the Electoral Commissioner must treat the application as if it were a valid application under subsection 94(1) by the person to be treated as an eligible overseas elector.