On 24 November, Australians living in Victoria will go to the polling stations to elect their state representatives in Parliament.
If you're an Australian citizen, who resides in Victoria, and who is 18 or over, it's compulsory to enrol and vote.
If you don't, you could get fined.
If you've recently become a citizen, you've probably received an enrolment form at the citizenship ceremony.
But if that didn't happen or if you turned 18 recently, you'll need to enrol yourself.
Asvin Phorugngam is an electoral inclusion officer for the Victorian Electoral Commission, or VEC.
He says enrolling is easy and needs to be done before 6 November.
“You can get an electoral form through the Victorian Electoral Commission website or go to the post office to pick up an enrolment form.”
If you need help enrolling, you can call the VEC and they will provide support in any language you want.
SG Victoria Elex 02 Asvin Phorugngam 20”
“With the enrolment, we have an enrolment helpline. Please ring 1300 805 478. Again, that will help people about how to enrol. We also have an interpreter line, 9209 0111.”
If you have changed your name or address since the last election, you'll also need to update your personal details by 6 November.
Voting is compulsory in Australia, but it's not the only reason to vote.
“Voting is compulsory in Australia, including enrolling. By law, everybody must enrol and must vote. But more to the point is that Australia is a democracy. We want everybody to exercise their human right to vote, that's number one. Number two, everybody should be heard, which means that they need to pick the representative to represent their voice in a government."
At the beginning of November, Victorian households will receive an election guide by mail.
It will contain information on how to vote correctly and where to go to vote.
Most people will vote on Saturday 24 November between 8 am and 6 pm.
But if you can't make it on the day, you can vote at early polling centres between 12 and 23 November.
You can also vote by mail starting 31 October.
“People can ring us up on 1300 805 478 and ask for a ballot paper to be sent to them. So people can do this from the 31st of October, but the ballot paper must be returned by the 21st of November."
When you vote in person, you'll need to answer three questions: What is your full name? Where do you live? And have you voted before in this election?
If you think that you might have difficulties answering these questions in English, make sure to bring an ID.
If you'd like to know how to vote correctly, the VEC runs free information sessions in over thirty languages.
“We have recently trained 58 democracy ambassadors to deliver information sessions for us. Those people come from multicultural communities, disability, Torres Strait Islanders, and homeless communities. We train people to deliver information sessions and we ask those people to go back and work with their audience and communities."
Etimad Jaffer, who is originally from Eritrea, is one of these democracy ambassadors.
“As a person who came from a country where I've never been heard or never voted, I want to pass the whole community my message that Australia is a democracy country. You can vote and your voice can be heard. You have the right to choose the right person to represent you in the government."
It's the second time she is a democracy ambassador for a Victorian election.
She helps people understand how the three levels of government of the country work, how to enrol to vote and how to vote correctly.
“When we deliver a session to people, we actually show them exactly how they can vote with a mock paper, a mock ballot paper."
You can book a free information session on the VEC website or by calling 8620 1347.
The democracy ambassadors are completely impartial and won't tell you who to vote for.
It's up to you to decide.
You can find information about the different parties on the VEC website.
Asvin Phorugngam also has other recommendations if you want to learn more about the candidates.
“Another way to find out information on who they should vote for is their local newspaper, and then if people would like more information or extensive information about political parties or candidates, we ask people to go to the political parties or candidates' website to learn about them more."
He says it's important to do a bit of research before the election day so that when you get there, you know who to vote for.
“So for us what we suggest is the best way to manage the election day is to actually find out who they want to vote for, that's number one. They need to do a little bit of homework. Then when they go to vote, they know and they're very confident who they should vote for."
To find out more about the election and to book a free information session, visit the VEC website at vec.vic.gov.au.
You can also call the VEC on 03 131 832 or if you want to speak in your own language, 03 9209 0111.
