Voting in the Treaty Elections is open from 21 March to 12 April 2026.
If you are already enrolled with a valid email address and/or mobile phone number, and chose to receive election information electronically, you will receive an email and SMS with your secure personal online voting link and details on how to cast your vote as soon as voting opens. Just follow the prompts to vote securely online. Otherwise drop into one of our many voting locations to cast your vote in person or you can request a postal vote by contacting the Returning Officer at [email protected] . If at any time you need help or assistance, please contact us.
If you’re not yet enrolled, don’t worry – people can still enrol to vote during the voting period! Just enrol by clicking here. You can also enrol and vote in-person at any voting booth.
If you enrol during the voting period, haven’t voted in person, and you chose to receive electronic election information you will receive an email and SMS which includes your secure personal online voting link and the information on how to cast your vote – just follow the prompts to vote securely online.
Your vote matters, so enrol now to vote!
How to Vote
This election uses an optional proportional voting system so there are three different ways to cast a valid vote.
- Place a ‘1’ in the box next to the candidate you wish to vote for.
- Number as many boxes as you like to show your preference for other candidates For example, you would place a ‘1’ in the box next to your favourite candidate, and ‘2’ in the box next to your second favourite candidate, a ‘3’ for your third and so on.
- Number all boxes in order of your preference.
You can number all of the boxes or just some of them. As long as you’ve put at least a ‘1’ in one box – then your vote will be counted.
Examples of valid votes are shown below.
All of these examples are valid – you can number (in order of your preference) as many boxes as you would like.
Online
When voting opens, if you have chosen to receive electronic voting information, you will receive a secure personal online voting link to the email address and mobile phone number you used to enrol to with the Assembly.
The email will come from the “First Peoples’ Assembly Returning Officer” and the subject line will be “First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria General Election – Voting Link”. If you can’t find it, check your junk folder. If you have a mobile phone number on your enrolment you will receive a SMS to your phone with the same information also.
If you enrol to vote during the voting period, have chosen to receive electronic election information and you have not already voted at an in-person polling place – you will receive your secure personal online voting link via email and SMS shortly after your enrolment is confirmed. You will also receive a series of reminder emails throughout the election if you haven’t yet cast your vote.
If you vote online, you do not need to vote via post or in-person.
In person
If you are casting a vote in person at a polling booth and you are enrolled – simply go to the election staff at the polling booth who will then check and confirm you are enrolled before issuing you a vote. You simply show the election staff some form of identification that shows your name and confirm your enrolled address. Once confirmed they then give you a vote by giving you the ballot paper, and you will then be able to write down your vote on the ballot paper and place your completed ballot in the ballot box.
Election staff will be wearing badges that say that they are election staff.
If you don’t have any identification to confirm your enrolment details, don’t worry as you can still vote!
This is treated as provisional and is only counted once the election staff have confirmed your details. We record your details as provided and follow up with you to confirm these.
If you aren’t enrolled – you can enrol directly at the polling place and vote straight away. Approach the member of staff from the Assembly sitting at the ballot table so they can get you to enrol directly. Once you’ve applied to be enrolled the election staff will issue you a ballot paper and you can vote.
If you ernol to vote at the polling booth, your vote will be treated as provisional until we confirm your identification details. You vote will be held separately until this occurs and to ensure the secrecy of your vote your completed ballot paper will be placed in a blank envelope which will be provided to you. This envelope will then be put into a second envelope with your details on the front. It will only be put into the ballot once your details are confirmed. (These go in as blank envelopes, so your vote remains anonymous.)
You can vote for any region at a polling booth in-person
If you are voting for a different region than the one the polling place is located in, you will have a slightly different process to followIf you are voting outside of your region, your vote will be an absent vote, and it will be held separately until we cross check with the polling places in that region to ensure you have not already voted. To ensure the secrecy of your vote your completed ballot paper will be placed in a blank envelope which will be provided to you. This envelope and will then be put into a second envelope with your details on the front. Your vote will be included in the counting of votes once we successfully cross check on-person voting from your region. These cross checks are routine and occur daily.
Postal voting
If you wish to vote by post, you can request a postal vote by emailing the Returning Officer on the email address below.
If you are issued a postal vote, to cast a vote you simply follow the enclosed instructions, which run you through the steps of filling out the ballot paper, placing your vote in the blank envelope which is then placed into a larger voting declaration envelope where you fill in your details and sign the declaration. You will be provided with a Reply Paid envelope addressed to the Returning Officer which you will need to post and these must be received by Tuesday 21 April.
Alternatively, you can hand deliver your completed postal ballot in the Reply Paid envelope to the Office of the Transitional Election at 51 Langridge St, Collingwood on Monday – Friday between 9am and 5pm. These must be received by 5pm Tuesday 21 April.