Australians living and travelling overseas are eligible to vote in the upcoming federal election.

The election will be held on Saturday, August 21.

It’s not compulsory to vote if you are overseas. But if you care about Australia, get along and exercise your democratic duty.

There are two methods to vote in the federal election if you are overseas:

1) Vote in person at Australia House
You can vote in person at the Australian High Commission, on the Strand, WC2B 4LA, from Monday August 9 until Friday August 20. You cannot vote at the High Commission on August 21. Opening times are here uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/FederalElection2010.html, and below.

2) Postal vote
If you can’t get to the High Commission you can do a postal vote. To apply for a postal vote you must print off and complete an ‘Application for a postal vote’, here: aec.gov.au/election/pva.htm. You then post the form to Australia House, details here: uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/FederalElection2010.html. Start organising this straight away so your forms arrive to you in time. Your form then has to be posted back and arrive at the High Commission before 5pm on Wednesday, August 18.

Check your enrolment
The Australian Electoral Commission has a super-easy site (www.aec.gov.au/check) where you can check if you’re still on the electoral roll, and which electorate you are in.

If you have been overseas for some time, and not at your former address, there’s a chance you could have been deleted from the roll, so it’s a good idea to check if you’re enrolled before heading to Australia House or organising a postal vote. If you had several different addresses in Australia before leaving for the UK, try each address to see which one you’re enrolled at.

You might have heard about registering as an overseas voter. This is not compulsory, and you do not have to have registered as an overseas voter in order to vote in this federal election. Registering as an overseas voter simply ensures you remain on the electoral roll, rather than being deleted from the roll if, for example, the AEC has been unable to contact you at your old address back home due to you being in the UK.

Australian High Commission – opening hours for voting in 2010 federal election

Monday 9 August 2010                         11am – 8pm
Tuesday 10 August 2010                      11am – 8pm
Wednesday 11 August 2010                 11am – 8pm
Thursday 12 August 2010                     11am – 8pm
Friday 13 August 2010                          11am – 8pm
Saturday 14 August 2010                      11am – 8pm
Sunday 15 August 2010                        CLOSED
Monday 16 August 2010                        11am – 8pm
Tuesday 17 August 2010                       11am – 8pm
Wednesday 18 August 2010                  11am – 8pm
Thursday 19 August 2010                      11am – 8pm
Friday 20 August 2010                           11am – 8pm

Tags: Australian federal election, Australian election, Can I vote if I’m overseas?, living aborad, eligable to vote