Infringement notices will be sent out this week to Victorians who either didn’t respond to the Victorian Electoral Commission’s (VEC’s) request for an explanation or didn’t have a valid reason for failing to vote in the 2024 local council elections.
More than 530,000 Victorians were sent an ‘apparent failure to vote notice’ by the VEC in February and March. Of those, 15 per cent have been excused for valid reasons.
People who did not respond to the ‘apparent failure to vote notice’, or who did not provide a valid and sufficient excuse, will be issued an infringement of $99.
People who receive an infringement notice must respond within 35 days – by either paying the fine, requesting an internal review, or electing to go to court.
Electoral commissioner Sven Bluemmel is prompting people who receive an infringement notice to take it seriously.
“The most important thing is that you respond to the notice before the deadline – otherwise, you could be issued a penalty reminder notice, which carries the original penalty plus an additional administration fee,” Mr Bluemmel said.
The VEC encourages non-voters who are unsure what to do, or require assistance throughout any stage of the infringements process, to call 1300 551 575 or visit vec.vic.gov.au/voting/fines-and-reviews
Voting in local council elections is compulsory for all enrolled voters in Victoria, and to make sure no one misses a future election, the VEC encourages Victorian voters to sign up for VoterAlert, our free SMS and email reminder service. The service alerted 2.5 million Victorians about key election dates in last year’s local council elections. To sign up visit vec.vic.gov.au/voteralert
