Enrol to Vote

Are you eligible to vote

• Enrol online or over the phone.
• Register or update your enrolment details on the State Electoral Roll visit the Australian Electoral Commission website or call them on 13 63 06.
• Enrol in person.
• Register or update your enrolment details in person please visit your nearest Centrelink or Australia Post.

You can also enrol to vote or update your enrolment details at the Town of Port Hedland Civic Centre Office, 13 McGregor Street, Port Hedland.

Eligibility criteria

In order to be eligible to vote, you must:

• Be an Australian Citizen
• Be 18 years of age or older
• Have lived at your present address for at least one month prior to the close of enrolments.

In addition, you need to be either;

A resident within the Town of Port Hedland (your normal place of residence is within the Hedland district) and you appear on the State electoral roll (i.e. you are enrolled to vote at elections).

OR

A non-resident or occupier provided:

• You are on the State or Commonwealth electoral rolls for your normal place of residence outside the Port Hedland district
• You genuinely own or occupy rateable property in Port Hedland (e.g. commercial premises by way of legal instrument like a lease for a minimum three month term)
• You have made a successful eligibility claim form (see enrolment eligibility form) with the Town’s Rates department that is still current.

Special Eligibility Criteria

In rare instances, even if you do not appear on the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll but own or occupy a rateable property in the Town of Port Hedland you may still be eligible to vote. This special rule only applies if you were on the Town of Port Hedland’s last electoral roll that was prepared in 1996 and you have owned or occupied rateable property in the district continuously since this time. This special rule is as a result of the change from the Local Government Act 1960 to the Local Government Act 1995.

Non residents (owner and occupiers)

If you are a non-resident owner or occupier of rateable property in the Town of Port Hedland and are on the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll, you are eligible to enrol to vote in certain situations:

• Owners of land who were on the last roll continue to retain that status until they cease to own the rateable property to which the enrolment relates
• Occupiers do not have continuous enrolment and should contact the Town of Port Hedland to confirm their enrolment status. To be eligible to enrol as an occupier, you will need to have a right of continuous occupation under a lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument for at least the next three months following the date of the application to enrol.

If you are not on the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll and own or occupy a rateable property in the Town of Port Hedland, in rare instances you may still be eligible to enrol to vote. This applies if you were on the Town of Port Hedland’s last electoral roll prior to 1996 and have owned or occupied rateable property in the district continuously since this time.

If you wish to check your enrolment on the Town of Port Hedland's owners and occupiers roll please contact the Rates department at rates@porthedland.wa.gov.au or by calling 9158 9300 and ask to speak to the Rates Officer.

Applying as a non-resident owner/occupier

To apply as a non-resident owner/occupier you will need to complete and submit an enrolment Enrolment Eligibility Claim Form

• Owners and occupiers
• Multi-owners
• Corporations

Enrolment eligibility claim forms must be received by the Chief Executive Officer during an election year and prior to the close of the roll, which for the 2022 election, is 5pm Thursday, 31 March.

Joint owners/occupiers

If a rateable property is owned or occupied by more than two people, a majority of the owners / occupiers may nominate two persons from amongst themselves who are on either the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll to enrol to vote as owner / occupier electors.

Corporations

A body corporate that owns or occupies rateable property in the Town may nominate two people who are either on the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll to enrol as nominees on the Town’s Owners and Occupiers Roll.

NOTE: If you are only eligible to vote on the basis of being a nominee of a body corporate under section 4.31 or schedule 9.3 of the Local Government Act 1995, then you are ineligible to be a Councillor.

Enrolment Eligibility Claim Form

Further information

For more information about Council elections please visit the Election page on the Town of Port Hedland website.

For all general election enquiries please contact the Town at governance@porthedland.wa.gov.au or by calling (08) 9158 9300 and asking to speak to a Governance Officer.