NSW State Election 2007
Voting Services at the Australian Consulate-General in Guangzhou
The NSW State General elections will take place on 24 March 2007.
People who are overseas can vote either in person or by post at a number of overseas offices, including the Australian Consulate-General in Guangzhou.
How to vote
EITHER:
By applying for a postal vote. You can request a postal vote application form from the Consulate, or down-load it from the NSW Electoral Commission's website www.elections.nsw.gov.au. This form needs to be signed and witnessed, and then sent or faxed back to the Australian Consulate prior to close of business Wednesday 21 March 2007.
Please make sure you provide your address in Chinese characters.
Once ballot papers have been received from Australia, the Consulate will send you a postal ballot paper and a postal vote certificate by mail. You must complete your ballot and send it back to the Consulate for forwarding back to the NSW Electoral Commission.
Please bear in mind that your ballot needs to be received back in Australia by Wednesday 28 March 2007 in order for your vote to count. Therefore, please allow enough time for your ballot to be sent and received in enough time for it to reach Australia by this cut-off date.
OR
In person during normal office hours (8.30am – 4.55pm) from Wednesday 14 March 2007 (date to be confirmed on receipt of voting materials from Australia) to close of business Thursday 22 March 2007, by presenting at the Consulate with your Australian passport.
AS THE CONSULATE CANNOT GUARANTEE THE DATE WHEN VOTING MATERIALS WILL BE RECEIVED FROM AUSTRALIA, VOTERS ARE URGED TO CHECK THE CONSULATE WEBSITE OR CALL THE CONSULATE BEFORE COMING TO VOTE TO ENSURE THAT VOTING SERVICES HAVE COMMENCED.
If you vote at the Consulate you will also need to complete the same "Application by a person outside NSW for a postal vote" form. You can download and complete this form prior to coming in to vote, or you can obtain this form and complete it at the Consulate at the same time as coming in to vote.
What if I can’t vote?
Register your details with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) (using the Overseas Notification form) so that penalty action will not be taken if you do not vote (www.aec.gov.au ).
If you are not in Australia on polling day and you haven't informed the AEC you will not be fined for not voting. In due course the NSW Electoral Commission will write to you at your enrolled address, asking you to explain why you did not vote. This is your opportunity to explain that you were overseas on polling day.
Enrolment and voting by people outside Australia is not compulsory, however if you are going overseas you are required to inform the AEC. For further information please refer to their website: http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/What/enrolment/elig_os.htm .
Confirming your Enrolment
To confirm your enrolment on the NSW electoral role, please contact the Australian Electoral Commission at [email protected] or by using their on-line enrolment verification service at: https://oevf.aec.gov.au/ .
To enrol or change your your enrolment details, please contact the Australian Electoral Commission or the NSW Electoral Commision directly.
The contact details for the Australian Consulate-General Guangzhou are as follows:
Australian Consulate-General Guangzhou
12/F Development Centre
3 Linjiang Da Dao
Zhujiang New City
Guangzhou
Tel: 020 3814 0111
Fax: 020 3814 0112
Email: [email protected]
澳大利亚驻广州总领事馆，广州市珠江新城临江大道3号发展中心12楼, 510623