Can Australian Permanent Residents vote on Australia?
Some confusion occurs occasionally when an Australian Permanent Resident says they vote in Australian elections, and others say it isn’t possible.
In most cases only an Australian Citizen can vote in Australia. They actually MUST vote, or at least attend a voting station.
A number of Australian Permanent Residents MUST also vote in Australian elections.
These are the British subjects that were enrolled in a federal electorate in Australia before 26 January 1984, and they are obligated to vote in all future Elections, in the same way as an Australian Citizen.
Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948
Prior to 1984, a British subject living in Australia was permitted to vote in Australia.
In 1984 the law was altered so that Australian citizens would no longer be considered British subjects, and British citizens arriving in Australia, in the future, would no longer be able to vote in elections until they had become Australian citizens.
Those already in Australia would retain the right to vote.