Reminder: You Need To Show ID To Vote In This Weekend’s Queensland Election

This Saturday, Queensland will decide whether or not to give the Newman government another stab in office. Interestingly, it will also be the first time that Australians are required to show proof-of-identity to cast an ordinary vote. If you live in Queensland, you will need to produce one of the following types of ID to quickly cast your ballot.

ID picture from Shutterstock

In an apparent bid to stop voter fraud, the Queensland government introduced an Electoral Reform Amendment Bill into parliament last year. The new law requires electors to prove their identity before casting an ordinary vote at the Queensland election. (That is, a vote where the elector is handed a ballot paper and the completed ballot paper is placed directly into the ballot box.)

Thankfully, this doesn’t mean that you need to own a drivers licence or proof-of-age card. Approved ID also includes the following:

current Australian passport

Voter Information Letter issued by the Commission

recent document evidencing electoral enrolment

an identification card issued by the Commonwealth or State evidencing the person’s entitlement to a financial benefit (examples: A Commonwealth seniors health card, health care card, Medicare card, pensioner concession card or repatriation health card)

a recent account or notice issued by a local government or a public utility provider (examples: a council rates notice, electricity account statement, gas account statement or water bill)

a recent account statement, current account card or current credit card issued by a financial institution

a recent account statement issued by a carriage service provider as defined under the Telecommunications Act 1997 (examples: a telephone bill or internet bill)

a recent notice of assessment issued under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

That’s a pretty exhaustive list of acceptable documents. If for some reason you are unable to provide ID on the day, you will still be allowed to vote: however, you will need to complete a declaration of your details, a more time-consuming process similar to absent and silent votes.

In short, as long as you remember to bring your wallet along with your sausage-sizzle money, there should be no problem. Voting booths open Saturday 31 January at 8:00am and close at approximately 6:00pm.

[Via Electoral Commission Queensland]