Wodonga Council — I am a voter

Enrolling as a ratepayer in Wodonga

In a Victorian local council election there are two types of voters:

State-enrolled
Council-enrolled

You have one vote in Wodonga Council. If you are a state-enrolled voter, that is the enrolment you use to vote.

State-enrolled voters

You must enrol and vote if you:

Are 18 years or older;
Are an Australian citizen; and
Have lived at your address in the city of Wodonga for longer than one month.

If you meet these criteria, you can visit this link to apply to enrol.

Council-enrolled voters (ratepayers)

Some ratepayers can apply to become council-enrolled voters in Wodonga if they are:

A property owner, occupier or represent a corporation;
18 or older; and
Not a State-enrolled voter within the Wodonga area.

Once you are on the council roll, you must vote. If you don’t vote, you may get a fine. You will not be fined if you choose not to become a council-enrolled voter.

The rules for council-enrolled voters have changed, so it's a good idea to read this carefully. The different enrolment categories are explained here.

Owner ratepayers

You can apply to enrol in Wodonga Council if you:

Own property and pay rates in the council area;
Are 18 or older; and
Are not a state-enrolled voter who lives in the city of Wodonga.

This includes:

Australian citizens who own a property in the city of Wodonga but do not live in the area (for example an investment or a holiday home); and
Non-citizens over 18 who own a property and live in the city of Wodonga.

Up to two ratepayers can apply to enrol per property, but each person only gets one vote.

To enrol, please complete and submit the application form below to info@wodonga.vic.gov.au

Occupier ratepayers

You can apply to enrol in Wodonga Council if you:

Pay rates for a property that you occupy but do not own;
Are 18 or older; and
Are not a state-enrolled voter.

Up to two people per property can apply to enrol, but each person only gets one vote.

To enrol, please complete and submit the application form below to info@wodonga.vic.gov.au

Corporations

You can apply to enrol to vote on behalf of a corporation if you:

Are a director or company secretary of a corporation that pays rates (either as an owner or an occupier) in the council area;
Have consented to being appointed as the corporation’s representative; and
Are not already a state-enrolled voter or council-enrolled voter for the same council.

Only one person can apply to enrol as the corporation’s representative.

To enrol, please complete and submit the application form below to info@wodonga.vic.gov.au

If you meet the criteria for council-enrolled voters (ratepayers)

If you meet any of these criteria, expand the heading relevant to you and follow the link.

Once you are enrolled, you must vote for the October 2024 elections and onwards. If you don’t vote, you may get a fine.

Resigning your enrolment

If you don’t want to vote for that property anymore, you can apply to resign your enrolment.

Expiry of enrolment

Occupier ratepayers’ and corporations’ enrolment expires before the next local government general election.

If you want to continue to vote, you must apply to enrol again before the next local council general election (2028).

Wodonga Council will send you an invitation when it is time to renew your enrolment.

Owner ratepayers’ enrolment does not expire, but they can apply to resign their enrolment.

More information

To apply to become or to check if you are a council enrolled voter in Wodonga Council, contact us on (02) 6022 9300.

For information about Victorian elections, visit the VEC website.

Electoral structure and ward boundary review

In February 2024, the state government implemented the final advice from the electoral structure review. This will see Wodonga adopt a single-councillor ward electoral structure.

More information on what this means and the location of ward boundaries can be found here.

Council by-elections

By-elections before October 2024

If you were a council-enrolled voter in Wodonga Council at the 2020 local council general elections and your circumstances haven’t changed, you will be automatically enrolled for any by-elections that take place before October 2024.

It is not compulsory for you to vote. If you weren’t a council-enrolled voter in Wodonga Council at the 2020 local council general elections, or your circumstances have changed, you can apply to enrol at any by-elections that take place before October 2024.

It is not compulsory for you to vote. If you want to vote in the next local council general election in October 2024, you will need to apply to enrol again.

By-elections after October 2024

If you apply to enrol for the local council elections in 2024, you will remain enrolled for any council by-elections up until 2028.

It will be compulsory for you to vote.