Voting

Enrolling as a ratepayer in the City of Greater Geelong

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

1. State - enrolled
2. Council - enrolled.

You have one vote in the City of Greater Geelong. 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
• have lived at your address in the City of Greater Geelong for longer than one month.

For more information visit the VEC website

Council - enrolled voters (ratepayers)

Some ratepayers can apply to become council - enrolled voters in the City of Greater Geelong if they are:

• a property owner occupier or represent a corporation
• 18 or older
• not a State - enrolled voter within the City of Greater Geelong area. These are known as council - enrolled voters.

The rules for council - enrolled voters have changed ahead of the 2024 council elections. These changes are explained below.

Owner ratepayers

You can apply to enrol in the City of Greater Geelong if you:

• own property and pay rates in the council area
• are 18 or older
• are not a state - enrolled voter who lives in the City of Greater Geelong

This includes:

• Australian citizens who own a property in the City of Greater Geelong but do not live in the area (for example an investment or a holiday home)
• non - citizens over 18 who own a property and live in the City of Greater Geelong.

Up to 2 ratepayers can apply to enrol per property but each person only gets one vote.

Occupier ratepayers

You can apply to enrol in the City of Greater Geelong if you:

• pay rates for a property that you occupy but do not own
• are 18 or older
• are not a state - enrolled voter.

Up to 2 people per property can apply to enrol but each person only gets one vote.

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
• are not already a state - enrolled voter or council - enrolled voter for the City of Greater Geelong.

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

If you meet the criteria

If you meet any of these criteria you can contact us to apply to enrol.

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