Australia Set to Have Its Biggest Election of All Time With Over 700,000 New Voters

An extra 710,000 voters have signed up with the Australian Electoral Commission, as the country prepares to head to the polls in less than two months.

Voters at the Woden polling centre in Canberra, Australia, on Oct. 13, 2023. Martin Ollman/Getty Images

Australia’s upcoming federal election, announced for May 3, will be the biggest in history.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) revealed an additional 710,000 people had registered to vote by the end of 2024, when compared to enrolments for the 2022 federal election.

The election will be significant, requiring 100,000 staff, 250,000 pencils, and 80,000 ballot boxes.

It begs the question of where all the voters are coming from.

According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs, 385,189 people became Australian citizens between the 2022 and 2024 financial years.

Gen Z and millennial voters born from 1982 onwards will also start replacing baby boomers as the largest voting group.

According to the AEC, 396,730 Australians remain eligible to vote but are not registered.

Australian Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope urged all Australians to register to vote, saying voting centres would be set up in even remote locations.

“Today is an important reminder to all Australians who are eligible to vote to visit the AEC’s website, check your enrolment and make sure it is up to date,” he said.

“Australia’s electoral roll is already sitting at an incredible 97.8 percent of eligible voters enrolled, but we know the announcement of an election will be an incentive for new voters in particular to get enrolled.”

For the first time, voters can enrol to vote using only a valid Medicare card.

The AEC sets a target of having at least 95 percent of eligible Australians registered to vote.

Currently, there are 17,939,818 people enrolled to vote across the nation.

Enrolments close at 8 p.m. on Monday, April 7.

Election Called, Cost-of-Living Dominates

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the election for May 3.

Albanese announced the election date on March 28,  just days after his government passed the 2025 federal budget and the morning after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton delivered his budget reply.

Albanese and Dutton are facing off on cost-of-living matters, seemingly for good reason.

The Productivity Commission’s deputy chair Alex Robson told AAP that the goods and services produced per work hour had fallen 1.2 percent in 2024.

“The real issue is that Australia’s labour productivity has not significantly improved in over 10 years,” Robson said.

“With global policy uncertainty again on the rise, addressing productivity directly via targeted reforms will be the best way to sustainably boost Australians’ living standards.”