High Commissioner urges Brits in Australia to register to vote
British citizens in Australia need to act fast to make sure they can have their say in the EU referendum.
British High Commissioner Menna Rawlings and Deputy High Commissioner Tony Brennan are urging Brits in Australia to register to vote in next month’s EU referendum.
With less than a week to go until the deadline to register for postal votes, Brits in Australia need to act fast to make sure they can have their say in the EU referendum.
British High Commissioner Menna Rawlings said:
On 23 June Brits will go to the polls to make an incredibly important decision about the future of our country – one that has the potential to affect British citizens wherever they live in the world. That’s why it is so important that those Brits living in Australia who are eligible to vote sign up to have their say.
Registering online is very simple and will only take you five minutes. The deadline for overseas voters to sign up for postal ballots is 16 May so act quickly.
British citizens living in Australia can vote in the forthcoming EU referendum if they have been registered to vote in the UK at any point in the last 15 years.
Registration is done online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. To register, British citizens will need their National Insurance number and UK passport details. Overseas voter registrations must be renewed annually so those people who voted in last year’s general election will need to register again this year.
The deadline for postal votes is 16 May. It is still possible to register after this date but it is possible that the postal vote will not reach the voter in time to make it back to the UK ahead of the referendum on 23 June. Votes received after that date will not count.
If voters choose to appoint a proxy (such as a trusted friend or relative) to vote on their behalf, they have until 7 June to complete the registration process.
Notes to editors
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The British High Commission is acting on behalf of the Electoral Commission, an independent body set up by the UK Parliament with the responsibility of regulating party and election finance and setting standards for well-run elections.
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Further details can be found on the website of the Electoral Commission
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More material can be found on our social media channels: Twitter @ukinaustralia and Facebook throughout the course of Tuesday 10th May.
Media contact
Alex Beatty
Head of Communications, British High Commission Canberra
02 6270 6658
0400 745 838