Upcoming Council Election

You must enrol with the VEC and vote if you:

• are 18 years or older
• are an Australian citizen
• have lived at your address in Surf Coast Shire for longer than one month

For more information, visit the VEC website.

Some ratepayers can apply to become council-enrolled ratepayers in Surf Coast Shire if they are:

• a property owner, occupier or represent a corporation
• 18 years or older
• not a state-enrolled voter within the Surf Coast Shire 

These are known as council-enrolled voters. 

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

All enrolment forms must be received by council no later than 4pm on Friday 30 August 2024. 

Owner ratepayers

You can apply to enrol in Surf Coast Shire if you:

• own a property and pay rates in the council area
• are 18 years or older
• are not a state-enrolled voter who lives in the Surf Coast Shire

This includes:

• Australian citizens who own a property in Surf Coast Shire 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 Surf Coast Shire. 

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

Owner-ratepayer application for enrolment(PDF, 64KB)

Occupier ratepayers

You can apply to enrol in Surf Coast Shire Council 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. 

Occupier ratepayer - Application for enrolment(PDF, 67KB)

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 same council.

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

Corporation owner of occupier - Appointment of voting representative(PDF, 71KB). 

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. 

Please email info@surfcoast.vic.gov.au or call (03) 5261 0600. 

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 government general election deadline (2028).

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