The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has issued more than 1.3 million “failure to vote” notices and collected $4.1 million (US$2.9 million) in fines.
Following the 2025 federal election, the AEC has been identifying non-voters and sending out notices that give people the chance to provide a valid reason for not voting or pay the fine.
“1,309,568 apparent failure to vote notices were issued for the 2025 federal election,” a spokesperson for the AEC said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times.
The AEC said 253,123 electors had provided a valid and sufficient reason for not voting, while 207,314 electors chose to pay the $20 fine, totalling $4,146,280.
In Australia, voting is compulsory. While the initial fine for failing to vote is relatively low, the consequences can become more serious for those who fail to respond to notices from authorities.
“The administrative penalty pursuant to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 is $20. If a matter is referred to a court, a penalty of up to one penalty unit (currently $330) may be incurred and a conviction may be recorded,” the AEC said.
The AEC said that, as with all legal matters, it considers a number of factors before taking any action.
“The AEC may prosecute an elector who fails to pay the administrative penalty of $20 or fails to satisfy a Divisional Returning Officer that they had a valid and sufficient reason for not voting,” it said.
“Court matters have progressed, with many finalised, but as this body of work is ongoing we will have final figures at a later stage.”
Revenue collected by the AEC is paid into the Commonwealth Consolidated Revenue Fund, the main holding account for public money raised or received by the Australian government.
At the 2025 federal election, 18,091,591 people were enrolled to vote, with more than 7,000 voting venues across the country.
