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Elections – Schools as Voting Centres and Polling Places

Policy

This policy outlines school obligations relating to requests to use school premises as voting centres and polling places for state and federal elections (including by-elections) and a referendum.

Summary

Details

Schools as voting centres and polling places

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) is empowered by the Electoral Act 2002 (Vic)(opens in a new window) to use schools as voting centres during Victorian state elections. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is empowered by the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth)(opens in a new window) to use schools as polling places during federal elections or a referendum.

The school premises must be made available to the VEC or AEC for use as a voting centre or polling place, even if another event was planned on election day.

Schools are encouraged to be as accommodating as possible to assist the VEC and AEC. If the VEC or AEC intends to use your school as a voting centre or polling place, the arrangements will be recorded in a licence agreement. Refer to the Licensing section below for more details.

If the VEC intends to use your school as a voting centre for a state election, they will engage with you well before election day. While the minimum notice period required is 7 days, schools can expect to receive a copy of the licence agreement a number of months prior to election day to support planning and operational requirements. Cardboard furniture and other voting materials will be delivered, in most instances, in the 3 weeks before election day. Cardboard collection will occur in the 3 weeks after the event. The booking and collection will occur on a first-in – first-out basis to ensure that the total period the materials are stored at a school is as short as practicable.

The VEC will pay a fee to cover reasonable costs for lighting, air conditioning and cleaning of the premises, with the prescribed fee payable to a school being $425.

Working with Children Check

Working with Children Checks(opens in a new window) are not required by law where VEC or AEC staff will not be engaged in child-related work or working directly with children: refer to the Working with Children Checks and other Suitability Checks for School Volunteers and Visitors Policy.

As a general rule, the VEC or AEC will conduct inspections and set up polling stations out of school hours, in consultation with the principal.

In some circumstances, the VEC or AEC may need to attend the school premises during school hours for the following reasons:

  • an advance visit to see the space where polling will be set up
  • delivery and collection of cardboard furniture and other voting materials
  • access to set up polling stations the day before the election.

In these instances, when the visit occurs during school hours, a member of the school staff will need to escort the VEC or AEC staff while on the premises.

Licensing

Licence agreements outline the arrangements for using schools as voting centres and polling places. This includes when the VEC or AEC can access the school and the licence fee required.

Victorian state elections

From the November 2026 state election, schools must sign a voting centre licence agreement with the VEC. The terms of the VEC licence template have been developed in agreement with the Department of Education and is similar to the licence the AEC uses for federal elections.

The VEC will provide the licence agreement to each school selected as a voting centre. The VEC will pre-populate it with details about:

  • the licensed area
  • the licence period
  • agreed arrangements for facilities and equipment, including storage
  • set up and closure activities
  • contact details.

The licence agreement must be reviewed and signed by the school council president, unless the school council president delegates this sign off to the school principal. Any delegation must be in writing and recorded in school council minutes.

A sample read-only version of the licence agreement is on the Resources tab.

Under the VEC licence agreement, schools must:

  • give the VEC accurate information about the school premises
  • make the licensed area available for the VEC’s exclusive use on election day
  • ensure the licensed area is clean and tidy before handing over to the VEC
  • get the VEC’s written consent before leasing or licensing any other school area on voting day
  • provide the VEC access to the licensed area. This includes keys or other access arrangements
  • not do anything that could affect the VEC’s political neutrality or disrupt the VEC carrying out its election functions
  • assist the VEC manage CCTV or surveillance risks that could impact the security, integrity or secrecy of the voting process
  • complete the set-up and closure tasks given to the school in the licence agreement
  • issue a tax invoice to the VEC to enable payment of the licence fee.

The VEC must:

  • provide accurate information required under the agreement
  • pay the licence fee required by the agreement
  • complete its allocated set-up and closure tasks at the times agreed
  • use the premises only for the agreed purpose
  • protect the security and integrity of election materials
  • make sure CCTV or surveillance does not affect voting secrecy
  • get the school’s written consent to temporarily cover CCTV equipment if needed to ensure that voting remains secret
  • promptly repair damage from its use, unless there are exceptions in the agreement
  • return the premises, facilities and equipment in their original condition, allowing for fair wear and tear
  • ensure that only a limited amount of rubbish is left at the school (no more than the size of a household rubbish bin)
  • be responsible for its own risk and insurance.

Federal elections and referendums

For federal elections or a referendum, schools must sign a polling place licence agreement with the AEC. They must use the AEC licence template (DOCX) (staff login required)(opens in a new window).

Record keeping and storage

Schools must store licence agreements with the VEC and AEC in a secure place. For example, the school’s admin server, with access restricted to authorised staff. Schools must keep licence agreements for 7 years after they expire. After this period, they can be securely disposed of in an approved way.

For licensing advice, contact the Legal Division at legal.services@education.vic.gov.au or 03 9637 3146.

Cleaning

For federal and state elections, the school must ensure that the venue is cleaned:

  • prior to the event (that is, standard clean at the end of the prior day)
  • following the event, prior to the next school day.

Pre- and post-event cleaning should be in line with relevant department routine cleaning guidelines active at the time of the election.

Federal elections and referendums

Schools should arrange the relevant cleaning with their cleaning services provider, then invoice the AEC for reimbursement of the cost of post-event cleaning. This is consistent with the standard licence agreement.

Relevant legislation

Updated

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