The Australian government began compiling electoral rolls in the 1840s. At the time, only property owners were eligible to vote. In most colonies, all men were granted voting rights by the 1850s. Half a century later, Australia would become the second nation in the world (after New Zealand) to grant voting rights to women in 1902.

Published every election year, the Australian Electoral Rolls were compiled by each state to determine the number and names of individuals eligible to vote and provide evidence of their continuing residence. Non-British subjects weren't allowed to vote until the 1940s and aborigines until 1949. Therefore, individuals falling into those categories aren't included in this database.

We have recently added 18 additional years and 19 million names to the Australian Electoral Rolls Collection. The records now cover the period from 1901 to 1954 and are a great tool for tracking individuals by time and place.

Looking for additional sources for tracing your post-Federation era ancestors? Our latest collection may contain just what you've been looking for.

This historic collection contains all Australian electoral rolls (excluding South Australia) from 1901 to 1954 and lists detailed information about millions of early twentieth century Australian citizens enrolled to vote including surname, given name, gender, address, and occupation.