Providers urged to help residents update enrolment details
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is calling on residential aged care providers to help ensure their residents’ voter enrolment details are up-to-date ahead of the upcoming national poll on marriage equality.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is calling on residential aged care providers to help ensure their residents’ voter enrolment details are up-to-date ahead of the upcoming national poll on marriage equality.
The ABS is surveying all Australians on the Commonwealth Electoral Roll to get their views about whether the law should be changed to allow same sex couples to marry.
Despite participation in the survey being voluntary, assistant statistician Duncan Young said the ABS would like every eligible Australian to have an opportunity to take part and have their say.
He called on providers to encourage residents to check and update their enrolment details at www.aec.gov.au before the roll closes tomorrow, Thursday 24 August.
Details can also be updated via an enrolment form available from any AEC or post office.
“Residents of aged care facilities may complete the survey independently through the postal service, by requesting the assistance of someone they trust, or through a paperless response,” Mr Duncan said.
Australians living in residential aged care have the option of responding to the survey over the telephone. Further information on this will be available when the survey commences.
If assistance is needed, it is expected the eligible person would specifically authorise the trusted person to open their postal survey envelope and mark the response they communicate before they seal the form in the envelope and return it to the ABS.
A person cannot self-declare themselves to be a trusted person for someone else, Mr Duncan said.
Survey forms will be received in the mail between 13-25 September.
Participants are encouraged to return the completed responses by 27 October. The ABS will not accept surveys received after 7 November.
The results of the survey will be published on the ABS website by 15 November.
For more information on the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey visit the ABS website or contact the information line on 1800 572 113.
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