Voting in the 2023 Referendum 

On 14 October 2023, Australians will be asked to vote in a referendum to alter the Constitution.

The Australian Embassy in Brasilia and the Consulate-General in São Paulo will be in-person voting centres and postal vote collection centres. Please note the Honorary Consulate in Rio de Janeiro will not be providing any voting services.

All eligible Australians living in or visiting Brazil will be able to vote.

To be eligible to vote, you must be enrolled. Please ensure that your enrolment details are up to date at the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) website.

Dates and opening hours for in-person voting and postal vote collection services are available on the website pages for the Embassy in Brasilia and Consulate-General in Sao Paulo. Please check these pages and monitor social media for updates.

If you are overseas and are unable to vote in-person, you can apply for a postal vote. Postal vote packs will be sent to you from Australia by courier, so you are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

You can return your postal vote directly to the AEC in Australia or you can drop it off at the Embassy or Consulate-General no later than Wednesday, 11 October 2023 by 5pm.

It is not compulsory to vote if you are not in Australia at the time of the referendum. If you will be overseas at the time and unable to vote, you can advise the AEC by completing and returning the Overseas Notification Form.

Additional information on the referendum and voting is available from the AEC website and Smartraveller.

Consular assistance

For consular assistance contact your nearest Australian mission. If your situation is life-threatening or you have serious concerns for your welfare, call the Consular Emergency Centre in Australia +61 2 6261 3305. For further information, read our travel advice for Australians in Brazil.

Australia's biosecurity and border controls

The Australian government controls the movement of people and goods across our border. This is to protect Australia\'s environment, economy, health and wellbeing, and security.

To avoid issues, penalties and fines, and to reduce the risk of experiencing delays when you travel to Australia, consider:

• any COVID-19 requirements you may have to meet
• the declarations you need to complete
• the documents you need to pass through Australian immigration
• any biosecurity restrictions and requirements
• any import requirements.