Electoral roll...what data about the person i'm looking for will this provide?

Question

If my lost relative i'm looking for isn't listed in the electoral roll,does this mean he simply didn't register or is non-existent in Australia?

Answer 1

I have read that nearly one million "citizens" in Australia are not enrolled to vote, and there must be another million or so people that are only Permanent Residents, and are therefore not even elligible to be enrolled.

So maybe about 2 million people cannot be traced using the electoral register ?

Answer 2

Last time I looked the electoral roll listed was name, address and some other cryptic reference which electoral office uses to link to other limited information.

While people are supposed to be on the roll a lot are not, many dropped after moving and forgetting to update their address.   Some are kept as a silent elector, not on the list for personal safety issues.  

There are other ways to locate people....

Answer 3

Only citizens can register.  If your relative is not on the roll he may not have registered.  Although it is compulsory not everyone registers.

The Electoral Roll, IIRC is based on individual electorates so you have to search the roll separately for each electorate.

Answer 4

In theory all Australian citizens must enroll to vote, or face penalties. In practice, as the previous answer suggests, there are plenty of people who aren't enrolled for all sorts of reasons.

I believe there is also an option to hide your details on the roll to prevent people snooping out your details. Have you considered the possibility that your relative doesn't want to be found?