You are supposed to vote if you are an Australian citizen. In some countries it is your choice, but here it is against the law to avoid turning up on the day and having yourself marked off the list. What you write on your ballot paper is your own business and evidently many people do write things like "Bollocks" or "Go fly a kite" possibly stronger words to that effect, well not so much 'possibly' as definitely really. The thing is they will come and hunt you down and slap you with a fine if you wantonly miss turning up to vote. If you are stuck between a rock and a cliff face after a landslide, and haven't quite chewed through that trapped arm or leg to free yourself by the time voting day comes around you will possibly be forgiven, but otherwise there are no excuses acceptable for not turning up.
So if you are eighteen years old and Australian you need to be enrolled to vote. The electoral commission is where you register your enrolment and you can do it by turning up and filling in a form that is available in the office or pretty much any post office. You do not have to turn up in person at the office, it is enough to simply fill in a form and post it to them. The other thing you need to do is keep them informed as to your whereabouts, in order for them to place you on the correct electoral roll.
You may want to go in to the office for study reasons, they do have pretty comprehensive resources available regarding the whole voting system - and I know plenty of people are studying subjects that include competencies surrounding How To Vote. So it is worth your while knowing where the office is in case you decide to go collect some information. read more