National Electoral Education Centre

Experience Australia’s federal electoral system and the power of Australia’s democracy at the recently renovated National Electoral Education Centre, run by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

Students will:

• Explore the history of democracy and voting in Australia.

• Be immersed in DemocraCity, our brand new interactive virtual world, to learn about representation, enrolment, and voting.

• Experience the electoral process in action by running their own election in a dedicated polling place‒students will vote, count votes, and declare an election result, while taking on the roles of voters, ballot box guards, scrutineers and polling officials!

Our programs

All our programs are aligned to the Australian Curriculum and delivered by our team of dedicated Electoral Educators.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES– Our most popular program! Explore the key concepts of enrolment and voting, and investigate how people are elected to the House of Representatives – suitable for all Students.

SENATE– Explore the key concepts of enrolment and voting, and investigate the proportional system used to elect Senators – suitable for all Students.

REFERENDUM– Discover Australia’s founding legal document, and investigate how the people of Australia can change the Constitution through a Referendum – suitable for all Students.

ELIGIBLE ELECTOR– Equips Senior Secondary Students with the skills they need to become voters, through exploring representation and voting for the House of Representatives and the Senate

AEC for Schools

Visit the AEC for Schools website to learn about the Get Voting program for conducting school elections, and find many other free educational resources available for Teachers and Students to learn about Australia’s unique democratic and electoral systems at education.aec.gov.au.

Bookings

The NEEC is open Monday to Friday, and is closed for all ACT public holidays.

All sessions are 90 minutes duration and commence at half hourly intervals from 8am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday. Bookings are essential and group sizes are strictly limited.

All sessions are free-of-charge.

Book online via the Book Canberra Excursions system. Please read the NEEC’s group size and booking policy before booking. A minimum of 2 adult supervisors is required for each session at the NEEC, consistent with the AEC’s Child Safety Policy.

Can’t make it to Canberra?

The Australian Electoral Commission makes available a range of free educational resources for teachers and students including materials for conducting school elections and accredited professional learning resources for teachers on the AEC for Schools website.