Petitions FAQ

Any Victorian resident. This includes people under 18 years of age.

No, unless that person is incapable of signing for themselves, and only then if you have their consent.

Yes.

No.

Only Victorian residential addresses can be accepted for an e-petition. PO Box addresses are not accepted.

If the website is not able to correctly identify your address, please troubleshoot by:

• updating your browser to the latest version
• ensuring your browser location settings are enabled
• entering your address as it appears in Google Maps for example: Street Number, Street Name, Suburb, State.

Any Victorian resident. This includes people under 18 years of age.  

Yes.  

For paper petitions, please attach a certified English translation.  

To start an e-petition in a language other than English use the following contacts: 
 
For Council e-petitions, email epetitions.council@parliament.vic.gov.au or call (03) 9651 8678.  
For Assembly e-petitions, email epetitions.assembly@parliament.vic.gov.au or call (03) 9651 8555. 

We can only accept Victorian autocompleted addresses. PO Box addresses cannot be accepted. 

If the website is not able to correctly identify your address, please try the following:

• update your browser to the latest version
• ensure your browser location settings are enabled
• enter your address as it appears in Google Maps, for example: Street Number, Street Name, Suburb, State. 

The Clerks or their offices review e-petition requests to ensure they comply with the rules of the House.

The Assembly also checks that the nominated member agrees to sponsor the e-petition.

Once approved, the e-petition will go live on the website and you will be notified via email.

Yes.

In the Council, if the wording is the same, they will be treated as the same petition and the signatures will be tallied together if they are presented on the same day.

In the Assembly, they will be treated as separate petitions.

Yes.

E-petitions about the same issue and requesting the same action cannot be open for signatures at the same time. Both the Assembly and Council have this rule.

If you still wish to start an e-petition, you have two options. You can:

• create an e-petition with the House which doesn’t active an e-petition on the same topic.
• wait until the active e-petition has been presented. Then, a new one can be started with the same topic and action.

No. It is your responsibility to raise awareness about your petition and collect signatures. 

One.

No. The Council and Assembly can only accept e-petitions started on the Parliament of Victoria website. Signatures collected from other websites such as Change.org cannot be accepted.

Your e-petition can no longer be signed. 

In the Council, closed e-petitions can be viewed on the Parliament website. If an e-petition closes without a sponsor, it will remain on the Parliament website for 12 months. After this time, it will be deleted, including the personal information of those who have signed it. You can also view sponsored e-petitions on the Parliament website for the duration on the Parliamentary term.

You can view Assembly e-petitions on the Parliament website until the day they are presented. Closed e-petitions cannot be viewed on the Parliament website.

In the Council, the person who started the petition can apply to change the closing date. The request must be made by emailing epetitions.council@parliament.vic.gov.au. 

In the Assembly, only the sponsoring member can request a change in the closing date.

After closing, your petition will be presented by a member in Parliament. This means that your petition: 

• is officially recorded by the Parliament
• becomes part of the public record, including the details of everyone who has signed.

A copy of your petition will be sent to the relevant minister.

In the Council, the Minister is required to provide a written response within 30 days. The response will be published on the Parliament website once received.

For the Council, yes. Contact us on epetitions.council@parliament.vic.gov.au or (03) 9651 8678 for more information.

For the  Assembly, no. A petition closes once it is tabled. You may start a new petition with the same wording and actions.