The ABS originally promised to mail ballot papers to registered voters overseas, but its website now suggests people should communicate their opinion to a reliable confidant in Australia.
“Eligible Australians that are overseas for this entire period could ask a trusted person to receive their form on their behalf, open it, complete it based on their instruction and return it to the ABS,” the statistics bureau has .
Opening another person’s post is legal under the Telecommunications and Postal Services Act 1989, as long as the intended recipient gives you clear permission.
“A person cannot self-declare themselves to be a trusted person for someone else,” the ABS instructions state.
The bureau will also allow overseas Australians, along with Indigenous people living in remote areas, to access a ‘paperless’ voting option.
They would be given a special “access code” to unlock an automated phone service or an online form.
One overseas voter took to Twitter to voice her frustrations.
"How we can pretend this is a legit exercise is beyond me," she wrote.
SBS World News has contacted the ABS for comment.
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