Mail- out begins for SSM survey

THE same sex marriage postal survey begins today, as the Australian Bureau of Statistics sends out the first 600,000 copies to voters across the nation.

More than 16 million Australians will receive the survey in a staggered mailout between now and September 25.

It asks them to answer Yes or No to one question: “Should the law be changed to allow same- sex couples to marry?”

Voters are asked to use a dark pen to mark their answer and then use the enclosed reply paid envelope to send it back to be counted by October 27.

No more surveys will be accepted by the ABS after November 7 and the result will be announced on November 15.

The ABS is telling Australians to return their survey “straight away” and is warning people not to include “correspondence, complaints or other communication”.

“Any extraneous material inserted in the envelope … will be destroyed. This could also contaminate processing machinery or result in the survey also being destroyed and not processed,” it said.

Australians who are overseas during the voting period can ask a trusted person to receive their form and respond on their behalf, or they can request a secure access code from the ABS to complete the survey online or over the phone.

Those who do not receive a copy of the survey in the mail will be able to pick up a copy from locations in Melbourne to be announced soon by the ABS.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Australians would not get their forms all at once but he urged everyone to fill it in and return it.

“I encourage others to vote Yes and I’ve been a strong supporter of legalising same sex marriage for many, many years,” he said.