It will mean setting aside time in what might be a busy weekend but there will be rewards - and not just the warming democracy sausage on a chilly May morning.

First and foremost, you'll get to participate in choosing your own government, a right - and in this country a legal responsibility - denied to a huge proportion of the world's population.

According to the Democracy Index, compiled by the Economist Research Unit, only 6.4 per cent of people around the world enjoy living in a full democracy.

The index says 39.3 per cent live in flawed democracies, 17.2 per cent in hybrid regimes and 37.1 per cent are governed by authoritarian regimes.

Australia is counted as a full democracy.

The ballot, not batons and bullets, determines who gets to govern, so your vote is important.

Finding a place to vote is simple.

Go to the Australian Electoral Commission website - aec.gov.au/election - and type in your postcode. It will bring up the polling booths near you.

The booths open at 8am and close at 6pm.

If you have tested positive for COVID after 6pm local time Tuesday, May 17 and are in isolation you can register online for a secure telephone vote, available on Friday, May 20, from 8.30am to 6pm local time or Saturday, 8am to 6pm local time.

If voting in person, once you're confirmed as being on the electoral roll, you'll be handed two ballot papers, a green one for the House of Representatives and a larger white one for the Senate.

You are required to number all boxes on the House of Representatives ballot paper, starting with the number 1 for your first preference, 2 for your second and so on.

When you arrive at the polling booth you'll be offered How To Vote cards by volunteers from the various political parties or independent candidates standing in your electorate.

These are guides only.

How you number your preferences is entirely up to you.

The preferences are important because they determine who wins the seat if no candidate attracts an absolute majority with more than 50 per cent of the primary vote.

Don't waste your vote by not numbering all squares or writing anything on it that will identify you - it is a secret ballot. If you do, it will be declared an informal vote and won't be counted.

Voting for the senators to represent your state in the upper house is a little more complicated.

You can either vote above the bold black line but must number at least six boxes - and can number more if you like but not less.

If you choose to vote below the line, you must number at least 12 boxes.

Again, you can number boxes below the line if you wish but must number at least 12.

If you make a mistake, just ask for another ballot paper.

Once you're done, head outside and enjoy that democracy sausage - and democracy itself.