2024 NSW Local Government elections: Council update No.5

8 May 2023

1. Pre-poll duration

The NSW Electoral Commission has been advised by the Minister for Local Government of the intention to amend the Local Government regulations to reduce the period for pre-poll voting at the September 2024 NSW Local Government elections from 11 days to 6 days.  With the trend in the number of pre-poll voters increasing (from 19 per cent at the 2019 State election, 25 per cent at the 2021 NSW Local Government elections and 29 per cent at the 2023 NSW State election), we are currently projecting that pre-poll voting may exceed 30 per cent for the elections in September. For this reason, additional pre-poll venues will be needed in some areas to prevent overcrowding.   

An analysis of the data is currently underway to determine where additional pre-poll venues may be needed. Once the analysis is complete, councils will be notified of any change to pre-poll voting in their area. 

To ensure that eligible electors have the opportunity to early vote on a Saturday, pre-poll voting will open on Saturday, 7 September in all areas. The usual eligibility criteria will apply for those electors wishing to vote early. 

2. Candidate information

Website information

Our website is being updated progressively with information about key election dates, becoming a candidate, funding and disclosure obligations, voting options, voting centre locations, vote counting and election results. 

Candidate Information webinars

A series of webinars for election participants will also be held in the lead-up to the elections, commencing this month. 

The webinars will cover the following topics:

• candidate information
• election funding, disclosures and compliance
• nominations
• third-party campaigners
• electoral material, compliance and voting
• candidate workers and scrutineers
• counting and results
• post-election disclosure obligations.

Information about webinars will be published on the NSW Electoral Commission website and promoted via email.The first webinar, Candidate information will be held at 11am Tuesday, 21 May 2024. Please encourage people in your networks to attend these sessions. Registrations are now open on our website. 

Candidate helpdesk

The NSW Electoral Commission provides a helpdesk for candidates to answer questions in relation to their candidature or election processes. The helpdesk is particularly useful for those candidates in regional and rural areas where the Returning Officer’s office may be some distance from where the candidate lives. 

The Candidate helpdesk is operational Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and can be contacted by phone on 1300 022 011 or via email at candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au.

3. Council information reminder

The NSW Electoral Commission has created a webpage to assist councils in the lead up to the Local Government elections.
 
 The webpage will be updated with information specific to councils including: 

• key dates 
• a communication resources hub 
• council information webinars
• forms and fact sheets. 

Councils are encouraged to visit the page regularly for updates and resources. 

4. Communications resources reminder

To help with your planning and promotion of the elections, we have published a Local Government elections resource calendar that outlines all the communication activities we are undertaking in the lead up to election day. 

Included in the calendar are resources for councils, the first of which are “Save the date” assets. These can be used to promote the election date via your social media channels, newsletters and in council venues.

More content, including election advertisements, FAQs and explainer videos will be available from June 2024. 

If you have any questions about the elections or the contents of this election update, please email councilelections@elections.nsw.gov.au.