2021 NSW Local Government elections: Political Participants Bulletin No.13

Bulletin No.13
Issued 13 September 2021

1. Nomination online management system available soon

The nomination online management system (NOMS) will be accessible in the week commencing Monday, 4 October 2021 to allow prospective candidates and registered political parties to prepare and upload nomination forms.

Although nominations can still be made using paper forms, NOMS enables candidates and registered political parties to prepare and submit their nomination and grouping forms electronically. 

Candidates and parties are strongly encouraged to lodge their nomination online using NOMS. As the public health situation can change quickly in any local government area, locations at which a nomination can be lodged in person may be closed in accordance with public health orders, or if it becomes necessary due to the risk of COVID-19 infection.

Using NOMS will:

• verify the enrolment of candidates and nominators
• assist in minimising errors and ensure all compulsory sections of the nomination form have been completed
• allow candidates and/or registered political parties, administrators and groups to oversee and manage the progress of each nomination
• allow for the nomination and deposit (Visa or Mastercard) to be lodged online, and
• allow for automated messaging between the NSW Electoral Commission and the candidate or party concerning the acceptance or rejection of each nomination.

The nomination period commences on Monday, 25 October 2021 and ends 12 noon, Wednesday, 3 November 2021. During the nomination period, candidates and registered political parties can lodge their nominations and pay the nomination deposit fee.

An overview of NOMS will be provided in the candidate information webinar to be held on Tuesday, 28 September 2021. See information below about how to register to attend this and all future webinars.

For assistance using NOMS please call our Candidate Helpdesk 1300 022 011 or email candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au.

2. Witnessing the statutory declaration in the candidate information sheet

We have received queries about potential issues for having the Candidate Information Sheet (CIS) witnessed in the circumstances of COVID-19.

The NSW Government has significantly added to the types of people who can witness a declaration by including approved witnesses under Commonwealth laws. The full list of those approved witnesses is available at the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department website. Candidates will need to ensure they are complying with public health orders that may be in place when having their CIS witnessed.

Another measure introduced by the NSW Government allows for the remote witnessing of a statutory declaration by an audio-visual link between the person making the declaration and the witness. This includes apps such as FaceTime, Skype, Teams, WhatsApp and Zoom. Requirements for the witness to see the face of the person and confirm their identity can be completed during the audio-visual link. For more information about other requirements for remote witnessing, please refer to NSW Department of Communities and Justice website.

If you experience issues having the statutory declaration witnessed, please contact the Candidate Helpdesk on 1300 022 011 or email candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au for further information.

3. Close of rolls

The residential roll, roll of non-resident owners of rateable land and roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees closes at 6pm, Monday, 25 October 2021. Candidates must be enrolled in the relevant council area by the close of rolls to be eligible to nominate for election.

4. Candidate information webinars 

The rescheduled candidate information webinars will be conducted on:

• 11am, Thursday 16 September – General information
• 11am, Tuesday 28 September – Nominations
• 11am, Thursday 28 October – Registration of electoral material (also known as how-to-vote material)
• 11am, Monday 8 November – iVote explained
• 11am, Thursday 18 November – Early voting and election day voting
• 11am, Tuesday 30 November – Candidate workers, scrutineers, counting and results

View past webinars and register your attendance for future webinars.

5. Electoral material

Changes to electoral material distribution due to COVID-19

Participants should be aware of recent changes to local government election legislation about posters and distribution of electoral material during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To comply with public health orders in force at the time of the elections, or to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, the Electoral Commissioner may direct that no posters are to be displayed and that no electoral material is to be handed out to voters at:

• a polling place or a pre-polling venue, or
• premises occupied, used by, or under the control of the NSW Electoral Commission, other NSW government agencies or a council within 100 metres of a polling place or a pre-polling venue.

Premises include buildings of any description, other structures and land (such as the street).

As the public health situation can change quickly in any local government area, candidates and parties should be prepared that directions limiting posters and how-to-votes may be made by the Electoral Commissioner across NSW.

If a direction is made, notice will be given on the NSW Electoral Commission website and a Political Participants Bulletin will be issued. 

Links to registered electoral material will be included on the NSWEC website for any area in relation to which a direction is made.

Authorisation of electoral material

The regulated period for electoral material begins on Monday, 25 October 2021 and closes at 6pm on election day, Saturday, 4 December 2021.

During the regulated period, a person must not print, publish, distribute or publically display electoral material (other than the announcement in a newspaper of the holding of a meeting), without legibly showing on the material:

• the name and address of the person on whose instructions the material was printed, published, distributed or displayed and
• if the material has been printed, the name of the printer and the street address of the premises at which it was printed.

The address of a person means an address that includes a full street address and suburb or locality that is located in Australia at which the person can usually be contacted during the day. It does not include a post office box. A street address of the premises does not include a post office box number or a DX number.

The NSW Electoral Commission has created How to vote card templates to provide guidance for candidates and parties for the production of their electoral material. This can be found under step 5 of the Six steps to being a candidate page.

Please also review the information in Political Participants Bulletin No.10 about the requirement to register electoral material for distribution on election day, our online registration system, the display of electoral material on our website and the authorisation requirements for electoral material on social media.

Electoral material videos

The NSW Electoral Commission has produced two video animations about the laws that apply to electoral material produced, published, distributed or displayed during the regulated election period. 

The animations outline the general rules that apply to electoral material produced for elections and the registration rules that apply to electoral material to be distributed on election day.

The animations are a useful resource for all political participants and supporters involved in elections in NSW, and we encourage you to watch, and share, the animations.

Re-use of electoral material

Electoral expenditure incurred in the production and distribution of electoral material, such as posters and corflutes, is subject to caps between 1 July and 4 December 2021, being the capped expenditure period for the election.

While electoral expenditure is disclosed as having been incurred when electoral material was paid for or an invoice raised, for the purposes of the expenditure caps it is taken to be incurred when the electoral material is distributed.

If electoral material produced for a previous election is re-used during the capped expenditure period for the upcoming election, the caps on electoral expenditure apply to it in the same way they apply to electoral material produced for the upcoming election.

If only part of the electoral material produced for a previous election is re-used, only the portion that is re-used for the upcoming election is subject to the expenditure cap. It is important that records are kept so the portion of electoral material used for each election can be quantified.

Find out more information about the re-use of electoral material, including how it can be quantified for the purposes of the caps on electoral expenditure.

Guide to creating accessible documents

The NSW Electoral Commission encourages registered electoral materials to be made accessible so that electors who are blind or have low vision can use tools like screen readers to help them understand the materials.

Please refer to the Creating accessible documents guide under step 5 of the Six steps to being a candidate page for further assistance.

Material must not appear to be authorised by the NSW Electoral Commission

Electoral material must not appear to be an official communication from the NSW Electoral Commission or Electoral Commissioner. At a minimum, parties and candidates should make sure their electoral material:

• includes a candidate name, logo or party name in a prominent size and position
• any text does not state or infer it is the advice of the Electoral Commissioner (e.g. about voting formally), and  
• does not use design features (such as colour schemes) that are commonly associated with Australian electoral bodies, so as not to mislead electors. 

Display of electoral material on website

Registered electoral material will be displayed on the NSW Electoral Commission website from the start of pre-poll until 6.30pm election day. That is, Monday, 22 November 2021 until 6:30pm Saturday, 4 December 2021.

Electoral material that is registered during the first week of pre-poll and prior to the closure of registration of electoral material at 5pm Friday, 26 November 2021 will be progressively updated to the website.

Social media authorisation

Political parties, candidates, elected councillors, third-party campaigners and associated entities should ensure their staff are aware of the authorisation requirements in relation to electoral material, particularly when posting publicly on social media during the regulated period.

Further information on the authorisation requirements in relation to social media posts can be found in the Candidate Handbook.

6. Annual electoral expenditure disclosures are due

Annual electoral expenditure disclosures for the period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 are due on Wednesday, 22 September 2021.

Electoral expenditure disclosures must be lodged by each candidate, group of candidates, and third-party campaigner who registered for the elections prior to 1 July 2021, and by each current local councillor, mayor, political party, and associated entity.

Disclosures must be lodged even if no electoral expenditure was incurred during the annual period.

Disclosures – including “NIL” disclosures – can be submitted through Funding and Disclosure Online. Log in or request access to Funding and Disclosure Online. By using the portal, you reduce the risk of lodging invalid or incomplete disclosures and you will be able to see the status of your disclosure.

Alternatively, downloadable forms for making disclosures are available on our website.

More information about disclosing electoral expenditure

Disclosing electoral expenditure 2021 fact sheet

7. Registration of candidates, groups, and third-party campaigners

A reminder that candidates, groups of candidates, and third-party campaigners must be registered for the election with the NSW Electoral Commission for electoral funding purposes.

Candidates and groups must be registered before accepting political donations or making payments for electoral expenditure.

Any person or entity (other than a party, group, candidate, elected member or associated entity) that incurs more than $2,000 in electoral expenditure for an election in an area or ward between 1 July 2021 and election day must be registered as a third-party campaigner.

Registration for the elections is open now and closes for candidates and groups on Wednesday, 3 November 2021. Third-party campaigner registration closes Monday, 29 November 2021.

Being registered as a candidate or group for the election is a separate process to being nominated in order to have the candidate’s name or a group printed on the ballot paper. Candidates and groups that have not registered before being nominated are taken to be registered when they are nominated by the Returning Officer. This is expected to occur the day after the close of nominations. From this time, all nominated candidates and groups can lawfully accept political donations and make payments for electoral expenditure for the election.

Given the current public health situation, candidates and groups are particularly encouraged to register online using Funding and Disclosure Online. Alternatively, downloadable forms are available on our website and can be returned by email or post.

Registration only takes effect when confirmed by the NSW Electoral Commission, not the date you apply to register.

Once registered, if your registered details change you must let us know within 30 days by submitting the Notice of change of registered particulars (EF.740) form on our website or notify us using Funding and Disclosure Online.

More information on registering for the election and updating your registered details.

8. Non-client councils 

Fairfield City and Penrith City councils have engaged an electoral services provider to administer their 2021 elections.

Information in this bulletin about registration for electoral funding purposes, campaign finance and disclosure rules administered by the NSW Electoral Commission still applies, however, you will need to contact those councils about the administration of nominations, electoral material, postal votes and results for those elections.