Nomination forms are available from the:

• returning officer (RO)
• website
• candidate help desk on 1300 135 736

The nomination form is a multi-page document so care should be taken when printing from the website. The nomination form must be received by the RO for the council where the nomination is made.

It is a candidate’s responsibility to ensure a fully and correctly completed nomination is received by the RO. The nomination form is a confidential document between the candidate and the RO who will maintain that confidentiality.

A candidate for mayor or councillor may be nominated in one of two ways.

The registered officer or a deputy registered officer for a political party registered in the Local Government Register of Parties can nominate a candidate for mayor or councillor.

2. By electors (proposers)
A person can be nominated/proposed as a candidate as follows:
Mayor - by at least 2 electors enrolled in the council area
Councillor in undivided council - by at least 2 electors enrolled in that council area
Councillor in divided council (wards) - by at least 2 electors enrolled in the ward the candidate is contesting.

All candidates should ensure that their nominators are enrolled for the council area or ward they are standing in and nominators should check their enrolment status. We suggest that candidates are proposed by more than two nominators in case some nominators are not correctly enrolled.

A person cannot nominate:

• more candidates for councillor than the number to be elected in a council area/ward
• more than one candidate for the office of mayor
• themselves.

How to lodge a nomination

A nomination form may be lodged with the RO conducting your election:

• in person
• by post
• by fax (the deposit must be delivered to the returning officer by noon nomination day or the nomination will be rejected)
• by email provided it contains the image of the actual signature of the candidate and proposers (the deposit must be delivered to the returning officer by noon nomination day or the nomination will be rejected).
  

By the close of nominations, candidates should have lodged all of the following with the RO:

• a nomination form
• election funding registration
• a candidate information sheet
• a statistical information sheet
• the appropriate nomination deposit
• a claim to be included in a group form (if applicable).

Some councils share a returning officer who may not be located at the local council office as they will service those councils from a regional office. In these cases, candidates may lodge their nomination and deposit at their local council but it must be with the RO before close of nominations.

If lodging with the local council:

• lodgement can be by any person
• council will fax the nomination to the RO
• the candidate must request a copy of the fax transmission report showing the transmission was completed successfully
• council will accept the deposit and issue a receipt.

Where the nominations forms are faxed or emailed directly to the regional RO, the deposit can still be lodged with the local council and a receipt issued.

It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that the nomination forms and the deposit are in the RO’s hands by the close of nominations, regardless of the arrangements in place or the options chosen for lodgement.

Defective nomination

On lodgement the RO will check the form to ensure it can be accepted, by ensuring that:

• the candidate is on the electoral roll for the council area
• if nominated by an RPP - the details and the signature of the registered officer are correct
• if nominated by 2 electors - the nominators are enrolled in the council area or the ward being contested, and that they have not nominated more than the number of candidates to be elected in the council area or ward
• all other forms and the appropriate nomination deposit have been received and correctly completed.

It is suggested that:

• candidates be nominated by more than 2 proposers
• nominations be lodged in sufficient time to enable any defects found during the checking process, to be remedied by the close of nominations 
• the person delivering the nomination wait at the RO’s office until the nomination has been checked.

 If the nomination is found to be defective, the person delivering the nomination will be advised and every effort will be made to inform the candidate in sufficient time to rectify the nomination. It is the candidate’s responsibility to rectify any defective nomination by the close of nominations or it will be rejected.

Nomination form confidentiality

Nomination forms are confidential except for details required to be displayed, at the RO’s office and on our website, of each candidate’s:

• full name
• names as they will appear on the ballot paper
• suburb, town or other locality of the place of living as enrolled

Candidates’ contact details (ie phone number, email address) will only be released if candidates have given their consent on the nomination form.

Candidate information sheet (CIS)

All candidates are required to lodge a CIS as part of the nomination form. If the completed CIS has not been received by the RO by the close of nominations, the candidate’s nomination will be rejected.

The CIS must:

• contain the candidate’s full name and enrolled residential address of the candidate (Part A); and
• be signed by the candidate and witnessed by a Justice of the Peace (Part C).

The CIS may also contain:

• the candidate’s date of birth
• occupation
• trade and professional qualifications
• membership of organisations
• the registered party (if any) which has endorsed the candidate
• statements as to the candidate’s policies and beliefs
• other qualifications (Part B).

The Local Government Act and Regulation contains provisions which prohibit the use of false or misleading information and allows for prosecution in such circumstances. The CIS of every candidate will be available for public inspection in the RO’s office from nomination day, at pre-poll voting centres, at polling places on election day and on the NSWEC and council websites after the close of nominations until at least election day. Details on the CIS may be handwritten or typed and it will be displayed as provided without any corrections such as grammar, misspellings and punctuation.

Withdrawal of a nomination

Candidates can withdraw their nomination by providing the delivery or sending by post, fax or email a signed notice to the RO by the close of nominations. A registered officer or a deputy registered officer of a registered political party cannot withdraw a candidate’s nomination.

The nomination deposit will be refunded after the election.

Nomination deposit

Each nomination for mayor and councillor must be accompanied by a nomination deposit of $125 for each candidate. Where candidates for councillor have lodged a ‘Request to form a group’ form with the RO, and that group comprises six or more candidates, the nomination deposit is $625 for the group.

The deposit can only be cash or cheque drawn by an authorised deposit-taking institution and made out to the NSW Electoral Commission. Personal cheques will not be accepted and EFTPOS is not available.

Nominations will be rejected if the appropriate deposit, in full, has not been received by the close of nominations.

The nomination deposit will be refunded if:

• the election is uncontested
• the candidate dies before election day
• the candidate withdraws their nomination
• the candidate is elected or receives at least 4% of the total number of formal first preference votes
• any one included in a group for the councillor election, is elected or receives at least 4% of the total number of formal first preference votes.

Any deposit not refunded is forfeited to the council.

Uncontested election

If by the close of nominations, only the required number or less than the required number of candidates have been nominated, for mayor or for councillor for a council area or ward, those candidates will be declared elected.

Where less than the required number of candidates are nominated, a by-election will be held at a later time.

What happens after close of nominations

When all nominations have been processed and finalised, the RO formally announces who the candidates are on nomination day.

Draw for position on ballot paper

A draw to determine positions of candidates and groups (where applicable) is conducted by the RO at his or her office as soon as practicable after the close of nominations and formal announcement of the candidates. Candidates will be advised by the RO of the arrangements for the draw and any interested persons may attend.

How the draws are conducted

Mayoral election
The RO is required to place the name of each candidate on separate slips of paper. Each slip is enclosed in separate plastic cylinders which are then sealed and placed in a small ballot box. The ballot box is closed and the RO shakes and rotates it to mix the cylinders, others present may also shake and rotate the box. The box is handed to an assistant who holds it so that the contents cannot be seen, and the RO withdraws the cylinders from the box one at a time. The name of the candidate in the first cylinder drawn will appear first on the ballot paper. The remaining names will appear on the ballot paper in descending order as they are drawn from the box.

Councillor election – no groups
The RO conducts the draw as described above for the mayor.

Councillor election - groups
The RO conducts the draw as described for the mayor, in two parts to determine the order of:
1. The groups - the first group drawn will be ‘Group A’, the second ‘Group B’, and so on, appearing left to right across the ballot paper.

2. ‘Ungrouped’ candidates - candidates not included in a group are shown in a single column on the right-hand side of the ballot paper in the order they are drawn.