Work at an election

Conducting an election is a major public event. During major election events some five million electors vote across NSW.

The NSW Electoral Commission offer opportunities to work at state and local government elections. Work is available on election day and throughout the election period, the weeks before and after election day.

Working at an election is a great opportunity to learn new skills and meet people, while you also play a valuable part in contributing to democracy. We look for staff to work as election officials during the election period. Staff receive training, support and a competitive pay rate.

Eligibility

To work at an election, you need to be on the electoral roll. Check your enrolment details.

Expressions of interest and current vacancies

To register your interest to work at an election, you will need to submit an expression of interest form for the specific election event. Read about the expression of interest process.

We are currently accepting expressions of interest for the following elections:

• 2024 Mid-Western Regional Council by-election
• 2024 Berrigan Shire, Cowra Shire, Junee Shire and Lachlan Shire Council (Ward E) by-elections

What to expect when working at an election

Working at an election is a great way to contribute to delivering democracy in NSW. Our temporary election workers are paid, receive training and enjoy a unique working experience.

Find out more about what it’s like to work at an election.

Rates of pay

• View rates for the 2024 Mid-Western Regional Council by-election
• View rates for the 2024 Berrigan Shire, Cowra Shire, Junee Shire and Lachlan Shire Council (Ward E) by-elections

Workforce diversity

The NSW Electoral Commission embraces diversity and inclusion and is committed to creating a workplace that reflects the population of New South Wales. Election staff who have previously worked for us are encouraged to apply.

You are also encouraged to apply if you identify as one of the following:

• you have no prior experience working at elections

• you speak a language other than English

• you are living with a disability

• you are an Aboriginal person.

Political neutrality

The NSW Electoral Commission is committed to maintaining public confidence in the integrity of the electoral system and the impartiality of election officials. Employees must not be members of any political party or engage in political activity. Any person unable to meet these expectations cannot be considered for employment.

Privacy statement

The information collected by the NSW Electoral Commission will be used to assess your suitability for employment as an election official with the NSW Electoral Commission and ongoing management of your employment if your application is successful.

In submitting an Expression of Interest form, you are registering your interest to be considered for casual employment at NSW State and local government elections and by-elections. You will need to submit a new Expression of Interest form to be considered for employment in each election event.

The NSW Electoral Commission holds past and current employee records in order to maintain and enable employee history, payroll and administrative and security related activities. The NSW Electoral Commission will retain your specific payroll information to comply with payroll and taxation legislative requirements.

Applicants and employees may be asked to take part in an anonymous survey about their experience of the recruitment process and working with the NSW Electoral Commission. Such surveys are entirely voluntary and information gathered is used to improve our recruitment processes.

The supply of the information requested on the EOI form is voluntary unless otherwise indicated - failure to provide the information may hinder or delay the processing of your EOI.

Subject to your consent within your Expression of Interest, your personal information will be provided to other electoral administrations such as the Australian Electoral Commission for recruitment purposes.

Your Expression of Interest form will be accessible to relevant staff of the NSW Electoral Commission and our contractors the Commission may engage to assist with its employment functions.

Personal information collected by the NSW Electoral Commission is handled in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998. You can find additional information in the NSW Electoral Commission's Website Privacy Statement and its Privacy Management Plan concerning access to and correction of your Expression of Interest form.

For further information, view our Expression of interest (EOI) portal – privacy collection notice.

Conflicts of interest statement

The public is entitled to expect the business of the NSW Electoral Commission to be conducted with fairness and impartiality. To meet this expectation it is important that election officials avoid conflicts of interest.

A conflict of interest exists when it is likely that an election official could be influenced, or could be perceived to be influenced, by a personal interest in carrying out their public duty. For example an interest that may give rise to a conflict of interest for an election official is a personal relationship with a candidate contesting an election.

An election official must disclose any potential or actual conflicts of interest to their election manager or to the Electoral Commissioner.

Enquiries

If you have questions about the application process or working at elections, contact the employment helpdesk on 1300 135 736.

If you have a disability and would like to ask about reasonable workplace adjustments, you can also contact the employment helpdesk.