New council elections date: Kempsey, Singleton and Shellharbour Ward A

Saturday, 30 July has been set as the date for local council elections to be held for Kempsey Shire Council, Singleton Council and Shellharbour City Council Ward A only. 

New local elections must be held in these areas after the Supreme Court decided that a problem with the iVote system meant the December 2021 elections in these areas were void.

NSW Electoral Commissioner, John Schmidt said the electoral roll for these elections must close at 6pm on Monday, 20 June, so it was important eligible voters in these areas make sure their details are up to date.

“I would encourage anyone who is unsure about where they are enrolled to check and update their details on the roll if needed.”

“I acknowledge that electors in these areas have already had to vote twice in the last six months – once for council and once at the recent Federal elections” Mr Schmidt said.

“However, if you are enrolled as a resident in any of these local government areas – Kempsey, Singleton or Shellharbour Ward A only – you will need to vote again. Voting at these elections is compulsory.” 

Mr Schmidt said he also encouraged candidates wishing to nominate in these elections to start preparing their nominations now.

“Nominations will open Monday, 20 June and close midday Wednesday, 29 June. We cannot accept late nominations and cannot permit late corrections to be made to nomination papers, even if they were lodged before midday on 29 June 2022.”

“Nomination forms are available from elections.nsw.gov.au or by calling the candidate helpdesk on 1300 022 011. A lot of helpful information is on our website explaining how to become a candidate.”

Mr Schmidt also reminded potential candidates that nominating to appear on a ballot paper is a separate process to registering with the NSW Electoral Commission for campaign finance purposes.  

“The capped electoral expenditure period started on 6 June 2022 so candidates, parties, groups and third-party campaigners are encouraged to go to our website to find out if and how they need to register to meet their campaign finance obligations”.

“There is also information on the NSW Office of Local Government website which explains what is involved in being a Councillor,” he said.

Mr Schmidt said information for voters was available on the NSW Electoral Commission website – elections.nsw.gov.au.

Media contact
nswecmedia@elections.nsw.gov.au