2022 NSW Local government elections: Political participants bulletin No.2
Bulletin No.2
Issued 24 June 2022
On this page
1. Reminder close of nominations
The nomination lodgement period commenced Monday, 20 June 2022 and closes 12 noon, Wednesday, 29 June 2022.
Nominations may be lodged in person at the returning officer’s office or by email to candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au. Nomination deposits must be paid in person to the returning officer in cash or by bank, building society or credit union cheque.
The Returning Officers’ office addresses are available on the NSW Electoral Commission website.
Any nomination forms or deposits received after 12 noon, Wednesday, 29 June will not be accepted. This includes:
emailed nomination forms sent before 12 noon but not received until after 12 noon, and
nomination forms received before 12 noon but which contain material errors and/or omissions that were not identified and corrected by the candidate/party before the deadline.
Grouping of Councillor candidates on the ballot paper
Two or more Councillor candidates may form a group on the ballot paper, and where eligible, request a group voting square (box above the line) be printed on the ballot paper for the group.
In addition to lodging the nomination form, these candidates must also lodge a Request to form a group form.
2. Witnessing the statutory declaration in the candidate information sheet
All information provided by a person in nomination papers (including the candidate information sheet (CIS)), must be true and accurate. It can be a criminal offence to include false information in electoral papers, which may be investigated and enforced by the NSW Electoral Commission.
For the CIS, a special kind of declaration about the truth of the facts stated in it must be signed by the candidate in front of a witness. The CIS declaration is called a “statutory declaration” and can only be witnessed by particular authorised people. A Justice of the Peace (JP) is authorised to witness a NSW statutory declaration. A list of other people who are approved witnesses is also available at the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department website.
It is up to every candidate to ensure their CIS is true, accurate and properly witnessed before their nomination forms are submitted.
If the statutory declaration in the CIS is not witnessed by an authorised witness, the nomination forms cannot be accepted (or corrected after 12 noon on 29 June).
3. Postal vote applications open
Postal vote applications opened on 21 June 2022. Electors may apply online, over the telephone or by completing a paper form available on the NSW Electoral Commission website. Postal vote applications must be received by the NSW Electoral Commission by 5pm, Monday 25 July 2022.
Any candidate or political party intending to distribute or otherwise make available postal vote applications to electors – including via websites not maintained by the NSW Electoral Commission - must do so in the form approved by the Electoral Commissioner, which is available by request to pva@elections.nsw.gov.au.
The approved form includes important information for electors about who is collecting their personal information if they are not returning their application directly to the NSW Electoral Commission.
Candidates and parties are also urged to seek guidance as early as possible from the NSW Electoral Commission (via the email above) about any material they wish to make available to electors together with postal vote applications. This is a service provided to assist election participants understand the legislative obligations around:
submitting applications to vote by post on behalf of electors, and
the design, content and authorisation of any electoral material that they intend to distribute or otherwise make available to electors together with applications to vote by post
4. Regulated period for electoral material has started
From Monday, 20 June 2022 to 6pm on election day, Saturday, 30 July 2022, all electoral material must meet the requirements of the legislation. For example, electoral material must include the name and address of the person authorising the material and electoral material must not contain incorrect or misleading information about how to cast a valid vote.
For information on the legislative requirements for electoral material please refer to section 15 of the Candidate handbook, watch our Electoral material rules and Registration of electoral material videos and visit the Electoral material rules and registration information page to learn more.
It can be a criminal offence for electoral material to contravene the requirements of NSW election laws. The NSW Electoral Commission can investigate and take enforcement action about breaches of election laws.
5. Electoral material registration open
The registration of electoral material commences on Wednesday, 29 June and closes at 5pm, Friday 22 July 2022.
The NSW Electoral Commission has an online registration system, which is accessible from our website. Approved electoral material will be displayed on the website from Monday 18 July 2022.
All electoral material that is to be distributed on election day by political parties, groups, candidates, and any other persons or organisations, must be registered with the Electoral Commissioner. This includes any material that is handed out or left in a position to indicate it is for collection by the public.
The following types of electoral material do not need to be registered:
posters or corflutes displayed on election day or pre poll voting days
any items distributed outside of election day.
6. Registration for funding and disclosure purposes
NSW has strict electoral funding laws that regulate the election campaign finances of political parties, candidates and groups at local government elections. Candidates and groups must register for the elections before accepting political donations or making payments for electoral expenditure.
Applications for registration close next Wednesday, 29 June 2022.
Candidates and groups who registered for the 4 December 2021 local government elections must register again for the 30 July 2022 elections to lawfully accept political donations and make payments for electoral expenditure.
Being registered as a candidate or group for the election is a separate process to being nominated. To have your name included on a ballot paper you must lodge a nomination form and nomination deposit during the nomination period (see item 1 above for details about the nomination process).
Candidates and groups that are not registered must not accept political donations or make payments for electoral expenditure before being nominated. From Wednesday 29 June 2022, all nominated candidates and groups that have not registered before being nominated are taken to be registered and can lawfully accept political donations and make payments for electoral expenditure for the election.
There are significant legal obligations associated with accepting political donations and making payments for electoral expenditure, including record-keeping and disclosure obligations. Criminal penalties may apply for non-compliance. To learn more, visit the Funding and Disclosure section of our website.
Apply online to be registered using Funding and Disclosure Online, the NSW Electoral Commission’s online portal for political participants. Request access today if you don’t yet have it. If you are unable to use Funding and Disclosure Online, PDF forms to be completed and returned by email or post are available on request by emailing: fdc@elections.nsw.gov.au.
Enquiries about being registered and the laws that apply to political donations and electoral expenditure may also be sent to fdc@elections.nsw.gov.au
7. Ballot paper draw
The draw to determine the order of candidates’ names on the ballot paper for each councillor election will take place at the relevant Returning Officer’s office at 10am, Thursday 30 June.
Candidates or their representatives, registered political parties, media and members of the public are welcome to attend the draw.
The NSW Electoral Commission website will be updated to reflect the groups and candidates in ballot paper draw order.
The Returning Officers’ office addresses are available on the NSW Electoral Commission website.
8. Ballot paper templates
Ballot paper templates will be available to assist in the preparation of electoral material following the conduct of the ballot paper draw.
These templates will assist candidates in preparing their electoral material, particularly how-to-vote material.
When including a sample of the ballot paper on how-to-vote material, the details must be an accurate representation of the ballot paper, for example, the spelling of candidates’ names, registered political party names and the inclusion (or exclusion) of the word ‘Independent’. This information must appear exactly as it will be on the ballot paper for the election. Partial representations of the ballot paper may be accepted.
9. Projections
Pre-poll and polling place projections are available on our website, under step 5 of the Six steps to being a candidate page.
10. Voting centre locations and hours
The locations and opening hours of pre-poll and election day polling places are available on our website for each council area under ‘How do I vote?’
11. Candidate information webinar
A second candidate information webinar will be held on Tuesday, 5 July 2022 from 11am. This webinar will cover key information relevant to candidates including:
voting
electoral material (including How to Vote cards)
counting
candidate workers and scrutineers
A link to join the webinar will be published on the NSW Electoral Commission website under step 1 of the Six steps to being a candidate page.
The slides of the first webinar are now available under step 1 of the Six steps to being a candidate page.
12. Further information/candidate helpdesk
Further information regarding the local government elections including key dates can be found on the NSW Electoral Commission website, by contacting the Candidate Helpdesk on 1300 022 011 or candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au