2024 Mid-Western Regional council by-election
Bulletin No.2
Issued 5 November 2024
On this page
Reminder: Close of nominations
The nomination lodgement period ends at 12 noon Wednesday, 6 November 2024.
Any nomination forms or deposits received after that time cannot be accepted.
Please note:
- the deadline is set by legislation and cannot be extended under any circumstances, even for a few minutes
- being registered with the NSW Electoral Commission for electoral funding purposes is a different process to being nominated – registered candidates must also nominate for the election by the end of the nomination period to have their name on the ballot paper.
Witnessing the statutory declaration in the candidate information sheet
A completed and compliant candidate information sheet (CIS) must be received by the close of nominations, or the nomination will be rejected.
The CIS is a statutory declaration that must be witnessed and signed by an authorised person. People authorised to witness a NSW statutory declaration include:
- Justice of the peace – please see the register of NSW JPs, or
- Public notary, or
- Lawyer (with a current practising certificate).
If your CIS is witnessed by an authorised person other than those above, the witness must clearly note why they are authorised to witness the declaration. Do this in the CIS section ‘Qualification of authorised witness’. If your CIS is not witnessed by an authorised witness, your nomination will be rejected.
Note: The people authorised to witness a NSW statutory declaration are not the same as for a Commonwealth statutory declaration. For this reason your CIS cannot be witnessed by members of professions such as accountants, Australia Post officers, Australian Defence Force officers, medical practitioners, police officers, pharmacists, public servants, etc.
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.
Successfully completing a nomination
To help you successfully complete a compliant nomination form, please take note of the following:
- All forms must be signed by the candidate.
- Section 1 of the Candidate Information Sheet is mandatory and must be completed, including documenting memberships to any registered political party, even if the candidate is not being nominated by the party.
- The statutory declaration in the Candidate Information Sheet must be:
- only witnessed by an authorised witness – see above, we recommend a justice of the peace, public notary or lawyer
- signed and dated by the candidate and authorised witness on the same date.
There is now very limited time for candidates to correct omissions or other errors.
Any candidate who has already lodged their nomination but wishes to amend any of the information on their signed nomination form must urgently contact the candidate helpdesk on 1300 022 011.
Reminder: Close of registration Wednesday, 6 November
Candidates that have not registered for electoral funding purposes by or on Wednesday, 6 November will be deemed registered once they are formally nominated by the Returning Officer on Thursday, 7 November when the candidates are announced. From that time, candidates can lawfully accept political donations and make payment for electoral expenditure. The NSW Electoral Commission will email these candidates confirmation of their registration as well as information about their applicable electoral expenditure cap. The register of candidates for the election are published on the website.
Ballot paper draw
The draw to determine the order of candidates’ names on the ballot paper for this election will be conducted at the Returning Officer’s office at 10am, Thursday, 7 November 2024, the day after the close of nominations. Candidates or their representatives, registered political parties, media and members of the public are welcome to attend the draw at The Stables, 82 Market Street, Mudgee.
After the ballot paper draw, the candidate information sheets will be displayed on the website under ‘Who are the candidates?’ in the same running order as the candidate running order of the ballot paper.
Ballot paper templates will be published on the website following the ballot paper draw, as they become available under the electoral material section of the website.
Important information about donation and expenditure rules
There are strict rules that apply to political donations and electoral expenditure in NSW.
Candidates and third-party campaigners must register for electoral funding purposes and will have to disclose their political donations and electoral expenditure to the NSW Electoral Commission. This applies even if they have not accepted donations or made payments for electoral expenditure (that is, they have a ‘nil’ disclosure).
There are also caps on political donations and electoral expenditure. Unlawful political donations must not be made or received, including from prohibited donors.
Disclosure obligations apply even if a candidate is not elected.
Criminal penalties may apply for non-compliance.
Caps on electoral expenditure
There are limits on the amount that candidates, political parties and third-party campaigners can spend on campaigning. The capped expenditure period for Mid-Western Regional Local Government by-election commenced on 11 October and will end on election day, 7 December 2024. The caps applicable to candidates and third-party campaigners vary depending on the number of electors in the relevant local government area or ward. The applicable expenditure cap for each area is published on our website.
For the purpose of the caps, electoral expenditure incurred by the candidates and their party is aggregated. More information about the aggregation rules is available on our website. Even if electoral material was paid for before the capped expenditure period, for the purpose of the caps it is taken to be incurred during the period if the electoral material is published, displayed or distributed during the period.
More information:
Disclosure obligations of political participants
Candidates and third-party campaigners have a statutory obligation to report political donations made or received and electoral expenditure incurred to the NSW Electoral Commission by submitting a disclosure. A disclosure must be lodged by candidates and third-party campaigners even if they have not received or made any donation or incurred any electoral expenditure during the relevant period.
The person responsible for submitting a local government candidate disclosure is the candidate. The person responsible for a third-party campaigner is the official agent. First time candidates may not be familiar with disclosure requirements, but it is important to understand, and comply with, your obligations to avoid committing an offence. Read more about your disclosure obligations.
Political donations must be reported every six months and are next due to be disclosed by 11 February 2025 for the period from 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2024.
Further information is available on our website.
Registration of electoral material
All electoral material that is to be distributed (handed out) on election day by political parties, candidates, and any other persons or organisations, must be registered with the NSW Electoral Commission.
It is an offence to distribute electoral material on election day unless the material has been registered. ‘Distribution’ also means leaving electoral material in a position and circumstances to indicate that it is intended to be available for collection by members of the public in a public place.
The registration of electoral material will commence at the close of nominations on Wednesday, 6 November and will close at 5pm on Friday, 29 November 2024.
More information about preparing and registering electoral material can be found on our website, including detailed information about the legislative requirements for electoral material in the Candidate handbook.