2024 Berrigan Shire, Cowra Shire, Junee Shire, and Lachlan Shire (E Ward) council by-elections
Bulletin No.2
Issued 22 October 2024
On this page
Reminder: Close of nominations
Nominations close at 12 noon, Wednesday, 23 October 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.
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 note the NSW JP Public Register, 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, and more.
If you experience issues having the statutory declaration witnessed, please contact the candidate helpdesk on 1300 022 011 or candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au for further information.
Successfully completing a nomination
We have noted some common issues and errors that are made when completing nominations.
Please ensure:
- All forms are signed by the candidate (where shown).
- Section 1 of the candidate information sheet (CIS) 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 CIS must be:
- only witnessed by an authorised witness, see above
- signed and dated by the candidate and authorised witness on the same date.
- All candidate nomination forms are lodged and paid together.
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 or candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au.
Reminder: Close of registrations for candidates
Candidates that have not registered for electoral funding purposes by 12 noon on Wednesday, 23 October will be deemed registered once they are formally nominated by the Returning Officer on Thursday, 24 October. 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 is published on the NSW Electoral Commission website.
Ballot paper draw
The draw to determine the order of candidates’ names on the ballot paper for each by-election will be conducted at the respective Returning Officer’s office from 10am on Thursday, 24 October 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.
After the ballot paper draw, the candidate information sheets will be displayed on the NSW Electoral Commission website under ‘Who are the candidates?’ in the same order as the candidate will appear on 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.
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 on Wednesday, 23 October and will close at 5pm Friday, 15 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.
Important information about donation and expenditure rules
Strict rules apply to political donations and electoral expenditure in NSW.
Candidates and third-party campaigners must register for electoral funding purposes and must 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 the November 2024 Berrigan Shire, Cowra Shire, Junee Shire, and Lachlan Shire (E Ward) by-elections commenced on 30 September and will end on election day, Saturday, 23 November 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 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 capped expenditure 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 about disclosures is available on our website.