2024 NSW Local Government elections: Council update No.9

5 August 2024

1. Close of rolls (including non-residential roll)

The residential roll, the roll of non-resident owners of rateable land and roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees all close at 6pm today, Monday 5 August 2024.

Please ensure that the council non-residential roll has been entered into the non-residential roll management system portal by midday Tuesday, 6 August 2024. Should you require any further information or assistance please email nrr.rolls@elections.nsw.gov.au

2. Nomination lodgements commencing

Candidates can now lodge nominations using the Nominations Online Management System (NOMS) or in person at either the Returning Officer’s office or certain council venues. The list of venues accepting nominations will be published on our website on 5 August.

Council’s sharing a Returning Officer that are receiving nominations at a council venue will have attended online training sessions. Please email candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au as soon as possible if you are accepting nominations at a council office and have not yet received training.

The lodgement of nominations has been advertised on our social media, please share these posts with your channels.

Should you receive enquiries at council offices about nominations, please advise participants to contact the Candidate Helpdesk on 1300 022 011 or candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au

3. Candidate assistance

The candidate handbook is available on our website to assist candidates or political participants.

Our Candidate helpdesk operational hours are also now extended until election day. The helpdesk will be open 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 5pm each Saturday.

The Candidate helpdesk can be contacted on 1300 022 011 or candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au

4. Referenda and Polls

Councils conducting a referendum or poll will be contacted shortly to view the draft referendum or poll ballot paper prior to printing.

5. Voting options communications resources

We have developed a range of resources to help raise awareness about the election and to support access to voting. These include translated information and animations about the elections and social media assets. These resources can be downloaded and accessed on our community resources page. We encourage you to share these resources with your networks. 

6. Using countback elections for casual vacancies after the 2024 election

Countback is an efficient and cost-effective way to fill a casual vacancy, instead of conducting a by-election.

Please see information about the countback process on our website, including our factsheet, countback timeline and how countback works.

Note: To use countback, council must pass a resolution at its first meeting following the ordinary election. We have also included a model resolution in the information on our website.