Do you want to be a Councillor?
March 14, 2024
Local government
elections will take place across NSW on Saturday, September 14 2024. If
you are not happy with your current Councillors, feel you can do a
better job or just want to get more involved in community affairs,
you might like to think about standing as a candidate. Council
elections are held every four years on the second Saturday in
September.
![](03%20March/0314council001.jpg)
Ratepayers are welcome at Council meetings, and
any contentious issue brings them out
Oberon Council has nine Councilors including the Mayor and an
election will be held if there are more than nine candidates. (The
Mayor is elected by the Councillors after the full election and
serves for two years.) The Oberon Local Government Area does not
have wards, so all Councillors are elected to serve all residents in
the LGA. Also, while individual Councillors may have political party
connections, all candidates stand and serve as Independents.
To qualify as a candidate you have to be enrolled to vote in in
the relevant LGA and fit one of these groups:
You may be enrolled on either:
- the residential roll or,
- the non-residential roll or,
- the roll of occupiers and rate-paying lessees for a council
area.
Councillors receive a small allowance but don't expect to live on
it (Oberon is not Parramatta or the City of Sydney). Because of the
time involved to do the job properly it suits people who are
retired, self employed or who have an employer who offers flexible
working hours. You can do it with a 9 to 5 job, but a lot of Council
business, such as committee work, happens during those times.
So what are you waiting for? Here are the important dates:
- Monday, 22 July - Advertising of enrolments
- Monday, 5 August - Start of regulated period for
electoral material 8am: Lodgement of nominations open 6pm: Close
of roll for the purposes of being a candidate, nominator and
roll printing
- Tuesday, 6 August - Lodgement of postal vote
applications open
- Monday, 12 August - Last day to lodge second
half-yearly political donations disclosure
- Wednesday, 14 August - 12 noon: Close of nominations
and close of registration of candidates and groups (Note:
Candidate, group and third-party campaigner registrations for
the purpose of accepting political donations and making payments
for electoral expenditure opened on the day after the last local
government elections for the local government area.)
Registration of electoral materials open
- Thursday, 15 August - 2pm: Ballot paper draw conducted
2pm: Uncontested elections declared
- Monday, 19 August - Postal packs distribution begins
- Monday, 2 September - Pre-poll voting period opens
(note: days and times will vary for each location) Display of
registered electoral material website commences
- Friday, 6 September - 5pm: Registration of electoral
material closes
- Saturday, 7 September - Telephone voting application
and voting opens
- Monday, 9 September - 5pm: Postal vote applications
close Registration of third-party campaigners close
- Friday, 13 September - Pre-poll voting period closes
(note: times will vary for each location) Telephone voting
application closes
- Saturday, 14 September - 8am - 6pm: Election day 1pm:
Telephone voting closes 6pm: Regulated period for electoral
material ends
- Sunday, 22 September - Last day to lodge annual
electoral expenditure disclosure
- Friday, 27 September - 6pm: End of postal vote return
(note: subject to legislation change)
- Monday, 30 September - Progressive distribution of
preferences
- Tuesday, 1 October - Progressive distribution of
preferences Progressive declaration of results
- Wednesday, 2 October - Progressive distribution of
preferences Progressive declaration of results
- Thursday, 3 October - Progressive declaration of
results
All local government elections in NSW are conducted in accordance
with the Local
Government Act 1993 and Local Government (General) Regulation 2021.