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.

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.

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