Local Government Elections

Results of 2023 Local Government Elections

Results of Election LG19B - Shire of Yilgarn, 21 October 2023

NOMINATION REQUIREMENTS

Candidates are required to lodge with the RETURNING OFFICER;

A completed nomination form in the prescribed form, signed & witnessed. This form is available from the Shire of Yilgarn, 23 Antares Street, Southern Cross, Shire website via Shire website or by emailing the Chief Executive Officer;
Complete the online Local Government Candidate Induction available at Induction for Prospective Candidates (reference number from completed induction is to be included on the nomination form);
A single A4 page profile containing not more than 1000 characters of biographical information about the proposed candidate and statements of the candidate’s policies or beliefs;
A nomination deposit of $100 (cash, postal order or bank cheque); and
A recent passport size photograph (optional).

When an agent lodges a nomination on a candidate’s behalf, it must be in the prescribed form with a written authorisation, signed by the candidate.

NOMINATION FOR ELECTION BY CANDIDATE FORM

Nominations must be lodged with the Returning Officer:

at any time during the nomination period by arrangement; or
between certain hours at the Shire of Yilgarn, 23 Antares Street, SOUTHERN CROSS.

Becoming a Councillor

Local Government Councillors are elected by people who live and do business in the local Council area and/or own property within the local government and have registered to vote.

Councillors play an important community leadership role and create policies and resolve decisions that the Council makes about what happens locally.

Local government elections are held on the third Saturday of October, every two years.

If you are interested in becoming a Councillor and would like more information, you can click on the link (below) to the WA Electoral Commission's website.

Western Australian (WA) Electoral Commission - Information for Candidates and Electors

Both the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and the WA Electoral Commission provide information on the timelines for Local Government Elections.

Contact information for the elected members can be found here.

ENROLLING TO VOTE

Enrolling to Vote as a Resident

You are automatically enrolled to vote if you are on the State Electoral Roll as at close of enrolments. If you are not already on the State Electoral Roll and meet the eligibility criteria, or if you have changed address recently, you must complete an enrolment form.

You can check your enrolment online here, or contact the WA Electoral Commission on 13 63 06.

You can learn more about enrolment here.

Enrolments for the Ordinary Council Elections closed at 5:00 pm on 25 August 2023. The electoral roll prepared for the 2023 Ordinary Council Elections will be used for the 2023 Extraordinary Election for the Shire of Yilgarn (if required).

Non-Resident Owner and Occupiers

People who own or occupy property within a local government district can apply to their local government to be included on the roll as an owner/occupier, as long as they are eligible electors. A body corporate may apply to have up to two eligible electors to be included on the owner/occupier roll.

All eligible electors are allowed to vote once in any district or ward for which they are enrolled. If a person lives within one local district or ward and owns or occupies property in a different district or ward then they may be entitled to a vote in both areas provided they are enrolled for those addresses. For more information or to enrol as an owner/occupier, contact the Shire.

If you are not sure if you are on the owner/occupier roll, we strongly encourage you to contact the Shire to confirm your eligibility.

How to Vote

On polling day, or beforehand for early voting, electors go to designated polling places (the Shire Administration Office at 23 Antares Street, Southern Cross) to cast their vote. Polling places are open from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. If an elector can’t attend a polling place on polling day, they can apply for an absent, early or postal vote. To apply for postal voting papers, download and complete this form.

ROLE OF A COUNCILLOR

Councillors are elected to represent the interest of all electors and residents and provide leadership and guidance to the community. They play an important community leadership role and create policies and resolve decisions that the Council makes about what happens locally. Councillors generally do not have any authority to act or make decisions as individuals. They are members of an elected body that makes decisions on behalf of a local government through a formal meeting process.

If you haven’t already, we recommend you have a look at the minutes from past Council meetings to see what decisions Council makes or come along to a Council meeting to see one in person; Council meets on the third Thursday of every month (except January).

For more information, the Department of Local Government Spot and Cultural Industries has a number of factsheets you may wish to peruse here.

If you think you might be interested in the role, this video from the WA Local Government Association may be of interest to you.

Becoming an elected council member webinars

Find out more about what it takes to become an elected council member by watching one of the DLGSC webinars.

NOMINATING TO BE A COUNCILLOR

To be eligible to be a Councillor, you must:

be 18 years of age or older; and
be an elector of the district (if you are only an elector because you are a nominee of a body corporate then you are not eligible to stand for council).

You are not eligible if you:

are a member of State or Federal Parliament;
are an insolvent under administration;
are serving a prison sentence for a crime;
have been convicted of a serious local government offence within the last five years (unless the court has waived the disqualification);
have been convicted on indictment of an offence for which the indictable penalty was or included imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for more than five years;
are a member of another council;
are subject to a court order disqualifying you from being a council member because you have misapplied local government funds or property;
are on the local electoral roll as the nominee of a body corporate;
are currently disqualified by the State Administrative Tribunal from holding office as a member of a council.

Before Nominating

Prior to nominating in local government elections, all candidates will be required to complete the online candidate induction (link).

The candidate induction has been developed to assist people who are thinking about becoming a local government councillor to better understand the role. It outlines the responsibilities of council and councillors as well as election and campaigning rules. The induction will also serve as a refresher to those who have previously been a councillor and informs them of any recent changes to their obligations in the role.

The candidate induction is free and is available on the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries’ website. For those who do not have access to the internet, please visit the Shire offices to complete the module online. It is important that all prospective candidates complete the registration form at the end of the candidate induction. This will ensure your completion is recorded by the department and you can retain the confirmation email for your records. The reference number provided with this email, will need to be recorded on the candidate nomination form.

All candidates nominating for council will be required to declare that they have competed the candidate induction at the time of nomination, which will be verified with the Department.

Want more information on becoming a Councillor, please contact the CEO on 9049 1001 or 0427 775 325 to arrange a time to run through the roles and responsibilities.

Building a Nomination Profile

Should you be considering nominating for Council, the Electoral Commission has a nomination builder you can use, the video of how you use is here and the link for the nomination builder is here.

Shire of Yilgarn - Election Notice

Results of Election for Shire of Yilgarn - 2021

Local Government (Elections) Regulations 1997 - Form 19 Ordinary Election - Results of Election

Local Government (Elections) Regulations 1997 - Form 19 Extraordinary Election - Results of Election