Announcement

When is the next Council Election?

The next Council Election will be held on Saturday 26 October 2024. Successful candidates will be elected for a four-year term.

Voting method

The voting system is determined by the Minister for Local Government.

The method of voting for the 2024 election will be by postal ballot.

Is voting compulsory?

Voting is compulsory for all State-enrolled and Council-enrolled voters.  If you do not vote, you may get a fine.

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Key dates

Friday 30 August 2024, 4pm

Entitlement date - close of roll.

To be eligible to vote at a Council election, people must be on the State or Council roll by the entitlement date.

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Wednesday 18 September 2024

Election office opens (location to be determined).

Election offices will be open to the public from Wednesday 18 September until Friday 25 October 2024.

Election office opening hours:

9am to 5pm weekdays, except for the last two days before election day when it will close at 8pm on Thursday 24 October and 6pm on Friday 25 October.

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Tuesday 24 September 2024, 12pm

Close of nominations - election period commences.

Candidates must submit their nominations in person to the Election Manager before the close of nominations. The nomination period runs from 19 to 24 September. Once nominations have closed, the ballot will be drawn to determine the ballot paper order.

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9-11 October 2024

Ballot packs posted.

15-17 days before close of voting, the VEC will post ballot packs to enrolled voters.

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Friday 25 October 2024, 6pm

Close of voting.

The election will be undertaken by postal voting.

In postal elections, ballot papers must be completed and posted to the Election Manager no later than the last working day before election day.

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Saturday 26 October 2024

Election day - election period ends 6pm.

There is no physical voting on Election Day. All ballot papers must be completed and sent to the Election Manager prior to Election Day. Declaration of successful candidates occurs from Sunday 27 October to Friday 15 November 2024.

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Tuesday 19 November 2024 (subject to the date of declaration of results)

Swearing in of Councillors and election of Mayor.

A Special Council Meeting will be held to swear in the members of Council and to elect a Mayor.

Method of voting

The method of voting for the 2024 Council Election will be by postal ballot.

Voting in local government general elections may be:

• Postal: Voters in the area receive a ballot pack by mail.
• Attendance: Voters in the area go to a voting centre to vote.

The voting system for all Victorian local councils is set by the Minister for Local Government.

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Eligibility to vote

To be eligible to vote there are two types of voters:

• State-enrolled
• Council-enrolled

You have one vote in East Gippsland Shire Council. If you are a State-enrolled voter, that is the enrolment you use to vote.

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State-enrolled voters

You must enrol and vote if you:

• are 18 years or older
• are an Australian citizen
• have lived at your address for longer than one month.

For more information, visit the Victorian Electoral Commission.

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Council-enrolled voters

Some ratepayers can apply to become council-enrolled voters in East Gippsland Shire Council if they are:

• a property owner, occupier or represent a corporation;
• 18 years or older; and
• not a State-enrolled voter within the East Gippsland Shire Council area.

These are known as Council-enrolled voters.

The rules for Council-enrolled voters have changed ahead of the 2024 council elections. These changes are explained below.

‍Owner ratepayers

You can apply to enrol in East Gippsland Shire Council if you:

• own property and pay rates in the council area;
• are 18 years or older; and
• are not a state-enrolled voter who lives in East Gippsland Shire Council.

This includes:

• Australian citizens who own a property in East Gippsland Shire Council but do not live in the area (for example an investment or a holiday home); and
• non-citizens over 18 years old who own a property and live in East Gippsland Shire Council.

Up to two ratepayers can apply to enrol per property, but each person only gets one vote.

‍Occupier ratepayers

You can apply to enrol in East Gippsland Shire Council if you:

• pay rates for a property that you occupy but do not own;
• are 18 years or older; and
• are not a state-enrolled voter.

Up to 2 people per property can apply to enrol, but each person only gets one vote.

‍Corporations

You can apply to enrol to vote on behalf of a corporation if you:

• are a director or company secretary of a corporation that pays rates (either as an owner or an occupier) in the council area;
• have consented to being appointed as the corporation’s representative; and
• are not already a state-enrolled voter or council-enrolled voter for the same council.

Only one person can apply to enrol as the corporation’s representative.

‍If you meet the criteria

If you meet any of these criteria, you can contact us on (03) 5153 9500 to apply to enrol.

Once you are enrolled, you must vote for the October 2024 elections and onwards. If you don’t vote, you may get a fine.

‍Resigning your enrolment

If you don’t want to vote for that property anymore, you can apply to resign your enrolment.

‍Expiry of enrolment

Occupier ratepayers’ and corporations’ enrolment expires before the next local government general election.

If you want to continue to vote, you must apply to enrol again before the next Local Government General Election (2028).

East Gippsland Shire Council will send you an invitation when it is time to renew your enrolment.

Owner ratepayers’ enrolment does not expire, but they can apply to resign their enrolment.

To apply to become or check if you are a council enrolled voter in East Gippsland Shire Council, contact us on (03) 5153 9500.

For information about Victorian elections, visit the Victorian Electoral Commission.

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The Election Period (commonly known as Caretaker Mode), is the period starting from the last day that nominations to be a candidate for a Council election can be received, and ends at 6pm on election day. In 2024, this period will run from 12pm Tuesday 24 September until 6pm Saturday 26 October 2024.

During this period, Council business is conducted in accordance with the Election Period Policy to avoid the use of public resources in a way that may unduly affect the election result, and to minimise Councils making certain types of decisions that may unduly limit the decision-making ability of the incoming Council.

The Election Period Policy ensures that all general elections of the East Gippsland Shire Council are conducted in a manner that is ethical, fair and equitable and are publicly perceived as such.

Council’s Election Period Policy is currently being reviewed and will be presented to Council for adoption at the Ordinary Meeting to be held 9 April 2024.

Read the:

Election Period Policy-tracked changes

Election Period Policy - clean version

All candidates who nominate in council elections are required to submit an ‘Election Campaign Donation Return’ to the Chief Executive Officer within 40 days after election day.

Candidate returns must detail any gifts, goods or services worth $500 or more received during the donation period for use in connection with their election campaign. This applies to all candidates, whether elected or not, and whether they received campaign donations or not.

The ‘donation period’ is defined as the period beginning 30 days after election day in the previous election and ending 30 days after election day in the current election.

In accordance with the Local Government Act 2020 the Chief Executive Officer must:

• submit a report to the Minister specifying the names of the persons who were candidates in the election, and the names of those candidates who submitted an election campaign donation return; and
• make a summary of each election campaign donation return received available on Council's website until entitlement for the next general election; and
• ensure that a copy of an election campaign donation return is available for inspection for a period of four years from the date it is given.

View the East Gippsland Shire Council Election Campaign Donation Return Summary.