Local Government Elections
Council Elections - General Information
Councils are part of the democratic framework of Australia. The community elects their Council Members every four years. The last periodic council election took place in November 2022, however, due to only eight nominations received to fill the nine Councillor vacancies for the Copper Coast Council, a Supplementary Election will be held to fill the final vacant Councillor position in March 2023.
Supplementary Election Timetable
Close of Electoral rolls | 5pm Tuesday, 20 December 2022 |
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Nominations open | Friday, 13 January 2023 |
Nominations close | 12pm (noon) Friday, 27 January 2023 |
Mailout of ballot material to electors | Wednesday, 15 February 2023 to Tuesday, 21 February 2023 |
Close of voting (polling day) | 12 noon Tuesday, 14 March 2023 |
The rules for elections are set out in the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 - an act of the South Australian Parliament - to view the Act, click here.
Unlike State and Federal elections, it is not compulsory to vote in South Australian council elections. However, council elections are the biggest single voluntary civic participation activity in the state with nearly 360,000 people voting in the 2014 council elections.
Another important difference from State and Federal elections is that all voting in council elections is done by post. Enrolled voters receive a voting package through the mail and return their votes in a reply paid envelope.
Legislative Framework
The rules for local government elections are set out in the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999, an act of the South Australian Parliament. To view the Act go to www.parliament.sa.gov.au
Refreshing the voters’ roll
Under the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999, there is a requirement to purge the council supplementary roll on 1 January of every election year. All landlords, business lessees and resident non-Australian citizens are removed from the council voters roll (with the exception of City of Adelaide) and must re-enrol to be able to vote.
If you have been removed from the roll under these provisions you must re-enrol before the roll close deadline, otherwise you will not be able to vote in the next elections.
For further information regarding the elections, contact Council on (08) 8828 1200 or visit the links below.
Click the following links to access further election information.
All material on this webpage is authorised by Russell Peate, Chief Executive Officer, Copper Coast Council, 51 Taylor Street, Kadina SA 5554.