Information for Candidates

An independent electoral structure review panel appointed by the Minister for Local Government reviewed the electoral structure of Strathbogie Shire Council in 2023-24.

The purpose of the review was to advise the Minister on the appropriate number of councillors and electoral structure for the council.

The Panel’s final recommendations on the new electoral structure for Strathbogie Shire Council were accepted by the Minister in February 2024 to meet the requirements of Victoria’s Local Government Act 2020.

Strathbogie Shire now has an unsubdivided electoral structure, represented by seven councillors.

For more information about changes and to read the final report, visit vec.vic.gov.au/electoral-boundaries/council-reviews/electoral-structure-reviews/strathbogie

Are you considering standing for Council?

Councillors are a crucial part of our democratic society and have an important part to play in serving and representing the interests of their community.

The key aspects of a Councillor’s role include participating in the decision-making of Council, representing the interests of the municipality and participating in strategic planning activities.

To support community members who might be considering running for Council, the Strathbogie Shire Council will be running a number of ‘Your CommUNITY, Your Voice’ Candidate Information Sessions during April and May, 2024.

All sessions will be with Council’s Administrator, Peter Stephenson, and CEO, Julie Salomon. Please note the content presented at all sessions will be the same, with the exception of one-on-one sessions.

The sessions are designed to give community leaders and residents the chance to find out more about the diverse range of functions and services local government provides, the role of Councillors, and to provide the resources required for potential candidates for the 2024 Local Government Elections.

The Municipal Association of Victoria Stand for Council Program aims to assist councils attract a diverse range of potential candidates by providing important information regarding the 2024 council elections, the role of council and the responsibilities of being a Councillor. It also aims to build community awareness to understand the important role of voters in delivering local democracy and representation.

The MAV are delivering 15 hybrid (in person and online) Community and Candidate Information sessions across Victoria from May through to August 2024.

• Strathbogie Shire Council is hosting a Goulburn Ovens Murray Region session on Tuesday 11 June at Euroa Community Conference Centre, 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Other Goulburn Ovens Murray Sessions include:

• Wednesday 12 June Mitchell Shire Council Civic Centre, 113 High Street Broadford, 6.30 – 8.30pm

Registrations are now open and will close two days prior to each session.

For more information and to register, visit Stand for Council | MAV website

Session Registration Process

To manage venue capacity limits and maintain OH&S obligations regarding safety and accessibility ­– as well as assist with catering requirements – people will be required to register to attend a Stand for Council Session either in-person or online. In-person attendees will be required to check-in at the MAV registration desk prior to entering.

If people turn up in-person on the day who are not registered they cannot not be admitted unless the host council confirms there is capacity. If capacity is available, they will be required to register at the MAV registration desk before entering.

To be a candidate for a local council election, you must:

• be an Australian citizen
• be aged 18 years of age
• be enrolled on the voters’ roll for the council in which you wish to stand
• have completed the mandatory Local Government Candidate Training
• not be disqualified from being a councillor.

You cannot be a candidate for any of the following reasons:

• you are an undischarged bankrupt
• you have property that is subject to control under the law relating to bankruptcy
• you are a member of council staff of the council. You can take leave from this role in order to nominate
• you have been convicted of any of the criminal offences referred to in section 34(2) of the Act
• you are a councillor with another council, including interstate councils
• you are member of an Australian Parliament, including the Federal Parliament or a Member of Parliament in any state or territory of the Commonwealth of Australia
• you are employed by a Federal or State Member of Parliament as a Ministerial Officer, a Parliamentary Adviser or an Electorate Officer. You can take leave from these roles in order to nominate
  or
• you are otherwise incapable of becoming or continuing to be a councillor.

Further details are outlined in the Local Government Act 2020.

To become a candidate, you must be enrolled for the council in which you wish to stand.

If the council has wards, you can be a candidate for any ward in the council.

The VEC will operate a candidate helpdesk at head office in advance of the election so that prospective candidates can direct their enquiries and receive assistance with their nominations prior to the opening of the local election office, the Strathbogie Shire Council election office will be located in Bury Street Euroa from 18 September 2024. This includes support with using the VEC’s Candidate Helper, the digital tool for the pre-completion of nomination forms. From the opening of the local election office, election managers will personally deal with all enquiries from candidates for their own council.

Candidate handbooks will be made available online and via the election office. Prospective candidates will be strongly advised to use the Candidate Helper and the VEC website for information on the election.

Become a local council candidate | Victorian Electoral Commission (vec.vic.gov.au)

Nominations open on Thursday 19 September 2024 and close at 12 noon on Tuesday 24 September 2024. Election managers will receive and record nominations from candidates at the election office. This includes receiving the $250 nomination fee.

In advance of the close of the roll, candidates are strongly encouraged to ensure that they have confirmed their eligibility to nominate. This is particularly relevant given the changing entitlement schemes in place at the 2024 Local Government elections. The VEC’s nomination process will involve checking the candidate’s enrolment against the certified roll.

Candidates will be able to create their nomination forms online via Candidate Helper, accessible via the VEC website, but must lodge their hard copy nomination form in person with the election manager.

Candidate Helper – VEC

The use of Candidate Helper is strongly encouraged as it enables candidates to step through the nomination process, including directly submitting their candidate statement and photograph. This expedites the nomination appointment process as election managers can retrieve this data to upload it into the VEC election management system via a unique identifier on the printed nomination forms.

The list of candidates who have nominated for each local government election will be regularly updated on the VEC’s website. Candidates’ names and public contact details, where provided, will appear soon after a full quality assurance process has been successfully completed for their nomination. The VEC anticipates updates to the lists of candidates on the VEC website to be made twice daily on each day during the nomination period.

Close of nominations for candidates is 12 noon on Tuesday 24 September 2024. Election managers will hold a ballot draw to determine the order of candidates’ names on the ballot paper as soon as practicable after the close of nominations (anticipated to be from 3 pm on Tuesday 24 September).

Ballot draws will be conducted electronically and the order of names on each ballot paper is determined by a single random draw.

The VEC’s electronic application has been independently audited to ensure the result is random. Electronic ballot draws create significant efficiencies, reducing the risk and time involved with manual data entry of ballot draw results and thus the time between the draws and dispatching ballot paper files to the printer. The electronic draw also enables the publication of the final list of candidates, in ballot paper order, to be updated to the VEC’s website by approximately 5 pm after the close of nominations.

As part of the nomination process, election managers will receive candidates’ personal statements and photographs. Candidates are strongly encouraged to create their candidate statements and upload their photographs into the VEC’s online Candidate Helper and bring all documentation to their nomination appointment. This will streamline the process for loading information into the VEC’s election management system and will enable candidates to complete all steps in the nomination process in a single appointment.

The candidate handbook will provide clear information on the requirements for preparing and submitting statements and photographs. Election managers will not assist candidates with the preparation of their statement content.

Supplying a candidate statement and photograph is voluntary. The completed statements will be accessible to voters on the VEC website, in election offices and will be included in the postal ballot pack.

As part of the nomination process, election managers will receive answers to candidate questionnaires completed by candidates.

Like candidate statements and questionnaires, candidates will be able to complete their candidate questionnaire forms using the VEC’s online Candidate Helper prior to lodging it with the election manager. Candidates are strongly encouraged to bring this to their nomination appointment.

Supplying a candidate questionnaire is voluntary. The completed questionnaires will be accessible to voters on the VEC website and available in election offices. The VEC will publish advice showing which candidates did not lodge answers to the candidate questionnaire or did not answer any particular question.

Candidates who receive 4% or more of the formal first preference vote, or who are elected, will have their nomination fee refunded as soon as practicable after the declaration of the election.

Nomination fees will be refunded to eligible candidates by cheque or, where requested, by direct credit into a nominated bank account. Payments of fees forfeited by candidates who are ineligible to have their nomination fee returned will be sent to local councils at the same time.

Visit the VEC website for this information.