Election and caretaker period 2020

About

• Councils must comply with special arrangements in the lead up to elections, known as the caretaker period. This is in accordance with the Local Government Act. 
• The Act states that the election period starts on the last day on which nominations for the election can be received and finishes at 6pm on the election day. For the 2020 Council election, this means the election period will be from 12 noon Tuesday 22 September to 6pm Saturday 24 October.
• Read the Election Caretaker Period Policy(PDF, 1MB) 2020 for more information.

The purpose of a caretaker period

A caretaker period: 

• ensures that council actions don't interfere with the election process, and the election process is conducted in an ethical, fair and equitable way. 
• safeguards the authority of the incoming council.

Council activity during the election period

During the election period: 

• councils are prohibited from making certain types of decisions
• material produced by councils must not contain matter that will affect voting at the election.

View the Election Caretaker Period Policy 2020