Local Government Council Elections

Local government ordinary elections are held on the third Saturday in October every two years. 

There are seven Councillors at the Shire of Morawa who are elected for terms of four years. If a vacancy occurs within a term, an extraordinary election is held.

2024 Extraordinary Election for Shire of Morawa


Electoral Roll

To be eligible to vote in an upcoming election individuals need to ensure that they are on the electoral role. For local government elections, rolls close at 5.00 pm, 50 days prior to polling day. All electors should check their enrolment details are up to date before rolls close.

Residents

You can check your enrolment with the Australian Electoral Commission here.

If you are not already on the State Electoral Roll but meet the eligibility criteria for this Roll, you can enrol online at Australian Electoral Commission. Alternatively, enrolment forms are available from Post Offices, Australian Electoral Commission offices or the West Australian Electoral Commission.

Non-Resident Owners and Occupiers

If you are a non-resident owner or occupier of rateable property in the Shire of Morawa and are on the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll, you are eligible to enrol to vote and should make an enrolment application to the Shire of Morawa.

If you are not on the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll and own or occupy rateable property in a Shire of Morawa, you may be eligible to enrol to vote if you were on the Shire’s last electoral roll prior to May 1996. Please contact the Shire of Morawa for details.

Owners of land who were on the last roll of the Shire of Morawa continue to retain that status until they cease to own the rateable property to which the enrolment relates.

Occupiers do not have continuous enrolment and should contact the Shire of Morawa to confirm their enrolment status. To be eligible to enrol as an occupier, you will need to have a right of continuous occupation under a lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument for at least the next 3 months following the date of the application to enrol.

Joint Owners and Occupiers

If a rateable property is owned or occupied by more than two people, a majority of the owners/occupiers may nominate two persons from amongst themselves who are on either the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll, to enrol as owner/occupier electors.

Corporations

A body corporate that owns or occupies rateable property may nominate two people who are on either the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll to enrol as owner/occupier electors.

Enrolment Forms

Enrolment claim forms can be downloaded below or obtained from the Shire of Morawa's office.

Form 2 - Enrolment Eligibility Claim

Nominating for Council

Individuals (Electors) who wish to nominate as a candidate in a local government election must complete a valid nomination application and present it to the Returning Officer before nominations close. For more information about nominating for Council, read through the below information. Further information can be found on the DLGSCI website.

Nominations for a local government election open 51 days before polling day and close at 4.00 pm, 44 days before polling day.

The Role of a Council Member

Council members play an important community leadership role and being on a council is one way you can ensure community perspectives are heard and considered in local decision-making. Being a council member is a big commitment and Council members have a duty to attend all council meetings to ensure that electors are adequately represented. Council members are members of an elected body that makes decisions on behalf of a local government through a formal meeting process.

People look to their elected representatives for leadership and guidance. The most fundamental task for Councillors is to achieve a strong sense of shared purpose and commitment.

For more information on the Role of a Council Member, visit the DLGSCI Website.

Candidates Information Briefing Webinar

The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) conducted on online webinar for prospective candidates on 18 August 2023.

This webinar is intended for Candidates who are considering nominating for election, and will prepare those who are successful in the election for life as a Council Member. The focus of the webinar was the following key areas:

  • Purpose of Local Government 
  • Role of the Council and Council Members
  • Important Provisions of the Local Government Act 1995 and Regulations
  • How Local Government Decision-making Occurs
  • Personal Responsibility to Understand Conflicts of Interest
  • New Code of Conduct Behaviour Provisions Relating to Candidates
  • Induction and Council Member Essentials Training 
  • FAQs / Question and Answer Session.

This webinar was recorded and is available below.


Click the below link to download the PowerPoint presentation from the WALGA Candidate Briefing Webinar.

2023 Candidate Information Briefing Webinar PowerPoint

Eligibility to Nominate

To stand for election as a Councillor of a Local Government, you must:

  • be 18 years of age or older;
  • 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);
  • (if a current council member) have a term that ends on election day
  • Have completed the mandatory induction course available on the DLGSC website.

For more information on nominating to be a Council Member, visit the DLGSCI website.

Local Government Candidate Induction

The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) has a induction on their website which prospective candidates must complete before nominating for Council. The induction course has been developed to assist the understanding of obligations and commitments of elected Councillors.

The induction should take approximately thirty minutes to complete.

At the end of the course, you must complete the online registration to receive an email from the department which is an official record of your completion of the induction.

Induction for Prospective Candidates 

Submitting your Nomination

Candidates are required to lodge with the Returning Officer:

  • a completed nomination in the prescribed form, signed and witnessed. This form is available from the Returning Officer or the Western Australian Electoral Commission (www.elections.wa.gov.au);
  • a single A4 page profile of not more than 1,000 characters (including spaces) containing information about the candidate;
  • a nomination deposit of $100 (cash, EFT, bank cheque or postal order);
  • a recent passport-sized photograph (optional);
  • every candidate must have completed the online course titled Local Government Candidate Induction, available at www.dlgsc.wa.gov.au, prior to nominating; and
  • (optional) in addition to your A4 profile, you may provide additional information that you consider to be relevant to your candidature. This written statement must be not more than 2,000 characters (including spaces), must be in the English language and is for publication on the local government’s official website.

The Commission has developed an online system called Nomination Builder to assist candidates to complete their nomination form which includes the candidate profile. Candidates complete their nomination details and profile, print the completed form which has a reference number allocated and lodge it with the Returning Officer. The nomination builder can be accessed via www.elections.wa.gov.au otherwise a manual submission is also acceptable.


You cannot use Nomination Builder to prepare the additional information.

Where 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.

The documents may be hand delivered or posted to the Returning Officer and must be received by the close of nominations.

The purpose of the Candidate's profile is to provide information to electors about your policies and beliefs as well as your personal details so that they can make an informed choice when voting.

Electoral gifts

Both candidates and donors must disclose information about any election related gift with a value of $200 or more that was given or promised within the six-month period prior to the relevant election day.

For more information visit the DLGSC website.

Candidate Forms

Form 8 - Nomination for Election by Candidate

Form 9 - Nomination for Election by Agent

Form 9A - Disclosure of Gifts

Form 18 - Appointment of Scrutineer