Local Government Elections

How are Local Government Elections Held?

Local Government ordinary elections occur every two years and are generally held on the third Saturday in October. The next election will be on 18 October 2025. Voting in a Local Government election is not compulsory in Western Australia however, all electors are strongly encouraged to vote.

Postal Election

The Shire of Nannup holds postal elections which are conducted by the Western Australian Electoral Commission. This year's election will be conducted using the Optional Preferential Voting system. This means that electors can vote for one or more candidates by numbering their ballot paper in order of preference. The candidate with the majority of votes, including preferences, is declared the winner. For more information, please visit the Western Australian Electoral Commission.

All eligible electors will receive a postal voting package around three weeks prior to polling day. The package will include a list of candidates, ballot papers, instructions on how to vote and a declaration. To vote, follow the instructions included in the package. Your postal voting package must be received before 5:00pm on polling day. If you do not think that your postal voting package can be returned by post in time, you can deliver it by hand to the Shire Offices prior to 5:00pm.

Who is entitled to vote

In order to be eligible to vote, you must:

Be an Australian Citizen.
Be 18 years of age or older.
Have lived at your present address for at least one month prior to the close of enrolments.

In addition, you need to be either –

A resident within the Shire of Nannup (your normal place of residence is within the Shire), and you appear on the State electoral roll (i.e. you are enrolled to vote at elections)

A non-resident or occupier provided:

You are on the State or Commonwealth electoral rolls for your normal place of residence outside the Shire of Nannup.
You own or occupy rateable property in the Shire of Nannup (e.g. commercial premises by way of legal instrument like a lease for a minimum three month term).
You have made a successful eligibility claim (see enrolment eligibility form) with the Shire that is still current.

Special Eligibility Criteria

In rare instances, even if you do not appear on the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll but own or occupy a rateable property in the Shire, you may still be eligible to vote. To qualify an elector must -

Own or occupy rateable property within the electorate.
Have been listed on the last electoral roll prepared under the Local Government Act 1960 for that electorate.
Have continuously owned or occupied rateable property in the electorate since that roll was prepared. Clause 12 of Schedule 9.3 of the Act was repealed by the Local Government Amendment Act 2024. Persons who are enrolled relying on this provision can remain enrolled until their enrolment would have otherwise ended, however no new or renewed enrolments may be made relying on this provision.

Non-resident owner

If you are a non-resident owner of rateable property in the Shire and are on the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll, you are eligible to enrol to vote.

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

Occupier

If you are an occupier of rateable property in the Shire and are on the State or Commonwealth Electoral Roll, you are eligible to enrol to vote in certain situations. To be eligible to enrol as an occupier, you will need to have held a right, under lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument, to be in continuous occupation of a rateable property within the Shire for at least the last twelve months and have a right, under lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument, to be in continuous occupation of the property for at least the next three months following the date of the claim to enrol.

The Election Regulations set out a series of requirements for a person to be enrolled as an occupier including that they must:

Have quiet enjoyment (exclusive occupation) of their occupied property.
Be able to secure their occupied property from intruders.
Genuinely operate or intend to operate their business from that property.
Lease at least 10m² of property, subject to a series of exclusions.
Pay a minimum amount of rent for the property.

If you wish to check your enrolment on the Shire’s Owners and Occupiers Roll, please contact the Shire.

Applying as a non-resident owner/occupier

To apply as a non-resident owner/occupier you will need to complete and submit an Enrolment Eligibility Claim Form.

Enrolment Eligibility Claim Forms must be received by the Chief Executive Officer during an election year and prior to the close of the roll, 50th day before Election Day. A person must submit a claim to the Shire by the close of the roll at 5:00pm on Friday 22 August 2025.

If any information provided on the claim form is incorrect or missing documents to complete the claim by 5:00pm on the closing date, the Shire will reject your claim, and you will lose your eligibility to vote in the upcoming election

Joint owners/occupiers

If a rateable property is owned or occupied by more than two people, a majority of the owners/occupiers may nominate two persons. A written nomination must be signed by the majority of the joint owners/occupiers.

Body Corporations

A body corporate that owns or occupies rateable property in the Shire of Nannup may nominate two people as nominees on the Shire’s Owners and Occupiers Roll.

The appointment of a body corporate’s nominee must be evidenced by a letter on company letterhead or by email from the company’s email address which has been signed by an officer of the body corporate. An officer of a body corporate may include the CEO, a Director, Company Secretary, Treasurer or the Chief Financial Officer.

If one of up to two nominees of a body corporate have held a right, under lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument, to be in continuous occupation of a rateable property within the Shire for at least the last twelve months and have a right, under lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument, to be in continuous occupation of the property for at least the next three months, a copy of the lease is required to support your enrolment claim.

What if I am not enrolled to vote?

If you are a non-resident owner or occupier of the Shire of Nannup and not already enrolled to vote, you may make a claim to be included on the Owners and Occupiers Roll. You can complete one of the Enrolment Eligibility Claim forms provided below.

Which form should I complete

Non-Resident Owner (Complete form 2)
Owns rateable property in the electorate as a sole owner, or one of two co-owners.

Occupier (Complete form 2A)
Has held a right of occupation to a rateable property in the Shire of Nannup for at least twelve months and has a right to continuous occupation of rateable property in the electorate under a lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument for a period of at least three months, as sole occupier or one of two occupiers of the property.

Co-Owner Nominee (Complete form 2B)
Owns rateable property in the electorate as one of more than two co-owners; and is one of up to two nominees, nominated by all or a majority of the co-owners.

Co-Occupier Nominee (Complete form 2B)
Has held a right of occupation to a rateable property in the Shire of Nannup for at least twelve months and has a right to continuous occupation of rateable property in the electorate under a lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument for a period of at least three months, in conjunction with two or more other people and is one of up to two nominees, nominated by all or a majority of the occupiers.

Body Corporate Owner / Occupier Nominee (Complete form 2C)
Is one of up to two nominees of a body corporate that owns or has held a right of occupation to a rateable property in the Shire of Nannup for at least twelve months and has a right to continuous occupation of rateable property in the electorate under a lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument for a period of at least three months.

Duration of enrolment

If you are an occupier or a nominee and your Enrolment Eligibility Claim is accepted, it will expire six months after the next two ordinary elections held for the Shire of Nannup, (in accordance with section 4.33 of the Local Government Act 1995).

If you wish to continue to qualify as an elector after that, you will need to make a new Enrolment Eligibility Claim.

Further information –

Western Australian Electoral Commissions website. (WAEC)

Become an Elected Member

The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries website provides helpful information and frequently asked questions to assist potential candidates.

Additional information and nomination forms are available from the WA Electoral Commission website.