How to nominate
Nominations for the 2022 Council Elections has closed.
All council elections candidate profiles
On this page:
- Where to collect a nomination kit
- How to submit a nomination
- Preparing your candidate profile and optional photograph
Where do I collect a nomination form?
You are encouraged to submit your nominations online through ECSA's candidate portal.
To prepare your nomination, you can download a nomination kit which includes information on becoming a candidate for council.
The nomination kit includes:
- Make a Difference - Nominate for Council handbook by LGA
- Candidate's Handbook by ECSA
- Candidate Profile and Photograph requirements guide by ECSA
Download a nomination kit
For nominations with the City of Adelaide, download the following nomination kit.
For nominations with other South Australian councils, download the following nomination kit.
Please contact ECSA on 1300 655 232 if you require a hard copy nomination form.
How to submit a nomination
Nominations for the 2022 Council Elections has closed.
All council elections candidate profiles
There are three ways to submit your nomination.
- Online through ECSA's candidate portal
- In-person
Online
You can submit your nomination via ECSA's candidate portal.
You can complete the nomination form online, upload your candidate profile content and an optional photo directly on to the portal.
Complete your nomination form and candidate profile then email the following documents to ecsa.nominations@sa.gov.au.
- The appropriate pre-printed nomination form
- A candidate profile that complies with the Local Government (Elections) Regulations 2010
- A photograph (optional).
You are encouraged to submit your nomination online via ECSA's candidate portal as there is limited availability of hard copy nomination forms. Please contact ECSA on 1300 655 232 if you require a hard copy nomination form.
In-person
Complete your nomination form and candidate profile then lodge the following documents with an electoral officer appointed for the council you are nominating with.
- The appropriate pre-printed nomination form
- A candidate profile that complies with the Local Government (Elections) Regulations 2010
- A photograph (optional).
You are encouraged to submit your nomination online via ECSA's candidate portal as there is limited availability of hard copy nomination forms. Please contact ECSA on 1300 655 232 if you require a hard copy nomination form.
Nominations for the 2022 Council Elections has closed. Late submissions are not accepted.
Your candidate profile
Your nomination for election must include a candidate profile of no more than 1000 characters.
It must be a true reflection of your campaign and avoid reference to past council decisions and other candidates. Please refer to the ECSA Candidate Handbook for more information.
ECSA will publish your statement on their website. Your candidate profile along with your photo, will also be sent to all voters with their ballot pack.
What information should your candidate profile contain?
A profile provides the community (your electors) with a brief overview of the past and present experience of a candidate. This assists them to make choices when voting.
When preparing your profile, you may include any or all of the following:
- current or past work experience/qualifications
- work or community interests
- community involvement including membership of clubs/boards
- personal information such as marital status/children
- declarations of public policy and promises of public action
If you have a campaign-specific website or a campaign-specific social media page, you may choose to include them in your profile to help your voters make an informed decision. For privacy reasons, it is recommended that you do not use your personal Facebook account for campaigning purposes.
It's important to note that your profile should be a true reflection of your campaign and avoid reference to past council decisions and other candidates.
You are encouraged to read and familiarise yourself with the profile and photograph requirements before lodging your candidate profile.
The following principles apply to your profile character count and photograph
Your candidate profile and photograph must comply with the following principles.
Character count
- Use a computer to count your characters as it also includes spaces.
- Only include the body of text in your character count. Your name, contact details and further candidate profile statements provided at the bottom of the profile above your signature (see example below) are not counted in the character limit.
- Your name will be printed above your profile as it appears on the ballot paper.
- Titles and honorifics, if required by a candidate, are permitted in the body of the text only.
- If a profile exceeds the 1000 character limit and you have not reduced the characters to 1000 or less by the close of nominations, characters appearing after the 1000 limit will be removed.
Photographs
Photographs are optional but if you choose to include one with your candidate profile it:
- must be the same size as an Australian passport photograph, unless approved by the returning officer
- must predominantly show your head and shoulders
- must have been taken within the last 12 months
- submitted via the online portal, the endorsement will be included in the statement, however, if your nomination is lodged in hard copy, it must be endorsed on the back with 'This is a photography of (insert name) taken within the last 12 months', and signed by you
- may be either colour or black and white, however will be printed in black and white only (the quality of the original photograph will determine the clarity of the reproduction)
- must be either a JPG or PNG file type
- must be submitted with the nomination and profile. It will not be accepted separately.
For example
The below demonstrates how a candidate profile should be submitted.
Remember, your profile must satisfy legislative requirements to be accepted. Your profile:
- must provide either an address (not being a post office box), an email address, or a telephone number at which you may be contacted
- must include a statement of responsibility for the content of the profile; whether you live in the area or ward in which you are nominating; and that at the time of nominating, or anytime in the past 12 months, you are/were a member of a political party (include the name of the party and, if you are not longer a member, the date you ceased)
- should include a character count to ensure it is no more than 1000 characters in length
- must be signed and dated.
The below demonstrates how a candidate photograph should be submitted.
What happens with my candidate profile?
ECSA will publish your statement online. Your candidate profile along with your photo will also be sent to all voters with their ballot pack.
You cannot get help from the Local Government Association, your council, or ECSA to put together your profile. It must be put together and completed independently.
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Key council election dates
The 2022 Council Elections are over. The next periodic election is in 2026.
Supplementary council Elections will be held in February 2023 with its key dates below.
Description | Date |
---|---|
Close of rolls Enrol to vote in your supplementary council elections. Enrol now or check your enrolment details online. | 5:00 pm, Tuesday 20 December 2022 |
Nominations open Interested in running for council? You will need to nominate to become a candidate before you can start campaigning your candidacy. | Friday 13 January 2023 |
Nominations close You must submit your nomination before the deadline. | 12 noon, Friday 27 January 2023 |
Ballot packs mail-out period Ballot packs will be sent to the mailing address included on your enrolment. Keep an eye out for it in the mail! Instructions and guides on how to vote are included in the ballot pack. | Wednesday 15 February 2023 to Tuesday 21 February 2023 |
Voting close (polling day) You must return your ballot papers so they reach the electoral commission before this deadline. | 12 noon Tuesday 14 March 2023 |