Council Elections

Candidate Training and Information

Local Government Victoria and the Victorian Electorate Commission require people to meet certain eligibility criteria in order to become a candidate in a council election. This includes undertaking a mandatory candidate training session provided by the Victorian Government. There are also a number of optional training opportunities to help candidates better prepare for the election campaign process.

Mandatory Candidate Training

All candidates in any council election in Victoria are required to complete the online Local Government Candidate Training. All candidates must also declare to the Victorian Electoral Committee (VEC) when they have completed the training in order to nominate. 

The online Candidate Training will be available to complete closer to the next council election in 2028 on the Local Government Victoria website.

Additional Resources

In addition to the mandatory training and the optional information sessions detailed above, all prospective candidates are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the information available at the websites below to ensure their eligibility:

• Vic Councils - Stand For Council
• Victorian Electorate Commission - Becoming a Council Election Candidate
• Local Government Victoria

Northern Grampians Shire Council is a multi-councillor ward structure, with a total of six councillors, three wards and two councillors per ward. The three wards in this electoral structure are Central Ward, Grampians Ward and Kara Kara Ward. The ward boundaries were reviewed by the VEC and updated by the Minister for Local Government in 2024. Click here to view the final report and updated ward map.

All council elections are conducted by the Victorian Electoral Commission and are conducted by postal vote. The next council election will be held in 2028.

If you are an Australian citizen who lives in Victoria, owns a property within Northern Grampians, and who is enrolled on the Victorian Electoral Commission, you must vote. You can check your enrolment details online at check my details at any time. 

If you own land, property or a business within Northern Grampians Shire and want to vote in council elections you can. Please register for vote as a council-enrolled voter via the appropriate application form linked in the menu below called 'How do I enrol to vote?'.

Know the requirements around council enrolment for the 2028 Victorian local council elections here.

It is important to note there are two types of voter categories available:

1. State-enrolled voters, this is the usual way residents in Northern Grampians Shire become enrolled to vote in council elections. 
2. Council-enrolled voters, this is applicable to those who own land, property or a business within Northern Grampians Shire but do not reside here. These people can also enrol to vote in council elections. 

Please read below for further information on the types of council-enrolled voters and how to register. 

State-enrolled voters 

You must enrol and vote if you:

• Are 18 years or older; 
• Are an Australian citizen; and
• Have lived at your address in Northern Grampians for longer than one month.

For more information and to check your enrolment status, please visit the VEC website. Once you are enrolled to vote on the state electoral roll you are automatically enrolled to vote in council elections. 

Council-enrolled voters

Some ratepayers can apply to become council-enrolled voters in Northern Grampians if they are:

• A property owner, occupier or represent a corporation; 
• Are 18 year or older; and
• Are not a state-enrolled voter within Northern Grampians. 

These are known as council-enrolled voters and fall into three categories as outlined below. To become a council-enrolled voter, please download and complete the relevant form.

All of the below forms MUST have a written signature, not an electronic signature. Please ensure you physically sign the document to avoid it being rejected. 

These forms can be submitted at any time throughout the year and across the four-year councillor term. Residents do not need to wait until an upcoming election to enrol, however an enrolment closure date will be announced in due course so please ensure you are enrolled before this date. Enrolling early also ensures you can vote in any bi-elections should they be announced during the four-year councillor term. 

1. Owner ratepayers

You can apply to enrol in Northern Grampians Shire if you:

• Own property and pay rates in the council area;
• Are 18 or older;
• Are not a state-enrolled voter who lives in the shire.

This includes:

• Australian citizens who own a property in Northern Grampians but do not live in the area (for example an investment or a holiday home); and
• Non-citizens over 18 who own a property and live in Northern Grampians. 

Up to two ratepayers can apply to enrol per property. Owner ratepayers’ enrolment does not expire, but you can apply to resign your enrolment. Please find more information on this topic from the list below. 

APPLY NOW: Owner-ratepayer-ongoing-Application-for-enrolment-s2421-PDF(PDF, 81KB) (click to download)

2. Corporations

You can apply to enrol to vote on behalf of a corporation if you:

• Are a director or company secretary of a corporation that pays rates (either as an owner or an occupier) in the council area;
• Have consented to being appointed as the corporation’s representative; and
• Are not already a state-enrolled voter or council-enrolled voter within Northern Grampians.

Only one person can apply to enrol as the corporation’s representative.

Corporation representatives’ enrolment expires before the next local government general election.

If you want to continue to vote, you must apply to enrol again before the next local council general election in 2028. Council will send you an invitation when it is time to renew your enrolment.

If you were enrolled for the local council general elections in 2024, you will remain enrolled for any council by-elections up until 2028. It will be compulsory for you to vote unless you resign your enrolment. Please find more information on this topic from the list below.

APPLY NOW: Corporation-owner-or-occupier-Appointment-of-voting-representative-s2451-2-PDF.pdf(PDF, 97KB) (click to download)

Northern Grampians Shire Council elections are conducted by postal voting by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC). In the lead up to the next general election which will be held in 2028, all voting information can be found on the VEC website.

In the event you don’t want to vote as a council-enrolled voter for that property anymore, you can apply to resign your enrolment. Please click on the relevant form below to begin this process. 

Please note, either of the below forms MUST have a written signature, not an electronic signature. Please ensure you physically sign the document to avoid it being rejected.

Owner or occupier resignation: Owner or occupier ratepayer - Resignation of enrolment - s242 or s244(PDF, 64KB) (click to download)

Corporation resignation: Corporate representative - Resignation of appointment- s245(7)(a)(PDF, 67KB) (click to download)

Details about currently elected councillors for Northern Grampians Shire can be found on our website here.

The Local Government Act 2020 requires that the Chief Executive Officer publish a summary of details in Campaign Donation Returns(PDF, 8KB) (PDF, 8KB) of any election campaign donations/gifts received.