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ocal Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 No , 2011 A Bill for An Act to amend the Local Government Act 1993 in relation to the administration of local council elections, the process for reducing councillor numbers and the abolition of wards in a council area and by-elections for civic office; and for other purposes. Clause 1 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1 1 Name of Act 2 This Act is the Local Government Amendment (Elections) Act 2011. 3 2 Commencement 4 This Act commences on the date of assent to this Act. 5 Page 2 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 Amendment of Local Government Act 1993 No 30 Schedule 1 Schedule 1 Amendment of Local Government Act 1 1993 No 30 2 [1] Section 55 What are the requirements for tendering? 3 Insert at the end of section 55 (3): 4 � a contract or arrangement between a council and the 5 Electoral Commissioner for the Electoral Commissioner to 6 administer the council's elections, council polls and 7 constitutional referendums. 8 [2] Section 210B 9 Insert after section 210A: 10 210B Approval to abolish all wards in council's area 11 (1) A council may resolve to make an application to the Minister to 12 approve the abolition of all wards of the council's area. 13 (2) The council must give not less than 42 days' public notice of its 14 proposed resolution. 15 (3) After passing the resolution, the council must forward to the 16 Minister a copy of the resolution, a summary of any submissions 17 received by it and its comments concerning those submissions. 18 (4) The Minister may approve the application or may decline to 19 approve it. 20 (5) If the Minister approves the application, all the wards in the 21 council's area are abolished with effect on and from the day 22 appointed for the next ordinary election of councillors after the 23 application is approved. 24 (6) Section 16 does not apply to a resolution of a council to make an 25 application to the Minister under this section. 26 (7) An application may be made under this section only within the 27 period of 5 months from the commencement of this section. 28 (8) Nothing in this section prevents a council from making more than 29 one application under this section or from taking action under 30 section 210 to abolish all wards of the council's area. 31 [3] Section 224A Approval to reduce number of councillors 32 Omit "21 days' public notice" from section 224A (2). 33 Insert instead "42 days' public notice". 34 Page 3 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 Schedule 1 Amendment of Local Government Act 1993 No 30 [4] Section 224A (7) 1 Omit the subsection. Insert instead: 2 (7) An application may be made under this section after the 3 commencement of the Local Government Amendment 4 (Elections) Act 2011 but before the expiry of 5 months after that 5 commencement. 6 [5] Chapter 10, introduction note 7 Insert "the general manager of the council or" before "the Electoral 8 Commissioner". 9 [6] Section 292 10 Omit the section. Insert instead: 11 292 When is a by-election to be held? 12 A by-election to fill a casual vacancy in the office of a councillor 13 or a mayor elected by the electors of an area is to be held on a 14 Saturday that: 15 (a) falls not later than 3 months after the vacancy occurs, and 16 (b) is fixed by the general manager (in relation to an election 17 administered by the general manager) or the Electoral 18 Commissioner (in relation to an election administered by 19 the Electoral Commissioner). 20 [7] Section 294 Dispensing with by-elections 21 Omit "on or after 1 October last preceding the end of the term of a council" 22 from section 294 (1). 23 Insert instead "within 18 months before the date specified for the next ordinary 24 election of the councillors for the area". 25 [8] Section 294B 26 Insert after section 294A: 27 294B Casual vacancy not to be filled where councillor numbers 28 reduced--approved by constitutional referendum 29 (1) Despite section 17 (2), a casual vacancy in the office of a 30 councillor (but not a mayor elected by the electors) is not to be 31 filled if a constitutional referendum has approved a reduction in 32 the number of councillors but the reduction has not yet taken 33 effect. 34 Page 4 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 Amendment of Local Government Act 1993 No 30 Schedule 1 (2) However, subsection (1) does not authorise a vacancy to remain 1 unfilled if the vacancy will result in the council having less 2 councillors than the reduced number approved by the 3 constitutional referendum. 4 (3) Subsection (1) applies to a casual vacancy whether occurring 5 before or after the commencement of this section or before or 6 after the constitutional referendum. 7 [9] Chapter 10, Part 6, Division 1 8 Omit the Division. Insert instead: 9 Division 1 Administration of elections 10 296 Elections to be administered by general manager of council or 11 Electoral Commissioner 12 (1) Elections for the purposes of this Chapter are to be administered 13 by the general manager of the council concerned. 14 Note. Section 18 provides that certain provisions of this Act (relating to 15 the conduct of elections) apply to council polls and constitutional 16 referendums, with such modifications as may be necessary, in the same 17 way as they apply to elections. 18 (2) Despite subsection (1), a council may resolve that the council is 19 to enter into a contract or make arrangements with the Electoral 20 Commissioner for the Electoral Commissioner to administer all 21 elections for the council for the purposes of this Chapter. 22 (3) Such a resolution may only be made within 12 months after an 23 ordinary election of councillors for the council's area. 24 (4) If such a contract is entered into or such arrangements made, the 25 Electoral Commissioner is to administer all the elections of the 26 council until the conclusion of the following ordinary election for 27 councillors. 28 (5) In this section, election does not include an election of the mayor 29 or a deputy mayor by the councillors. 30 296A Elections administered by a general manager 31 (1) This section applies to an election administered by the general 32 manager of a council. 33 (2) The general manager is to appoint a returning officer and a 34 substitute returning officer for the election. In the absence of the 35 returning officer, the substitute returning officer is to exercise the 36 functions of the returning officer. 37 Page 5 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 Schedule 1 Amendment of Local Government Act 1993 No 30 (3) The returning officer is to appoint one or more electoral officials. 1 (4) An employee of a council for an area cannot be appointed as a 2 returning officer or substitute returning officer for that area. 3 However, an electoral official may be an employee of the 4 council. 5 (5) A general manager cannot be appointed as a returning officer, 6 substitute returning officer or electoral official for any area. 7 (6) For the purpose of conducting an election, the returning officer 8 and substitute returning officer for an area are entitled to access 9 to any relevant records of the council for the area. 10 (7) For the purpose of administering an election, the general manager 11 is to: 12 (a) appoint the polling places, and 13 (b) determine the fees payable to the returning officer, 14 substitute returning officer and electoral officials. 15 (8) For the purpose of conducting an election, the returning officer is 16 to determine any matter not provided for by this Act or the 17 regulations. 18 (9) Expenses incurred by the returning officer, substitute returning 19 officer and electoral officials in connection with an election are 20 to be met by the council. 21 (10) The returning officer and the substitute returning officer must not 22 vote at any election that they are conducting. 23 296B Elections administered by the Electoral Commissioner 24 (1) This section applies to an election administered by the Electoral 25 Commissioner. 26 (2) The Electoral Commissioner is to appoint a returning officer and 27 a substitute returning officer for each area. The returning officer 28 is to conduct elections on behalf of, and under the direction of, the 29 Electoral Commissioner. In the absence of the returning officer, 30 the substitute returning officer is to exercise the functions of the 31 returning officer. 32 (3) The returning officer is to appoint one or more electoral officials. 33 (4) An employee of a council for an area cannot be appointed as a 34 returning officer or substitute returning officer for that area. 35 However, an electoral official may be an employee of the 36 council. 37 Page 6 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 Amendment of Local Government Act 1993 No 30 Schedule 1 (5) For the purpose of conducting an election, the returning officer 1 and substitute returning officer for an area are entitled to access 2 to any relevant records of the council for the area. 3 (6) For the purpose of conducting an election, the Electoral 4 Commissioner is to: 5 (a) appoint the polling places, and 6 (b) determine the fees payable to the returning officer, 7 substitute returning officer and electoral officials, and 8 (c) determine any matter not provided for by this Act or the 9 regulations. 10 (7) The Electoral Commissioner, the returning officer and the 11 substitute returning officer must not vote at any election that they 12 are conducting. 13 297 Delegation of functions by the Electoral Commissioner 14 The Electoral Commissioner may delegate to a person any of the 15 Electoral Commissioner's functions under this Act, other than 16 this power of delegation. 17 [10] Chapter 10, Part 6, Division 2, note 18 Omit the note. 19 [11] Sections 299 and 300 20 Omit the sections. Insert instead: 21 299 Non-residential roll 22 (1) Not later than the closing date for an election, the general 23 manager is to prepare a roll of non-resident owners of rateable 24 land for confirmation as the roll of non-resident owners of 25 rateable land within the area. 26 (2) The roll of non-resident owners of rateable land lapses after the 27 election for which it is prepared, and it consists only of the names 28 of those non-resident owners of rateable land who have applied 29 for the inclusion of their names for the purposes of the election 30 for which it is being prepared. 31 (3) The general manager (in relation to an election administered by 32 the general manager) is to confirm as the roll of non-resident 33 owners of rateable land for the election the roll referred to in 34 subsection (1) if, in the general manager's opinion, the roll 35 Page 7 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 Schedule 1 Amendment of Local Government Act 1993 No 30 contains the names of the persons who on the closing date are 1 qualified for inclusion in the roll of non-resident owners of 2 rateable land. 3 (4) The Electoral Commissioner (in relation to an election 4 administered by the Electoral Commissioner) is to confirm as the 5 roll of non-resident owners of rateable land for the election a roll 6 certified by the general manager as being, in the general 7 manager's opinion, a roll of the persons who on the closing date 8 are qualified for inclusion in the roll of non-resident owners of 9 rateable land. 10 300 Roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees 11 (1) Not later than the closing date for an election, the general 12 manager is to prepare the roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees 13 for confirmation as the roll of occupiers (of land within the area) 14 and ratepaying lessees (of rateable land within the area) for the 15 election. 16 (2) The roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees lapses after the 17 election for which it is prepared, and it consists only of the names 18 of those occupiers and ratepaying lessees who have applied for 19 the inclusion of their names for the purpose of the election for 20 which it is being prepared. 21 (3) The general manager (in relation to an election administered by 22 the general manager) is to confirm as the roll of occupiers and 23 ratepaying lessees for the election the roll referred to in 24 subsection (1) if, in the general manager's opinion, the roll 25 contains the names of the persons who on the closing date are 26 qualified for inclusion in the roll of occupiers and ratepaying 27 lessees. 28 (4) The Electoral Commissioner (in relation to an election 29 administered by the Electoral Commissioner) is to confirm as the 30 roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees for the election a roll 31 certified by the general manager as being, in the general 32 manager's opinion, a roll of the persons who on the closing date 33 are qualified for inclusion in the roll of occupiers and ratepaying 34 lessees. 35 [12] Section 313 36 Omit the section. Insert instead: 37 313 List of residents failing to vote 38 (1) After the close of the poll at a contested election, the general 39 manager (in relation to an election administered by the general 40 Page 8 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 Amendment of Local Government Act 1993 No 30 Schedule 1 manager) or the Electoral Commissioner (in relation to an 1 election administered by the Electoral Commissioner) is to 2 prepare a list of the names of the persons on the residential roll 3 for the election who, although entitled to vote at the election, 4 appear to have failed to vote and do not appear to have a 5 sufficient reason for the failure. 6 (2) The general manager (in relation to an election administered by 7 the general manager) must forward that list to the Electoral 8 Commissioner within 14 days (or within such longer period as 9 may be prescribed by the regulations) after the close of the poll at 10 the election. 11 [13] Section 317 Validity of elections 12 Insert "(in relation to an election administered by the Electoral Commissioner) 13 or the general manager or returning officer (in relation to an election 14 administered by the general manager)" after "returning officer" in 15 section 317 (1) (c). 16 [14] Section 434B 17 Insert after section 434A: 18 434B Expenses to be borne by council 19 (1) The Director-General may recover the reasonable expenses 20 incurred by the Director-General in, or in respect of, the 21 preparation of a Departmental representative's report under this 22 Division that relates to the administration of an election by a 23 general manager, including investigation expenses of the 24 Director-General or the Departmental representative. 25 (2) The Director-General may make a determination of the amount 26 of the expenses referred to in subsection (1) and serve a notice on 27 the council requiring the amount so determined be paid in 28 recovery of the expenses. 29 (3) An amount equal to the expenses as so determined is payable to 30 the Director-General as a debt by the council concerned, except 31 as determined by the Director-General. 32 (4) The council may apply to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal 33 for a review of whether any part of the expenses so determined 34 are not reasonable expenses. 35 (5) The Director-General must give effect to any decision of the 36 Tribunal on a review of the determination of the amount of the 37 expenses. 38 Page 9 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 Schedule 1 Amendment of Local Government Act 1993 No 30 (6) A reference in this section to expenses incurred includes a 1 reference to remuneration paid to departmental staff. 2 [15] Schedule 6 Regulations 3 Insert the following at the end of the list of examples to item 14 (Elections): 4 Compliance with Director-General's guidelines relating to the 5 administration of elections 6 [16] Schedule 8 Savings, transitional and other provisions consequent on 7 the enactment of other Acts 8 Insert at the end of clause 1 (1): 9 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Act 2011 10 [17] Schedule 8 11 Insert at the end of the Schedule, with appropriate numbering: 12 Part Provisions consequent on enactment of 13 Local Government Amendment (Elections) 14 Act 2011 15 Definition 16 In this Part, amending Act means the Local Government 17 Amendment (Elections) Act 2011. 18 Dispensing with by-elections 19 Section 294, as amended by the amending Act, extends to a 20 casual vacancy occurring before the commencement of that Act. 21 Council may retain Electoral Commissioner to administer 22 elections, polls and referendums until end of 2012 ordinary 23 election 24 (1) Despite section 296, a council may resolve, before 31 October 25 2011 (or such later date as may be prescribed by the regulations), 26 that the Electoral Commissioner is to administer its elections 27 (including the 2012 ordinary election for councillors), council 28 polls and constitutional referendums. 29 (2) The council must, as soon as possible, notify the following 30 persons of the making of such a resolution: 31 (a) the Electoral Commissioner, 32 (b) the Director-General. 33 Page 10 Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2011 Amendment of Local Government Act 1993 No 30 Schedule 1 (3) The Electoral Commissioner is to administer all the elections, 1 council polls and constitutional referendums of a council that has 2 made such a resolution until the conclusion of the 2012 ordinary 3 election for councillors. 4 (4) Expenses incurred by the Electoral Commissioner, returning 5 officer, substitute returning officer and electoral officials in 6 connection with any such election, council poll or constitutional 7 referendum are to be met by the council for which it is conducted 8 and are recoverable from the council as a debt owed to the 9 Electoral Commissioner as the holder of that office. 10 (5) In this clause, election does not include an election of the mayor 11 or a deputy mayor by the councillors. 12 Page 11
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