Elections

Details

Published: 23 March 2026

Council elections (local government) in South Australia

The term local government refers to the system in which 68 local councils operate in South Australia. Visit the Local Government Association of South Australia to learn more.

How many councils are in SA?

There are 68 Councils in South Australia however only 67 councils are involved in periodic elections every 4 years in November. Roxby Downs is conducted under their own Administration and not the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999.

How often and when are council elections held?

The Local Government Act 1999 requires council elections to be conducted by full postal ballot every 4 years in November. Supplementary elections may occur for a vacancy that occurs within a Council during the four year period.

Who conducts council elections?

The Electoral Commissioner, as the returning officer, conducts all council elections.

Who is elected at council elections?

Elections are held for the positions of mayor, area councillor, and ward councillors. Councils may have a combination of these positions.

How are members of the council elected?

The electoral system used in council elections in South Australia is the proportional representation electoral system or PR for short. Proportional representation is the term that describes a group of electoral systems used for elections in multi-member electorates to elect candidates who receive a set proportion of the vote. In Australia, these systems are classified into 3 categories - list systems, mixed-member proportional systems and single transferable vote (STV) systems. In South Australia, the electoral system used is the STV type. Under the STV system, each vote can be transferred between candidates in the order of the voter's preferences.

A candidate is elected when their total number of votes equals or exceeds the quota.

How much do council elections cost?

Section 13 of the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 requires that all costs and expenses incurred by the returning officer in carrying out official duties must be paid from council funds. Accordingly, councils are charged for electoral services on the basis of cost recovery.

The returning officer

Who is the returning officer?

In South Australia, the Electoral Commissioner is the returning officer for all council elections and polls. This includes periodic elections and supplementary elections, which are held when a vacancy occurs for a member in between periodic elections.

What does a returning officer do?

The returning officer is responsible for managing the electoral process and ensuring that the elections are conducted fairly and transparently. For more information about the returning officer's role, refer to the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999.

Who is the deputy returning officer?

The Electoral Commissioner appoints deputy returning officers to undertake important election duties, such as accepting nominations, mailout of ballot material, processing returned postal votes and conducting the count.

The council voters roll

What is the council voters roll?

The chief executive of a council maintains a Council Voters Roll, comprising people who are a non-residential owner, landlord, organisations, business owners or occupiers in the council area. The Council Voters Roll is then complemented by the state electoral (House of Assembly) roll. In every year of a periodic election the Council Voters Roll is purged and the chief executive can accept applications from eligible electors to form the Council Voters Roll. Once this is established, the state House of Assembly roll serves to complete the final Voters Roll.

How do I know if I am on the roll?

If you are correctly enrolled for state elections in South Australia, you are automatically included on the council voters roll and will receive ballot papers through the post. If you are correctly enrolled for state elections in South Australia, you are automatically included on the Voters Roll and will receive ballot papers through the post. If you have further entitlements for other properties as a natural person, body corporate or group you may be eligible for additional entitlements on the Council Voters Roll.

Can I vote if I am not on the Voters Roll?

No. You must be on the Voters Roll by the close of roll date.

How do I check or update my enrolment on the state electoral roll?

If you need to check or update your electoral enrolment you can choose one of the following options:

• Check my enrolment

• Enrol online (first-time voters or to get back on the roll)

• Update my details online (for updates to your address (residential or postal), name or other contact details)

I am a landlord, own a business or investment property in the local council area. Can I vote in that council?

You may be eligible to be on the council voters roll if:

• you are on the state electoral roll and

• a non-residential owner or occupier of additional property in a council area you may be eligible to be on council voters roll for that area, or

• you are the designated person of a body corporate or group which owns or occupies property in the council area.

For more information got to: Voters Roll.

To enrol under these special provisions you need to contact your local council or visit councilelections.sa.gov.au/council-elections.

Candidate nominations

Who can nominate for council elections?

In general, you are eligible to nominate if you are an Australian citizen and an elector for your council area. Visit our council candidates page for detailed information on who can and cannot nominate.

How do I know who has been nominated for my council?

The number and names of each candidate will be on the website from the day nominations open until 24 hours after the close of nominations.

Following nomination close and the ballot paper draw has occurred the names will be published on this website within 24 hours. They will appear in newspapers in South Australia.

What is a candidate profile?

Each candidate must provide a candidate profile of up to 1000 characters with their nomination form. They may also provide a photograph. Candidate profiles are sent to each elector within the ballot pack.

Voting in council elections

Who can vote in council elections?

If you are correctly enrolled on the council voters' roll or for the state House of Assembly roll, you will receive ballot papers through the post. If you are a non-resident owner or occupier of property in a council or are the designated person of a body corporate or group which occupies or owns property in a council area, you may be eligible to vote. 

How can I vote?

Voting in council elections is conducted by post. All election materials, including your ballot papers, are mailed directly to the postal address you provided on the Council Voters Roll or the electoral roll. The mailout of postal voting packs begins after nominations close. For more information visit our voting in council elections page.

Is voting compulsory?

No. Voting in council elections in South Australia is not compulsory.

How do I receive my ballot pack?

The mailout of postal ballot packs begins after nominations close. Check the website for the election timetable. Ballot packs that contain your ballot papers, are mailed directly to the postal address you provided on the voters roll or the electoral roll.

What happens between the close of nominations and issuing the ballot packs?

After the close of nominations, the Electoral Commission of SA begins printing all ballot papers and candidate profiles for each council where there is an election. Council elections are very complex with 67 councils involved and each council has different combinations of mayor, area councillor, and ward councillors. It takes considerable time to coordinate the different combinations of ballot papers and candidate profiles.

What does the ballot pack contain?

The ballot pack contains:

• a ballot paper for each election being contested in the council area for which you are entitled to vote (for example - mayor, area councillors or ward councillors)

• a candidate profile brochure

• a ballot paper envelope (this envelope must be signed by you as the elector to ensure ballot security)

• a reply-paid envelope

• a postal voting guide.

What happens to the envelope that contains my details and ballot papers?

When we receive your ballot paper envelope the barcode is scanned to mark your name off the voters roll. This check is to ensure that you have not already voted.

When the count begins, all flaps (that contain your details and declaration) are removed and separated from the envelopes. Envelopes are then opened and ballot papers are extracted and counted. 

Is my vote kept secret?

Yes. On receipt of your ballot paper envelope, and after it is scanned to mark your name off the voters roll. Declaration envelopes are securely stored until the commencement of the scrutiny and count.  Electoral officers separate the flap (that contains your details and declaration) from the envelope itself.  All envelopes containing ballot papers, are opened separately and ballot papers extracted and counted for each election. This ensures that your vote is kept secret.

Scrutiny and count

What happens after the close of voting?

Once voting closes, the Electoral Commission of South Australia accounts for all returned ballot packs. The preliminary scrutiny and count to begin.

What checks are undertaken?

When you vote, you put your ballot papers into a declaration envelope which needs to be signed before you place it in the reply-paid envelope. To ensure that each elector only votes once, the elector’s roll number on each returned declaration envelope flap is scanned. Ballot paper envelopes received throughout the course of the election are checked daily by electoral officers to determine whether they can be accepted or rejected. Following the check, all envelopes are stored securely until the start of the preliminary scrutiny and count.

When are ballot papers removed from envelopes?

Ballot papers are not removed from envelopes until the preliminary scrutiny and count begin.

Following the close of voting, electoral officers undertake 2 major processes. Firstly, the preliminary scrutiny involves the removal of declaration flaps from envelopes after checks have identified any envelopes that are ineligible to be included in the count (for example, if they have not been signed by the elector). Once the declaration flaps are removed from envelopes, the envelopes are opened and ballot papers removed. The ballot papers are then checked for formality and counted.

For more information, see our scrutiny, count and results page.

When are the elections finalised?

Elections are finalised when the results are officially declared. Once all ballot papers for each council are counted, the deputy returning officer provisionally declares the results. If no requests for re-counts are received within 72 hours, the results are officially declared by the returning officer. Final results are published in newspapers across South Australia, on this website, and on the Local Government Association's website once all elections are finalised.

Details

Published: 23 March 2026

From rubbish to roads, parks to paths, and bikes to bushwalks, local councils are central to creating places and spaces we enjoy in our everyday lives. Together with its communities, councils work on enhancing an area's liveability.

If you use your local library, enjoy a bite at a local café, or a run in the local park, the upcoming local council elections is your opportunity to contribute to making your community a better place to live.

Go to the Council Electionbs website (external link).

For information and the results of past council elections, visit the our past council elections results page.

To review election reports, visit our publications page.

To view results from periodic elections, visit our results website.

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Details

Published: 23 March 2026

Eligibility

If you’re unable to attend a voting centre in person, you can apply for a postal vote, if

• are more than 8 km from a polling booth
• are travelling
• are ill, infirm or disabled – preventing you from attending a polling booth
• are due to give birth shortly
• are caring for someone who is ill, infirm or disabled - preventing you from attending a polling booth
• have religious beliefs - preventing you from attending a polling booth
• are working and unable to leave your workplace to vote
• are a resident of a declared institution being a hospital, convalescent home, nursing home, home for the aged, hostel for the aged or infirm, prison or other places of confinement
• have your address suppressed on the electoral roll (a silent elector)
• are subject to a direction under the Emergency Management Act 2004 requiring you to quarantine or isolate during the hours of polling.

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Permanent postal voter

ECSA maintains a register of voters who are permanently unable to attend a polling place during state elections or by-elections and who meet prescribed eligibility criteria. These individuals are classified as a 'Registered Declaration Voter' for state elections and as 'General Postal Voter' for federal elections. Once registered, ECSA automatically sends out voting packs for every state election or by-election. You do not need to re-apply for future elections.

Apply to become a 'Registered Declaration Voter'

To join the register of permanent postal voters, you will need to complete and sign a form via the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) website:

• Registered postal voter information and application form

*This is an external link to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) which manages registrations for ECSA. One form allows you to register both as a registered declaration voter for South Australian elections and as a general postal voter for parliamentary elections. For any questions about the register, call the AEC on 13 23 26.

Local government election postal voting

Voting in council elections, including supplementary council elections, is conducted by post. All election materials, including your ballot papers, are automatically mailed directly to the postal address you provided on the electoral roll.  It's important you keep your address details up to date.

• Enrol to vote or update my details

Once nominations close for a council election (including a supplementary election), ballot papers are printed and postal ballot packs are sent to your nominated postal address. More information can be found on this website at the time of an election.

• Find out what's included in your postal ballot pack

Details

Published: 23 March 2026

The Telephone Assisted Voting service allowed eligible enrolled electors to cast their vote anonymously over the phone for both the 2026 South Australian State and First Nation Voice elections.

This service was for enrolled electors who are sight impaired or cannot vote without assistance due to motor impairment.

Voting by phone is a two-part process – registering for the service, then casting your vote over the phone.

Step one: Registering for Telephone Assisted Voting

• The elector called our team to register for telephone voting.
• The elector provided their personal information to be verified on the electoral roll.
• The elector confirmed their eligibility to use the telephone voting service.
• The elector will set a secret question/answer and be issued a unique identifying number verbally, via SMS, or via email.

Step two: Cast your vote

• The elector either transferred to the voting team, or called back when ready to vote.
• The elector provided their unique identifying number, and answer to the secret question.
• A voting assistant recorded the elector’s vote.
• A second voting assistant listened to the call and acted as a witness to ensure the vote is recorded accurately.
• The completed ballot paper was sealed in an envelope marked with the elector’s district, signed by the witness, and deposited into a ballot box.

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Information in other formats

If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, contact us using the National Relay Service.

• TTY users’ phone 133 677 and ask for 1300 655 232. Speak and listen users’ phone 1300 555 727 and quote 1300 655 232.
• Internet relay users connect to National Relay Service and then ask for 1300 655 232

Information in other languages

Translated versions of this guide can be found at ecsa.sa.gov.au/languages. If your language is not listed, call us through an interpreter:

1. Phone the Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50 
2. Ask for them to call the Electoral Commission of South Australia on 1300 655 232 (free service).