Acting South Australian Election Commissioner Leah McLay has made a request to Attorney General and Special Minister of State Kyam Maher to delay the Periodic Local Government Election that is scheduled for November.
The announcement follows the commencement of an independent external review into the Electoral Commission of South Australia’s delivery of the March 2026 State Election and First Nations Voice to Parliament Election.
Ms McLay today informed the Local Government Association and all 67 affected South Australian councils of her request.
“From the outset, I would like to emphasise that I have not taken this decision lightly and I apologise for the impact a delay would have on councils and ratepayers,” Ms McLay said.
“Since joining the Electoral Commission as Deputy Commissioner in January and in my current capacity as Acting Commissioner, I have had the opportunity to assess the organisation’s operations.
“My observation of the March 2026 State Election is that due to inadequate frameworks, and processes, the planning and delivery of the election were occurring simultaneously.
I am very concerned that the upcoming local election will experience similar impacts.”
Ms McLay said there were some additional factors that created a risk to the election delivery.
“I am concerned about ECSA’s ability to recruit staff, particularly in the light of the level of frustration, fatigue and uncertainty arising from the State Election and independent review,” she said.
“The conduct of the State Election and First Nations Voice to Parliament Election is currently the subject of an independent external review, which I support.
“I expect the independent review to identify necessary improvements and make recommendations, however there is insufficient time to receive and implement the review findings prior to the local government election.
“In light of all these concerns, it is my strong view that delaying the periodic local government election would be desirable and I have asked the Attorney to give this matter urgent consideration.
“I reiterate that I have not taken this action lightly and I recognise that it will have an impact on councils, however in the circumstances the Commission finds itself I am not comfortable with proceeding with the Elections in November.”
Ms McLay has undertaken to update the community on the next steps for the election once the Minister has had the opportunity to consider her request.
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The Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) is an independent agency and aims to ensure that demands for electoral services and participation in the democratic processes have been met fairly, honestly and within the law.
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