Overview

Local government elections play an important role in our democratic system and are an excellent opportunity for people to contribute to, and be involved in their local community.

Ordinary local government elections are held on the third Saturday in October every two years, generally for 50% of the members of every council.

There are many benefits of being involved in your local council, the main benefit being the sense of satisfaction you will gain from serving your community.

Being involved in local government will also give you the opportunity to increase your knowledge about the operations of all levels of government, improve your confidence in public speaking and play an important role in the changes occurring in your district.

If you want to make a difference in your community and have a say in local decision-making, vote or stand for election as a councillor in your local government elections.

Look Out for Elections!
Extraordinary and other elections are advertised under Local Government Notices in The West Australian newspaper. The advertisements give details about enrolling to vote, nominating to be a candidate in the elections, the ways in which a vote can be cast, and the date of the election.

Extraordinary Elections
If the office of an elected councillor, mayor or president becomes vacant due to the death or resignation of a member, or another reason listed in the Local Government Act 1995, an extraordinary election must be held within four months of the vacancy occurring. The filling of extraordinary vacancies that occur after the third Saturday in January and up until the third Saturday in July in an election year can be deferred if approved by the Electoral Commissioner under sections 4.16 and 4.17 of the Local Government Act 1995.

Other Elections
The Act provides for elections to be held for other reasons, such as after a restructure of districts or wards; after the reinstatement of council following suspension; after all offices become vacant; or after council is dismissed.


Election results are available here for all local governments which conducted their own elections. Results are organised by local governments which conducted their own elections. Results are organised by local government district or ward and show votes received for each candidate.

For results from local governments that engaged the Western Australian Electoral Commission to conduct their election, please refer to the WAEC website at www.waec.wa.gov.au.