Election Period Policy adopted by Council

Council adopted the Election Period Policy at its Tuesday 23 July Council meeting. Thank you to the community members who provided feedback on the draft.

Welcome

OVERVIEW

The election period, commonly referred to as 'caretaker period', starts at the time nominations close on nomination day and ends at 6.00pm on the day of the election.

Section 69 of the Local Government Act 2020 (the Act) requires Council to include an Election Period Policy in its Governance Rules and sets out the relevant prohibitions to be included within the policy.

The revised Election Period Policy (the Policy) sets out procedures to be applied during the election period and builds on the policy adopted in September 2020.

Council endorsed the draft Policy at the meeting 29 May 2024 allowing for community consultation until 26 June 2024 and will consider adopting this policy in July 2024 following consideration of feedback received.

Adoption of the Policy will ensure transparency and accountability in the upcoming 2024 General Election to be held in October.

We recommend that you please read the documents in the Document Library section of this page before providing your submission (or feedback).

The purpose of the Election Period Policy is to provide the community with an understanding of the procedures that will apply during the election period to ensure the fairness of the election, appropriate use of City resources and to prevent inappropriate decision-making.


The following revisions of the existing Election Period Policy have been made:

  • Greater clarity provided for “significant decisions” that should not be made during the Caretaker period;
  • Removal of any duplicate information available in relation to Election signage to refer only to the Guidelines;
  • Updates to the list of Delegated Committees;
  • Clarification on the Audit and Risk Committee and the CEO Employment and Remuneration Committee’s operations during caretaker;
  • Language updates to further reflect the community engagement principles of the Local Government Act 2020;
  • Inclusion of new sections on handling misinformation and Breach of Policy.


Submissions can be lodged:

Submissions closed on Wednesday 26 July.

  • Online below;
  • By email at governance@geelongcity.vic.gov.au; or
  • Post to:
Manager Governance
City of Greater Geelong
Wadawurrung Country
PO Box 104,
Geelong VIC 3220

The personal information requested on this page is being collected by City of Greater Geelong for the purpose of the Election Period Policy Review or any other directly related purpose. If the personal information is not collected, we may not be able to contact you for further questions or solutions. Your personal information will only be disclosed to carry out a deeper analysis of the data* or as required to do so by law. Our privacy policy is available on our website. If you wish to alter any of the personal information you have supplied to City of Greater Geelong, please contact us by sending an email to privacy@geelongcity.vic.gov.au.

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