Candidate FAQ
In the lead up to the Election in 2027 candidates may contact our office with questions to assist them with their campaign.
To maintain transparency and fairness, in any circumstances where a candidate is provided with a response to a query it will be published under our FAQ below for all candidates to reference.
It would be suggested that candidates visit this page regularly for up to date and ongoing information during their campaign.
The City of Charles Sturt is divided into 8 Wards with two Ward Councillors in each for the purpose of representing our Community. In addition to the 16 Ward positions available there is also one Mayoral position.
Yes. Anyone can nominate as a candidate as long as they are an Australian Citizen and are an elector for the area (or the designated person for a body corporate or a group which has its name on the voters roll for the area).
You can only nominate in one Ward and cannot nominate in two different Council areas.
Tip: The Nomination Form does ask candidates to declare whether they live within the Ward in which they are nominating.
Although nominations for candidacy do not officially open until Tuesday 26 January 2027, you can commence your election campaign now!
The important dates for your diary are available here.
A map of our Council Wards can be found on our website here, however, for a more interactive version which can provide you with aerial imagery and street layering can be accessed by the “Interactive Map” under the Links section on this page. The layers that can be found on the left hand side of the screen can provide further search options.
Please note that there has been an amendment to the Grange and Semaphore Park Ward boundary. The amendment relates to the north-west boundary of the Grange Ward with Lakeside Court, Tennyson to fall within the Semaphore Park Ward effective from polling day.
A resident or any party on their behalf can call our Customer Contact Centre on 8408 1111 relating to new or existing services for the community. Alternatively, the request can be logged through our Requests, Compliments and Complaints page.
Our Customer Portal is an online tool that allows our candidates and residents to easily report and track customer requests, 24/7.
The "My Local Services" app is also a very useful tool for candidates and residents and can be used to obtain information on services such as weekly bin schedules and can also be used to report issues in our community. The app can be downloaded on your smartphone or iPhone and then set to a specific area.
Candidates will be able to access the voters roll for their election via the nomination portal for contested elections between the close of nominations and the ballot paper draw, and polling day.
Unlike previous elections, requests for voters rolls from candidates are to be directed to the returning officer, not Council. Additional copies of the voters roll will require the payment of a fixed fee determined by the returning officer.
The City of Charles Sturt website contains a link to statistical information collated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census from 2021 back to 1996, including data relating to population, housing and social demography.
You can access the webpage under our Business tab on our website under Economic Development where there are links to both Community Profile and Economic Profile. Alternatively, follow this link.
The Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 specifically prohibits candidates or any person acting on a candidate’s behalf from assisting a person with their ballot material. This includes having a person's ballot material in your possession or even attempting to gain possession of a person's ballot material. There are penalties involved for breaches of this section of the act. Refer to Section 61 for a full description.
Councils have a statutory requirement to report on information detailed within Section 131 of the Local Government Act 1999, by way of an Annual Report. In addition to the required statistics, our Annual Reports are hold a wealth of knowledge in relation to our activities and achievements and our full financial statements and operations. Follow this link to access the last 8 years of Annual Reports.