Candidate information

Becoming a Councillor is a great opportunity to represent your community and take an active role in shaping the health, wellbeing, culture, environment, biodiversity and economic success of our municipality.

Eligibility

All candidates must be qualified to nominate.

To qualify, you must be:

• 18 years or older
• an Australian citizen
• eligible to vote in Swan Hill Rural City as a state-enrolled or council-enrolled voter.

Find out how to enrol as a council-enrolled voter.

There is a list of circumstances that disqualify a candidate from nominating.

For more information, visit Victorian Electoral Commission website.

Information sessions

Before you nominate for Council, it’s important to understand what the role involves.

We encourage you to attend one of the information sessions held in the coming months to help you prepare.

In partnership with Victorian councils, the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) is delivering a number of information sessions for prospective candidates. These sessions can be attended in-person or online and will be held at locations across Victoria from May to August.

The sessions will include information about:

• local government and the important role councils play for our local communities
• the role and responsibility of a Councillor, Mayor, Deputy Mayor and CEO
• the election process and candidate requirements
• what newly elected councillors can expect soon after the elections
• councillor training and development opportunities.

(The above video is a recorded information session hosted by the City of Greater Geelong)

Compulsory Local Government Candidate Training

All candidates must complete Local Government Victoria’s mandatory training before they submit their nomination form.

For more information, visit Local Government Victoria website.

How to nominate

All potential candidates must apply through the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC). Find out about becoming a local council candidate from the Victorian Electoral Commission.