Nominate for Council

Becoming a Council Member at the City of Nedlands provides a unique opportunity for you to be part of the decision-making process that creates a lasting impact for your community.

Councillors play a vital role in leading the community by representing the interests of residents and ratepayers, advocating for community needs, and providing strategic leadership through good governance.

If you've been thinking about leading your community, now is your chance. You might be more ready than you think.

Nomination Requirements

To be eligible to nominate as a candidate you must be:

  • 18 years of age or older
  • An Australian citizen or a British subject prior to 26 January 1984
  • An elector of the district. Unsure about your enrolment status? Check your enrolment online.

You cannot run for Council if you:

  • Are an MP or a member of another Council
  • Are financially insolvent
  • Are currently serving a prison sentence
  • Were convicted of a serious local government offence in the past five years
  • Were convicted of an offence with an indictable penalty of over five years' imprisonment
  • Were found liable for misusing local government funds/property in the last five years.

Nomination Process

If you're considering nominating as a candidate for the March 2026 election, you will be required to do the following:

  1. Complete the mandatory online Local Government Candidate Induction Course prior to nominating
  2. Complete the nomination form and candidate profile. It is recommended that candidates use the Western Australian Electoral Commission’s Nomination Builder to complete the nomination form and candidate profile
  3. (Optional) provide recent passport sized photograph
  4. (Optional) provide a written statement in English of up to 2,000 characters (including spaces) containing additional information to support your nomination. This will be published on the City's website
  5. Pay a nomination deposit of $100
  6. Lodge your nomination with the Returning Officer by the close of nominations.

Optional extras:

  • Attend a candidate information session (TBC)
  • Review the City’s policies, plans, meeting minutes and reports
  • Attend a council or committee meeting

Key Dates

  • January 2026: The WAEC and the City of Nedlands will call for nominations in the March 2026 election
  • Thursday, 5 February 2026: Nominations open
  • Thursday, 12 February 2026: Nominations close, 4pm
  • Thursday, 26 February 2026: Lodgement of election packages with Australia Post
  • Saturday, 28 March 2026: Election Day - close of poll at 6pm.
The City of Nedlands Commissioners are planning to host a local Candidate Information Session with the proposed date being Monday, 3 February 2026.
Further details about this session will be provided in due course.
The info session will provide an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about nominating for Mayor or Councillor in the March 2026 special election.

Useful resources

As part of preparing for the WA Local Government Elections held in October 2025, an Election Candidate Information webinar was held in August 2025. This session may be a valuable reference for anyone considering nominating for Mayor or Councillor in the upcoming City of Nedlands special election in March 2026.

The webinar was hosted by WALGA in partnership with the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety and the WA Electoral Commission. The session featured presentations from:

  • The Hon. Hannah Beazley MLA – Minister for Local Government
  • WALGA President Karen Chappel AM JP
  • Acting Electoral Commissioner Dennis O’Reilly

Watch the Webinar

DLGSC Local Government Elections

DLGSC Election Campaigning

DLGSC Local Government News