Voting in the Local Government Election
Voting in the Local Government Election

Voting in the Local Government Election

Voting in the Local Government Election

Information on how to vote in the local government election if you occupy property or own a property or business in the City but do not live here.
Last updated on: 15 August 2025
In this article
In this article

Enrolling to vote

All residents of the City can vote in local government elections if they are enrolled to vote with the Western Australian Electoral Commission. To check your enrolment status on the residents roll visit the Western Australian Electoral Commission.
Please note that you must be enrolled to vote by 5pm on 22 August 2025. The local government election will be held on 18 October 2025.
If you occupy property or own property or a business in the City but don't live here, you may be eligible to enrol on the owners and occupiers roll. See below for further information below depending on your situation and how to lodge a claim.

Non-resident property owners

If you personally own rateable property in the City of South Perth but do not reside in that property, you may be eligible to enrol, provided you are enrolled to vote in a district outside of the City of South Perth.

Non-resident property occupiers

If you occupy a property in the City of South Perth, you may be eligible to be enrol, provided you are already enrolled to vote in a state or federal election in a district outside of the City of South Perth.
From 1 January 2024, amendments to the Local Government Act 1995 and Elections Regulations set out new requirements that an occupier must meet to be eligible to be enrolled to vote in local government elections.
To be eligible to vote you must:
  • provide proof that you have a right of occupation over rateable property (or part of) under a lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument;
  • provide proof that you have continuously occupied rateable property under a lease or other legal instrument for at least 12 months prior to your claim and will occupy the property for at least the next three months;
  • genuinely operate or intend to operate your business from that property;
  • provide proof that you lease at least 10m2 of property (subject to a series of exclusions);
  • provide proof that you pay the minimum amount of rent for the property ($5,000 for 100m2 or more; $50/m2 if less than 100m2 per annum); and
  • be enrolled to vote in a State or Federal election outside of the City of South Perth.

Business/body corporate property owners

If your business/body corporate owns a property in the City of South Perth, you may be eligible to nominate up to two people, who are not already enrolled to vote within the City of South Perth, to vote on your business'/body corporate's behalf.
Nominees must be enrolled to vote in a state or federal election and be an employee of the body corporate.
You may be asked during this process for information such as:
  • proof of your business'/body corporate's ownership and/or rateability of the property
  • proof of your nominee's enrolment in a state or federal election
  • proof that your businesses/body corporates are registered with the relevant state or federal authority to give it legal standing as a body corporate.

Business/body corporate property occupiers

If your business/body corporate occupies a property in the City of South Perth, you may be eligible to nominate up to two people, who are not already enrolled to vote within the City of South Perth, to vote on your business'/body corporate's behalf.
Nominees must be enrolled to vote in a state or federal election and be an employee of the body corporate.
From 1 January 2024, amendments to the Local Government Act 1995 and Elections Regulations set out new requirements an occupier must meet to be eligible to be enrolled to vote in Local Government Elections.
To nominate two people to vote on behalf of your body corporate, you must submit a:
To be eligible to nominate two people to vote, body corporates must:
  • provide proof that you have a right of occupation over rateable property (or part of) under a lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument;
  • provide proof that you have continuously occupied rateable property under a lease or other legal instrument for at least 12 months prior to your claim and for at least the next three months;
  • genuinely operate or intend to operate your business from that property;
  • provide proof that you lease at least 10m2 of property (subject to a series of exclusions); and
  • provide proof that you pay the minimum amount of rent for the property ($5,000 for 100m2 or more; $50/m2 if less than 100m2 per annum).

Further information

For more information about Local Government elections, visit the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries website. Alternatively there's also information on the city's website Elections.

Anonymous requests

Your contact details are required when lodging this request.

Lodge a claim

To lodge an enrolment eligibility claim to be added to the owners and occupiers roll, make a request below and attach your completed and signed nomination forms. Please note, all relevant forms require a signature/s.
Alternatively you can send applications to enquiries@southperth.wa.gov.au or post to:
The Electoral Officer
City of South Perth
Cnr Sandgate St and South Tce
South Perth WA 6151
The City will consider your enrolment claim, determine whether you are eligible and inform you of the outcome of your claim in writing. Providing all required evidence of your claim at the time of submission may allow for a more rapid assessment.
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