2025 Tasman Council
councillor by-election

Local government elections in Tasmania are conducted by postal ballot. Every elector will be sent a ballot pack in the mail.

Ballot packs will be delivered by post from Tuesday 28 January. Electors who will be away during the polling period will be able to request a supplementary ballot pack be sent to a nominated address.

Unlike parliamentary elections, there will be no option to vote in person at a polling place.

Further details about ways to vote will be available closer to the polling period.

We will send your ballot pack to the address specified on your enrolment or an alternative postal address if you have provided one.

With the support of the Tasman Council, the TEC is providing an Impartial Assisted Voting Service for anyone who requires assistance completing their ballot paper. Appointments will be available between 4 and 7 February. Booking details will be available from 22 January.

If you will be away from home and unable to receive your ballot pack during the polling period, you will be able to request a supplementary ballot pack be sent to an alternative address.

Further details will be available closer to the polling period.

Visit Check my enrolment on the Australian Electoral Commission website.

Please note that rolls for this election close at 6 pm Thursday 16 January 2025. You will be required to vote under the enrolment details recorded as at that time.

Visit Update my enrolment on the Australian Electoral Commission website.

Please note that rolls for this election close at 6 pm Thursday 16 January 2025. You will be required to vote under the enrolment details recorded as at that time.

Yes. Statewide map [PDF, 2.0MB]

The TEC also has a search tool that can be used to discover which division or council an address is in.

Use this form on the Australian Electoral Commission website.

The placement of posters and signs at local government elections does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Tasmanian Electoral Commission.

However, many Tasmanian councils have specific planning schemes and by-laws regulating the placement and size of election posters. Candidates are advised to check with their relevant councils prior to erecting posters and any complaints over size and placement of signs should also be directed towards the relevant councils.

Permission to display posters on private property must always be obtained from the owner of the land concerned.

Before placing posters on public property (e.g. fences or trees) it is advisable to obtain permission from the responsible bodies such as local government (individual councils), the Department of State Growth, etc.

The Tasmanian Roadside Signs Manual produced by the Department of State Growth contains the following information in relation to electoral signs:

The erection or display of electoral advertising signs within State and Local Government Roads is prohibited. The provisions of Local Authority Planning Schemes and Bylaws make adequate provision for such advertising.

Queries regarding roadside signs should be directed to the Department of State Growth.

It is an offence under section 109(1)(a) of the Electricity Supply Industry Act 1995 to attach anything to a power pole without proper authority.

The penalty for an offence under this section is a fine of up to 50 penalty units for an individual or 100 penalty units for a body corporate.

Queries or complaints related to material being attached to electricity power poles should be directed to TasNetworks.

The Department of State Growth has produced the Tasmanian Roadside Signs Manual. The manual contains the following information in relation to electoral signs:

The erection or display of electoral advertising signs within State and Local Government Roads is prohibited. The provisions of Local Authority Planning Schemes and Bylaws make adequate provision for such advertising.

It is also an offence under section 78(1) of the Traffic Act 1925 for a person to:

1. place or leave an electronic billboard on a public street; or
2. place or leave an electronic billboard in a public place if any occupant of any motor vehicle on any public street can, with the naked eye, read any words or make out any images being displayed by the electronic billboard.

Penalty: Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.

Queries or complaints related to roadside signs or electronic billboards should be directed to the Department of State Growth.

Polling closes at 2 pm Thursday 13 February 2025, with the remainder of the afternoon used to process returns and prepare for counting to commence the next morning. A result is expected to be available on the TEC website on the afternoon of Friday 14 February.

The optional preferential voting system will be used to elect a councillor.

For a candidate to be elected, they must obtain an absolute majority of votes, which is more than one half of the total number of formal votes (less exhausted votes). If no candidate has a majority, then the candidate with the lowest number of votes is excluded from the count and their ballot papers are passed on to other candidates remaining in the count using the preferences shown on the ballot papers. The process of exclusion continues until one candidate has a majority of the votes.

The TEC does not declare a candidate to be elected until it has been confirmed that they have received an absolute majority of votes. Before this can be confirmed, a process of counting, rechecking (twice) and distributing preferences (if required) must take place.

Members of the media may use available data to make predictions and report on a likely outcome at any stage of an election, but this is not an official result.