2023 Local Government Ordinary Election

The 2023 Shire of Ashburton Local Government Ordinary Election conducted by the Western Australian Electoral Commission, by the postal vote method is being held on 21 October 2023.

Structure of the Council

Recent local government reform by the State Government has changed the composition of the Shire of Ashburton Council. From this election eight Councillors and a Shire President will comprise the Council. The Shire Presidents position will now be popularly elected by electors rather than by the historic practice of Council electing the Shire President.

Changes to Wards

Following a statutory review, the number of wards in the district has been reduced from six to five, effective from 1 July 2023.  The wards in the district are the:

• Ashburton-Tablelands Ward;
• Onslow Ward;
• Pannawonica Ward;
• Paraburdoo Ward; and the
• Tom Price Ward.

Changes to Voting Process

Another change stemming from the recent reform process are changes to the system of voting at local government elections. The first past the post system of voting has been replaced with the optional preferential voting system, similar to the system of voting at State and Federal elections.

An overview of the new voting system can be viewed at Preferential Voting Video

Vacancies for the 2023 Election

Four Councillor vacancies (for 4 years terms) will be available, with one vacancy in each of the following Wards:

• Ashburton-Tablelands
• Onslow
• Paraburdoo
• Tom Price

 There will also be a vacancy for the position of Shire President.

Important upcoming dates: 

Close of Rolls:  Closed 5pm, 25 August 2023

Opening of Nominations: Thursday 31 August 2023

Close of Nominations: 4pm, Thursday 7 September 2023.

Election Day: 21 October 2023

Returning Officer

The Returning Officer for this Shire of Ashburton election, appointed by the Western Australian Electoral Commission is Mr Gary Waldron. Candidates intending to nominate must contact the Returning Officer to schedule an in-person meeting. The following table details the Returning Officers availability. 

Date	Election Event	Location for Nomination Appointments
Thursday 31 August 2023 Nominations Open	Candidate nominations	Shire of Ashburton Administration Office, Poinciana Street, Tom Price
Friday 1 September 2023
Saturday 1 September 2023	Candidate nominations	Ashburton Hall, Ashburton Avenue, Paraburdoo
Sunday 3 September 2023	Candidate nominations, subject to the Returning Officers location and availability. By confirmed arrangement only
Monday 4 September 2023	Candidate nominations	Shire of Ashburton Administration Office, Second Avenue, Onslow
Tuesday 5 September 2023
Wednesday 6 September 2023	Candidate nominations, subject to the Returning Officers location and availability. By confirmed arrangement only
Thursday 7 September 2023 Nominations Close (4pm)	Candidate nominations	Shire of Ashburton Administration Office, Poinciana Street, Tom Price

Returning Officer Contact Information

Email: [email protected]

Telephone:0448 520 519

Candidates are reminded that prior to meeting the Returning Officer the online Mandatory Candidate Induction must be completed.