Consultation on Local Government Electoral Legislation

The Tasmanian Government is inviting public comment on draft legislation which will deliver important reforms to local government elections in Tasmania.

Two draft bills are now available for public consultation:

1. A new, standalone Local Government Electoral Bill 2025, establishing a contemporary, flexible framework for future council elections
2. A Local Government Amendment (Electoral Reforms) Bill 2025, delivering a number of reforms to the Local Government Act 1993 supporting the broader elections framework.

The delivery of new local government electoral legislation is a key component of the Tasmanian Government’s  Local Government Priority Reform Program 2024-26 aimed at improving local democracy and representation. This is the second phase of consultation on these reforms, following the release of the Local Government Electoral Bill Discussion Paper in February 2025. Read more about the discussion paper and the submissions received.

About the legislation

Key reforms in the Local Government Electoral Bill 2025 include flexibility for the Tasmanian Electoral Commission to determine the method of an election, increased transparency in political gifts and donations, strengthened advertising rules, and changes to voter and candidate eligibility.

The draft Local Government Amendment (Electoral Reforms) Bill 2025 repeals existing electoral provisions from the Local Government Act 1993, introduces caretaker provisions for councils during election periods, and reforms to the current interests management framework for local councillors.

The draft Bills and supporting information are available for download below –

• Exposure draft – Local Government Electoral Bill 2025 [Word] [PDF]
• Exposure draft – Local Government Amendment (Electoral Reforms) Bill 2025 [Word] [PDF]
• Local Government Electoral Reforms 2025 - Overview of draft legislation [Word] [PDF]
• Local Government Electoral Reform Discussion Paper - Exposure Draft Legislation and Prior Consultation Report [Word] [PDF]

Have Your Say

Consultation is now open until midnight on Saturday 28 February 2026.

Emailed responses are preferred and can be submitted to lgconsultation@dpac.tas.gov.au

Confidentiality

In the absence of clear information that a submission is to be treated as confidential, submissions will be treated as public information and published on the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s website. If you would like your submission to be treated as confidential, you must indicate in writing, at the time of providing your submission, the parts of your submission you wish to remain confidential and provide the reasons for this.

Please consult the Tasmanian Government’s Public Submission Policy for further information.

Submissions will be published after consideration by Government.

No personal information other than an individual’s name or the organisation making a submission will be published.