Local Government Elections 2022

In June 2022, the Tasmanian Government introduced compulsory voting at local government elections for the first time through the Local Government Amendment (Elections) Act 2022.

A key objective of this reform was to increase voter participation and strengthen connections between communities and their local councils.

The October 2022 local government elections saw a statewide turnout of 84.79%. These results represent a significant increase in voter participation from 58.7% in the 2018 elections, demonstrating Tasmania’s democratic processes are alive and well.

Following the elections, the Government undertook a public consultation process in December 2022 to hear about people’s experiences and perspectives on what worked well and what could be improved for future local government elections.

Eighty-two responses to the online survey were received, alongside eight written submissions from councils and three from stakeholders and parliamentarians.

Surveys and submissions identified support for the benefits of compulsory voting and the postal vote format for participation.

A range of challenges and directions for improvement were also identified throughout the consultation, including enhancements to absentee and assisted voting, and a range of possibilities for a hybrid voting format suggested.

The feedback from this process has been shared with the Tasmanian Electoral Commission and a copy of the Government’s consultation report is available as a PDF (496KB) or Word (517KB) document.

The information from this process will form part of the formal review of local government electoral arrangements currently being undertaken by the Office of Local Government. This is to ensure Tasmania’s electoral provisions are contemporary and fit-for-purpose to sustain and improve future elections.

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Local Government Elections 2022