Circulars

What’s new or changing?

• The Office of Local Government (OLG) has issued a communication toolkit for use by councils ahead of the 2024 local government elections.
• The Toolkit can be found under ‘Community Resources’ on OLG’s Local Government Elections webpage.

What will this mean for council?

• The Toolkit has been developed to assist councils communicate with their communities about:
  • The importance of diversity in our councilsThe importance of local government and the roles and responsibilities of a councillor
  .

What will this mean for council?

• The Toolkit includes suggested text for newsletter, website and social media content, as well as links to the ‘Local Government Elections’ webpage, ‘Become a councillor’ webpage, candidate guides, an online interactive candidate tool, fact sheets (including translations) and animations that can be easily used in information campaigns on council’s media channels. 

Key points

• It is important that prospective candidates at the upcoming local government elections understand what will be expected of them should they be elected.
• OLG’s Councillor Induction and Professional Development Guidelines encourage councils to conduct information campaigns for prospective candidates within their areas.
• By conducting information campaigns for prospective candidates, councils can ensure that candidates who nominate have given serious consideration to whether they have the personal attributes required to fulfil the responsibilities of civic office and can effectively meet the demands of representing their community on a council.

• Additionally, increasing awareness and educating a more diverse cohort of potential candidates on the role and responsibilities of a councillor will create more favourable conditions for the election of a more representative group of councillors.

• It is important our councils reflect the communities they represent. With more diversity, the policies, strategies, and decisions of councils will better reflect the views and needs of the communities they represent.          

Where to go for further information

• To download a copy of the Toolkit, visit ‘Community Resources’ on OLG’s Local Government Elections webpage. 
• For more information, visit Councillor Induction and Professional Development Guidelines on OLG’s website.
• For further information, contact the Council Governance Team on 4428 4100 or olg@olg.nsw.gov.au.  

Brett Whitworth

Deputy Secretary, Office of Local Government