Division 1 Enrolment for elections for the City Council
(1) For the purposes of this Division:(a) owner means:(i) a joint or several owner of rateable land, and(ii) the holder or resident manager of a lease, promise or contract of lease from the Crown of rateable Crown land,but does not include:(iii) a lessee of rateable land (not being Crown land) or a person who merely occupies any such rateable land under a licence or other agreement, or(iv) where rateable land is held on trust, a beneficiary under the trust,(b) ratepaying lessee means, subject to subsections (1A), (3) and (4), a person who has been continuously, during the period of 3 months preceding the relevant date, the lessee (whether jointly or severally) of rateable land and who is liable, under a lease in writing or other document of title relating to the land, to pay to any person the whole or any part of any local government rates which may be made or levied in respect of the land and where the annual amount payable by the lessee (or by the lessee together with another person or other persons) for the lease and local government rates is at least $5,000 (or, if the regulations prescribe a greater amount, the greater amount so prescribed),(c) occupier means, subject to subsections (2), (3) and (4), a person who has been continuously, during the period of 3 months preceding the relevant date, in actual occupation of rateable land (jointly or severally, but not as owner or ratepaying lessee) where the annual amount payable by the person (or by the person together with another person or other persons) for the right to that occupation is at least $5,000 (or, if the regulations prescribe a greater amount, the greater amount so prescribed),(d) resident means a person who is, on the relevant date, enrolled, within the meaning of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912, on the roll for any electoral district and whose place of living as described on that roll is within the City of Sydney,(e) rateable land includes all land in the City of Sydney on which any rate is leviable or levied under the Principal Act, but does not include land comprised solely of a lot in a strata plan within the meaning of the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973 or the Strata Schemes (Leasehold Development) Act 1986, being a lot designed, constructed or used solely or principally for the parking of a motor vehicle,(f) relevant date means, for the purposes of determining:(i) whether a person is entitled to have the person’s name included in a roll of electors—the date on which the claim for enrolment is made, or(ii) whether a person is entitled to vote at an election—the date prescribed under the Principal Act for the closing of the residential roll for the election, and(g) joint and jointly, in relation to owning, holding or occupying land, includes owning, holding or occupying in common.(1A) If the annual amount payable for the lease and local government rates under a lease in writing or other document of title relating to rateable land exceeds $5,000 (or the greater amount prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1) (b)), the maximum number of ratepaying lessees of that rateable land for the purposes of subsection (1) (b) is the number obtained by dividing the annual amount so payable by $5,000 (or an amount equivalent to the greater amount prescribed) ignoring any remainder.(2) If the annual amount payable for the joint occupation of any rateable land exceeds $5,000 (or the greater amount prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1) (c)), the maximum number of occupiers of that rateable land for the purposes of subsection (1) (c) is the number obtained by dividing the annual amount so payable by $5,000 (or an amount equivalent to the greater amount prescribed) ignoring any remainder.(3) If, because of the operation of subsection (1A) or (2), it is necessary to choose the persons with the requisite qualifications as electors from among a number of joint ratepaying lessees or joint occupiers, the choice shall be made:(a) in accordance with a written nomination signed by the majority of those lessees or those occupiers, or(b) if no such nomination is made, by the Electoral Commissioner having regard to the alphabetical order of the surnames of the lessees or occupiers or on such other basis as the Electoral Commissioner considers appropriate in the circumstances of the case.(4) A person is not a ratepaying lessee or an occupier if his or her primary place of residence is not within New South Wales.(5) If the City of Sydney is divided into wards, this Division applies to each ward in the same way as it applies to the area of the City of Sydney.
15 Right to be enrolled as an elector
(1) A person is entitled to be enrolled as an elector for the City of Sydney if the person is:(a) an owner of rateable land in the City of Sydney, or(b) a ratepaying lessee or occupier of rateable land in the City of Sydney, or(c) a resident of the City of Sydney.(2) A person is not entitled to be enrolled as an elector under subsection (1) unless the person (or, in the case of a corporation, the person nominated as the elector by the corporation) is entitled to vote at an election of members of the Legislative Assembly or an election of members of the Commonwealth House of Representatives.(3) Sections 266 and 269–272 of the Principal Act do not apply to the City of Sydney.
16 Provisions relating to right to be enrolled as an elector
(1) If a corporation is the owner, ratepaying lessee or occupier of rateable land, one natural person nominated in writing by the corporation as elector shall be taken to be entitled to be enrolled as an elector instead of the corporation.(2) (Repealed)(3) If the same person or group of persons is the owner, ratepaying lessee or occupier of 2 or more parcels of rateable land (whether in one or more of those capacities), all those parcels shall be taken to be a single parcel of land for the purposes of this section and (if applicable) to be held by the person or group in only one of those capacities.(4) If a person is entitled to be enrolled as an elector because the person is a resident of the City of Sydney, the person is taken not to be entitled to be enrolled as an elector in any other capacity.(5) In this section, a reference to a person does not exclude a reference to a corporation merely because elsewhere in this section there is particular reference to a corporation.
(1) This section applies for the purposes of this Division and sections 267 and 268 of the Principal Act.(2) If a person is an owner, ratepaying lessee or occupier of rateable land in the person’s capacity as a partner of a firm:(a) the person is taken not to be an owner, ratepaying lessee or occupier of that rateable land, and(b) the firm is taken to be a corporation that is the owner, ratepaying lessee or occupier of that rateable land.
In the application of Division 2 of Part 6 of Chapter 10 of the Principal Act to an election for the City of Sydney:(a) a reference in that Division to persons entitled to be enrolled as electors because they are non-resident owners of land within an area is to be read as a reference to persons entitled under section 15 (1) (a) to be enrolled as electors, and(b) a reference in that Division to persons entitled to be enrolled as electors because they are ratepaying lessees or occupiers of land within an area is to be read as a reference to persons entitled under section 15 (1) (b) to be enrolled as electors, and(c) a reference in that Division to persons entitled to be enrolled as electors because they are residents of an area is to be read as a reference to persons entitled under section 15 (1) (c) to be enrolled as electors.
18A Electoral Commissioner to prepare roll of non-resident owners and roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees
(1) Not later than the closing date for an election, the Electoral Commissioner is to prepare and confirm the following rolls for the election:(a) the roll of non-resident owners of rateable land, being a roll of persons who are entitled to be enrolled as electors as owners of rateable land in the City of Sydney and have applied for the inclusion of their names on the roll for the election,(b) the roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees, being a roll of persons who are entitled to be enrolled as electors as ratepaying lessees or occupiers of rateable land in the City of Sydney and have applied for the inclusion of their names on the roll for the election.(2) A roll prepared under this section lapses after the election for which it is prepared.(3) Sections 299 and 300 of the Principal Act do not apply to any election for the City of Sydney.(4) References in section 301 of the Principal Act to the non-residential roll prepared and confirmed under section 299 for the area and the roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees prepared and confirmed under section 300 for the area are in the operation of that section in respect of the City of Sydney to be read as references to, respectively, the roll of non-resident owners of rateable land prepared and confirmed under this section and the roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees prepared and confirmed under this section.(5) References in Division 2 of Part 6 of Chapter 10 of the Principal Act to the general manager are in the operation of that Division in respect of the City of Sydney to be read as references to the Electoral Commissioner.
(1) The Electoral Commissioner must, at least 90 days before the closing date for an election (the proposed election) for the City of Sydney, send an enrolment letter addressed:(a) to each person whose name appeared on a non-residential roll prepared and confirmed for the previous election, at the address of the person appearing on the roll, and(b) to each corporation or firm that nominated a person as an elector for the previous election, at the address of the corporation or firm appearing on the form of nomination.(2) An enrolment letter is a letter stating the following:(a) that an election for the City of Sydney is to be held,(b) the date the election is to be held,(c) that the person the enrolment letter is addressed to may be entitled to be enrolled as an elector on the roll of non-resident owners of rateable land or the roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees, or to nominate a person to be so enrolled, for the election,(d) that a person will not be enrolled on such a roll unless inclusion on the roll is applied for before the date prescribed for the closing of the roll of electors for the election,(e) the date prescribed for the closing of the roll of electors for the election.(3) The lapsing of a non-residential roll after the election for which it was prepared does not prevent or otherwise affect use of the roll for the purposes of this section.(4) In this section and clause 31 of Schedule 3:closing date for an election has the same meaning as it has in the Principal Act.
non-residential roll means the roll of non-resident owners of rateable land or the roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees.
previous election in relation to a proposed election means the last election for the City of Sydney held before the proposed election, whether the last election was an ordinary election, a by-election or other kind of election.
18C Costs in relation to electoral rolls
The costs of the Electoral Commissioner with respect to the preparation of rolls under section 18A, including the costs with respect to the sending of enrolment letters under section 18B, are to be met by the City Council and are recoverable from the Council as a debt. Any dispute as to the amount of those costs is to be determined by the Director-General of the Department of Local Government.
Division 2 Voting at elections for the City Council
(1) Electors whose names are on the residential roll, the non-residential roll or the roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees must vote at a contested election for the City of Sydney, unless exempt from voting under the Principal Act or this Act. Section 286 of the Principal Act does not apply to a contested election for the City of Sydney.(2) In the application of Division 4 of Part 6 of Chapter 10 of the Principal Act to any such election:(a) a reference in those provisions to a resident is to be read as including a reference to a person included on the non-residential roll or the roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees for the election, and(b) a reference in those provisions to a residential roll is to be read as including a reference to the non-residential roll or the roll of occupiers and ratepaying lessees for the election.
Division 3 Election of Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor of Sydney is to be elected by the electors in accordance with section 282 (1) of the Principal Act.
23A Lord Mayor must also be candidate for election as councillor
A person who is a candidate for election as the Lord Mayor of Sydney must also be a candidate for election as a councillor of the City of Sydney at the same time. Section 283 of the Principal Act applies accordingly.
Division 4 Council poll or constitutional referendum
24 Applicable provisions of Principal Act and this Part
(1) The provisions of this Part apply (and the provisions of sections 266 and 269–272 of the Principal Act do not apply) to a council poll or constitutional referendum in the City of Sydney.(2) However, section 22 (1) applies to a constitutional referendum but not a council poll in the City of Sydney.