Mandatory training available for Council election candidates

Published on 19 August 2020

Community members seeking to stand for Council at the October election are now able to access mandatory candidate training.

Local Government Victoria will host hosting the mandatory candidate training in an online-only format. It's easily accessible online and takes approximately an hour to complete. Each candidate who enrols will be able to access the training session in their own time within the training period, which closes on 21 September 2020.

In accordance with the Local Government Act 2020, all prospective candidates must complete the mandatory training to be eligible to nominate for the election with the Victorian Electoral Commission.

New and returning candidates must complete the training before they are able to nominate. Those who do not complete the training will be ineligible to run for Council.

Council has no involvement in the training module which is being run independently by Local Government Victoria.

The online course will take around an hour to complete and ensure candidates fully understand the role of councillor and its requirements.

The course can be found at https://www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/council-governance/candidate-training.

In addition to the mandatory candidate training, there are a variety of optional information sessions and training opportunities for prospective candidates. To find out more about these opportunities, go to www.bawbawshire.vic.gov.au/2020Election 

Specific queries relating to elections may need to be directed to the Victorian Electoral Commission, the below links may be helpful to prospective candidates: 

The Victorian Electoral Commission 2020 candidate handbook is a one-stop shop for useful candidate information, to download the handbook go to www.vec.vic.gov.au/candidates-and-parties/candidate-forms-and-handbooks