South Australia could follow four other states in introducing compulsory local government voting under a major proposal being considered by the state’s 68 local councils.
Delegates will gather in Adelaide next month for the Local Government Association (LGA) conference to vote on whether to lobby the state government to make local council voting mandatory by 2031, as well as explore alternatives to postal voting.
The push comes amid growing concern over low voter participation, with turnout across South Australia hovering around just 34 per cent across the past three election cycles.
By comparison, Tasmania saw voter turnout surge past 84 per cent after introducing compulsory council elections.
LGA president nominee and Eyre Peninsula Local Government Association (EPLGA) president Dean Johnson, said an overhaul is urgently needed to give communities a stronger say in local decisions and align SA with most of the country.
He said while regional turnout is higher than that of metropolitan voters, mandatory voting would standardize elections across all three levels of government.
While delegates will vote on whether to adopt compulsory voting as a priority to guide negotiations with the state government over the coming year, any official legislative changes would require state parliamentary approval.
The proposal also suggests trialling in-person voting options for council elections following the next local government election cycle.
If approved by parliament, South Australia would become the fifth state in Australia to enforce mandatory voting at the local council level.
