Elections

The City's Council elections are held every two years on the third Saturday in October. The upcoming elections will be held on the 18 October 2025. 

The Western Australian Electoral Commission (WAEC) will conduct a postal election on behalf of the City of South Perth.

A Returning Officer will be appointed by the WAEC who is responsible for candidate nominations, management of polling places and polling place staff, and supervising the election in their district on polling days.

No, voting in local government elections in not compulsory in Western Australia.

The Mayor and Councillors are elected for four-year terms, with half of the Councillors terms concluding at each biennial election.

Terms may be shorter than four-years, in the cases where a seat is vacated prior to the end of the original term of office. In that case the term of office will coincide with the original term of office of the vacated position.

• Councillor Glenn Cridland (Como)
• Councillor Blake D’Souza (Manning)
• Councillor Jennifer Nevard (Moresby)
• Vacant (Mill Point): This vacancy will be filled in the 2025 Ordinary Local Government Elections to be held on 18 October 2025.
• Vacant (Mill Point): This vacancy will be filled in the 2025 Ordinary Local Government Elections to be held on 18 October 2025.

The election finishes at 6.00pm on Saturday 18 October 2025. Ballots must be received in the post or delivered in person before then.

Local government elections are conducted using the optional preferential voting system. This method allows electors to rank the candidates in their preferred numerical order.

At least one number ("1") must be placed next to a candidate's name, and if the voter wishes to, they may continue to number some or all of the remaining candidates on their ballot paper.

Votes will be manually counted on the evening of Saturday 18 October 2025 at the City’s Civic Centre under the supervision of the Returning Officer. Members of the public are welcome to watch the count from 6:00pm at the Civic Centre, Sandgate Street, South Perth.

• The Residents Roll: Individuals who live in the City of South Perth and who are enrolled on the State Electoral Roll.
• Non-Resident Owner and Occupiers Roll: Non-residents owners or occupiers of rateable property in the City. Eligibility conditions apply.

The residents roll is maintained by the Western Australian Electoral Commission (WAEC). People who live in the City of South Perth and are on the State electoral roll will automatically be on this roll. 

The owner and occupier roll allows people who own a property in the City but do not live here or operate a business in the City to vote in local government elections. Enrolment on this register is subject to strict conditions in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 1995.  

To be eligible for this roll, you must be:

• registered on the state electoral roll where you live;
• either own or provide proof that you have a right of occupation over rateable property (or part of) under a lease, tenancy agreement or other legal instrument;
• provide proof that you have continuously occupied rateable property under a lease or other legal instrument for at least 12 months prior to your claim and for at least the next three months;
• genuinely operate or intend to operate your business from that property;
• provide proof that you lease at least 10m2 of property (subject to a series of exclusions); and

Specific information in relation to your individual circumstances can be discussed with our office.

You can check your enrolment status on the Western Australian Electoral Commission website.

You can visit the following websites and resources for more information:

• Western Australian Electoral Commission
• Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety
• Western Australian Local Government Association