Workers needed for September local government election

Looking for some extra income? The approaching NSW Local Government elections provide exactly that, and locals are encouraged to apply.

There are various positions currently available, but the highest number of roles are of an Election Official on election day, Saturday 14 September.

The key work of an Election Official includes ensuring that electors are correctly marked off the authorised roll and issued with the appropriate ballot papers, sorting and counting ballot papers as directed by the Polling Place Manager, and accurate record keeping and reconciliation to ensure timely communication of results on election night.

Executive Officer of the Far North West Joint Organisation of Councils, Ross Earl said the role had certain responsibilities and benefits for applicants.

“My research shows that the total election day package fee (excluding super) payable to an Election Official is $687.55 for the day,” Mr earl said.

“This election day package fee includes a meal allowance and an online training fee. The online training fee is only payable on successful completion of training and election day duties,” Mr Earl said.

General Manager of Bourke Shire Council, Leonie Brown reiterated the need for officials and also encouraged people considering nominating to be on council to make the move toward helping their community.

“The Electoral Commission always struggle to find people to work at an election,” Mrs Brown said. “For anyone who is interested, all the information is available on the electoral website and applications need to be done through there, it’s not something we can process at council.”

“I also really encourage people to nominate to come on board as a member of council. The nomination period is Monday August 5th to noon on Wednesday August 14th,” she said.

“We really don’t want to be in a position where an election isn’t needed, or we don’t get enough people nominating. It’s a concern for a lot of Western councils that they won’t even have numbers for an election. For Bourke, I would love to see enough nominations to have a contested election.”

Several of the current Bourke Shire councillors have been on council for many years, with two newcomers in the last few years.

“Anyone who is interested in joining us can go to the Bourke Shire Council website where there’s a link that will take them to NSW Office of Local Government and you can just go from there,” Mrs Brown said.

Anyone wanting to apply to work at the election can apply at elections.nsw.gov.au