Whittlesea City Council, Thomastown Ward election - possible offences

The Local Government Inspectorate (LGI) is the dedicated integrity agency for local government in Victoria. The Chief Municipal Inspector (CMI) leads the LGI and has functions and powers, including those set out in the Local Government Act 2020, to enable the LGI to examine, investigate and prosecute any matter relating to a Council's operations and any potential breaches of the 2020 Act and its predecessor the Local Government Act 1989 (1989 Act).

This includes oversight around the integrity of local government elections and bi-elections as outlined in Section 183 of the Act.

The Local Government Inspectorate has recently been informed by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) of reports of voters being approached in their homes by an individual who filled out ballot papers and removed the postal ballot packs from the homes.

The LGI and VEC takes the integrity of local government elections very seriously and it is an offence under section 299 of the Local Government Act 2020 (Vic) for a person to interfere with any material being, or to be, sent or delivered to a voter by the VEC at an election.

There are also offences in the Local Government Act 2020 (Vic) for:

• tampering with electoral material (s 296)
• infringing on the secrecy of any voter's vote (s 297)
• bribery, treatment and undue influence (s 300)
• interfering with a person's political liberty (s 301).

Significant penalties apply to a person found guilty of these offences. This can be up to 600 penalty units or 5 years imprisonment.

A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures, or is in anyway knowingly concerned in the commission of an offence against the Local Government Act 2020 (Vic) may also be charged with the same offence (s 319).

If any members of the voting public have experienced this or witnessed this type of behaviour, we encourage you to lodge a formal complaint via the LGI's online complaint form at this link: Local Government Inspectorate complaint form | lgi.vic.gov.au or send an email outlining the details to inspectorate@lgi.vic.gov.au

More information about the LGI can be found at: https://www.lgi.vic.gov.au