Elections & voting
NSW holds local government elections every four years. Voting is compulsory for enrolled residents, so it's worth knowing the date and keeping your enrolment up to date. Uralla's next ordinary election will be run differently from the last one: a 2024 referendum passed a question to remove the ward system, so councillors will be elected across an undivided shire.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- Ward
- A subdivision of a council area that elects its own councillors.
- How the mayor is chosen
- Either elected directly by voters, or chosen by the councillors.
- Special Rate Variation (SRV)
- Permission for a council to raise rates by more than the peg.
- NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC)
- Runs council elections and publishes the official results.
Election facts
- Next ordinary election
- Saturday 9 September 2028
- Last election
- 14 September 2024
- How often
- Every 4 years (the second Saturday of September)
- How Uralla votes
- Popularly elected Mayor + 8 councillors; wards removed from the next electionIn 2024 voters elected the Mayor shire-wide and four councillors in each of Ward A and Ward B by proportional representation. All three contests were uncontested — 4,699 electors were enrolled shire-wide, 2,283 in Ward A and 2,416 in Ward B, and every candidate was declared elected on 14 September 2024 without a vote. Because the 2024 referendum passed the ward-removal question, all councillors will be elected across an undivided area from 2028.
- 2024 referendum
- Q1 (Mayor elected by councillors) NOT passed; Q2 (remove wards) PASSEDResults declared by the NSW Electoral Commission on 1 October 2024. The Mayor continues to be elected directly by voters.
- By-elections
- Ward A by-election held 18 April 2026Eight candidates, 1,796 formal votes; Stephen Wright elected on preferences and sworn in on 26 May 2026.
- Voting
- Compulsory for enrolled residentsNot voting can result in a fine.
- Enrol / check enrolment
- NSW Electoral Commission
Sources — check it yourself
- NSW Electoral Commission — how local elections work
- Office of Local Government — become a councillor / election dates · Next: Sep 2028
- NSW Electoral Commission — 2024 Uralla results (mayoral, wards, referendum) · Oct 2024
- Uralla Shire Council — Local Government Election & Referendum Results · Oct 2024
- NSW Electoral Commission — 2026 Uralla Ward A by-election, first preferences · 18 Apr 2026
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.