Election

If you're a resident in the Cessnock City Council area, you can check if your enrolment details are up to date with the Australian Electoral Commission. You must enter your details exactly as they appear on the electoral roll. Cessnock City Council does not hold electoral information for local residents.

Voting at local government elections is compulsory in NSW.

If you are on the electoral roll and do not vote, the NSW Electoral Commission will send you an apparent failure to vote notice after the election. You can respond to this notice with the reason why you didn’t vote for consideration by the NSW Electoral Commissioner. If your reason is not accepted, you’ll be issued with a penalty notice for $55.

Cessnock City Council has no authority over these notices and cannot excuse the associated fines.

Following the resignation of Jay Suvaal in June 2025, Council was required to initiate a Countback election (conducted by the NSW Electoral Commission) in order to fill the vacant position.

The countback election was undertaken by the NSW Electoral Commission and James Hawkins was declared elected on Tuesday 15 July 2025, to fill the vacancy.

Further information about the countback process is available on the NSW Electoral Commission website.

The NSW Electoral Commission is responsible for providing approval for viewing the electoral roll.

To inspect the electoral roll, you must complete an application form and provide photographic identification to the NSW Electoral Commission. To access electoral enrolment information in any other way, you must write a formal letter to the NSW Electoral Commissioner and explain the reason for your request. 

 Please refer to the NSW Electoral Commission website for further information and the full process for this request.

 The electoral roll is not available for viewing online, nor is it available for sale. It is illegal to copy an electoral roll and heavy penalties apply for using enrolment information for non-approved purposes.

If you have the right to vote in federal or state elections, you also have the right to be enrolled as an elector at a local government election in the ward or council area you live in.

When you enrol to vote, you will automatically be included on the residential roll for the ward or council area you live in. You must vote in local government elections in the ward or council area you live in.

You are eligible to vote as a non-resident in a ward or council area if you are:

1. an owner of rateable land in the ward or council area, or
2. an occupier or rate-paying lessee of rateable land in the ward or council area.

Non-residential rolls are prepared and certified by each council's general manager, and the NSW Electoral Commissioner must confirm that the voters listed are eligible for enrolment on the non-residential roll. However, you are responsible for checking that you are eligible for inclusion in the non-residential roll for a council or ward when you make an application.

We recommend you get independent advice if you are unsure about whether you are eligible to apply or not.

You can apply to be included on the non-residential roll of another ward or council area by contacting the local council office or visiting their website.

The non-residential roll (NRR) and the roll of occupiers and rate-paying lessees for local government election purposes is available for public inspection at the Cessnock City Council’s administration building upon request. Please complete the form below, and a staff member will get in touch with you to organise a suitable time.

The NRR is not available for viewing online, nor is it available for sale. It is illegal to copy a NRR and heavy penalties apply for using enrolment information for non-approved purposes.

Request to Inspect the Non-Residential Roll