Countbacks occur for local councils when the vacancy to be filled is in a multi-councillor ward or unsubdivided municipality. It must be six months or more until the next local council election day.
Voters do not need to vote again in a countback as the ballot papers from the previous election are used.
In a countback, votes for the vacating councillor from the last election are redistributed to unsuccessful candidates according to the voters' preferences. A candidate who receives more than 50% of these votes is declared elected. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the candidate with the least votes is excluded and their votes are also redistributed. This process continues until a candidate can be declared elected.
For more information, see the VEC's guide to the countback counting system (PDF 486kB, DOC 46kB).
A by-election occurs when a member of the State Legislative Assembly (Lower House) or a councillor in a single-councillor ward resigns or is unable to complete their term.
For a local council vacancy in a single councillor ward, a by-election is only held if the vacancy occurs more than six months before the next local council election day.
In a by-election only the people of that district (State) or ward (local council) vote.
State by-elections are always attendance elections. Local council by-elections can be either postal or attendance elections.
Appointments are only used when the position vacant is in the State Legislative Council (Upper House). The party of the vacating representative nominates a new member of their party to fill the position and this person is appointed by a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament.
A vacancy in the State Upper House need not be filled if it occurs within three months of the issuing of the writ for the next state election
