Councils have a significant impact on the lives of all Tasmanians, enabling the economic, social and cultural development of the community, supporting individuals and groups, and providing a wide range of services for the wellbeing of the community.

Elected Members play a vital leadership role, working together to create and implement their community’s vision, strategic direction and the values within which they operate.

Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Councillors are all elected for four-year terms. Mayors and Deputy Mayors are popularly elected.

Voting

By voting you can help influence what sort of place your community will be.  It is about your future so vote for the representative(s) you want. Talk to other people you know and encourage them to vote too.

Derwent Valley Council elections are conducted by postal ballot. All elections for Councillors are conducted using a multi-member proportional representation electoral system. This is directly modelled on the Hare-Clark system used for Tasmanian House of Assembly elections. A feature of the Hare-Clark system is that vacant seats are filled by recount rather than by-elections.

Under the postal ballot system there is a ‘polling period’ of at least 10 days (excluding any Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday), rather than a single polling day.

Every elector will be sent their very own postal ballot pack at their postal address. You then have around three weeks to complete and post your vote back to the returning officer.

Eligibility to vote

Anyone who is enrolled for House of Assembly elections is eligible to vote.

Others who are eligible can register to vote by completing a form to be included on the General Manager's Roll. This includes:

• residents who are not on the State Electoral Roll (for instance non-Australian citizens)
• non-resident owners or occupiers of property in the Derwent Valley municipal area
• the nominee of a corporate body.

Enrolment Forms

Enrolment forms are available on the below links:

Corporate body nomination enrolment form

Electoral enrolment form (for both residents not on the electoral roll, and for non-resident owners or occupiers).

If you are an occupier of a property in the Derwent Valley municipal area you will need to provide a supporting document with your completed Electoral Enrolment Form, showing your name and current address.  Examples are your drivers licence, a utility bill, lease agreement, letter from the landlord or other such document.

If you have any questions please contact Council's Rates Team:

• Email: dvcouncil@dvc.tas.gov.au
• Phone: 03 6261 8500

Completed Enrolment Forms together with supporting documentation showing residency in the municipal area, where applicable, should be returned to Council via:

• Email: dvcouncil@dvc.tas.gov.au
• Mail: Derwent Valley Council, GPO Box 595, New Norfolk, Tasmania 7140
• In Person: Customer Service Desk, Circle Street, New Norfolk.

The latest Derwent Valley Council elections were held in October 2022.  View the list of the Derwent Valley Elected Members.