The 2021 New South Wales local elections were held on 4 December 2021 to elect the councils of 121 of the 128 local government areas (LGAs) in New South Wales. Several councils also held mayoral elections and/or referendums.[1]
Previous referendums took three net councillors in three LGAS: Cabonne, Coonamble and Dungog.
The Liberal Party did not run in Kiama, North Sydney or Shoalhaven, however a number of party members chose to contest as independents.[2]
Following the 2012 elections, the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948 was introduced, leading to the amalgamations and mergers of a number of councils. This resulted in 79 councils being contested in 2016 and 46 2017. 2021 marked the first time in 9 years that the vast majority of councils were being contested at the same time.
The elections were scheduled to be held in September 2020, but as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia they were delayed until 4 September 2021. On 24 July 2021, it was announced the elections would again be delayed until 4 December 2021.[3]
Two councils − Fairfield and Penrith − opted to use the services of the Australian Election Company, while all other elections were conducted by the New South Wales Electoral Commission.[4]
The election for Norfolk Island Regional Council, which was meant to be held at the same time as New South Wales, was also postponed in 2020. It was later scheduled to be held in March 2021, however the council was suspended in February 2021 and eventually dismissed on 6 December 2021.[5]
Lead Greens candidate for Orange, Melanie McDonell, announced on 21 May 2021 she would leave the Greens and stand on a "McDonell Team" independent ticket.[6]
The following registered parties contested the elections. This does not include unregistered groups of independents:
In addition, a number of local government-registered parties also contested the elections.[7]
A number of councillors joined or left parties before the 2021 elections.
In addition to the local and mayoral elections, eight LGAs held local referendums on questions relating to electoral structures. An advisory poll on de-amalgamation was also held for Inner West.
The closest result was in Wagga Wagga, where 50.6% voted "No" to directly-electing the mayor.
Analysis commissioned by the NSWEC found 55 voters in Singleton, 54 in Shellharbour and 34 voters in Kempsey who attempted to use iVote were prevented from casting their vote.[22] As a result, re-runs were ordered by the Supreme Court of NSW which were held on 30 July 2022 and iVote was not used for the 2023 state election.
Port Macquarie-Hastings mayor Peta Pinson joined the Nationals and announced her candidacy for Port Macquarie for the 2023 state election, challenging incumbent National-turned-Liberal MP Leslie Williams.[23] Pinson stated that if she was elected, she would remain Mayor.[23] Williams was re-elected.
Bega Valley Shire mayor Russell Fitzpatrick joined the Liberal Party to contest the seat of Bega.[24] Bega was formerly held by Liberal MP Andrew Constance until he resigned to contest the federal seat of Gilmore at the 2022 federal election (when he was unsuccessful, but did almost win the seat), causing a by-election which saw the Labor candidate (Michael Holland) won the seat from the Liberals. Fitzpatrick was unsuccessful and Holland retained the seat with an increased margin.
In May 2023, members of the Australian Women's Party, along with those elected on Fairfield mayor Frank Carbone's independent ticket, formed the Dai Le and Frank Carbone Network. The party also extends to the federal level.
The New South Wales Electoral Commission has held a number of by-elections and countbacks to fill vacancies on councils since the 2021 elections.[25]
Countbacks were introduced in January 2022 for council vacancies across the state, although by-elections are still used for some councils.[26]