Mandatory training for all people considering nominating for council elections in Victoria has been moved online.

Under the requirements of the Victoria’s Local Government Act 2020, candidates must complete mandatory Local Government Candidate Training to be eligible to nominate for the election with the Victorian Electoral Commission.

It had been intended that all Victorian councils would hold face-to-face training, however, in the interests of community and council staff safety, the at training will be available online instead.

There are a number of requirements for councils too, including;

  • Councils must include a link to the training on their website
  • Local Government Victoria will provide the link and a “button” that can be added to your website.
  • Councils must provide “reasonable assistance” to a person to enable them to complete the training

Local Government Victoria says it will provide guidance on this shortly, but suggests that councils consider how they might support people with disability or any accessibility issue, including a lack of access to the internet. Due to time constraints the training will only be available in English.

The training will be available from the week of 3 August 2020 and the training must be completed before a candidate nominates.