Greater Dandenong Council elections will go ahead on Saturday 24 October this year.
In a first, Local Government Minister Adem Somyurek announced that postal voting will be enforced across all Victorian councils.
He said that the state’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton had advised that postal elections were safe to proceed this year.
“By making every vote a postal vote, we’re ensuring this vital democratic process is conducted in a safe manner that also allows for the participation of more voters.”
As a physical distancing measure, longer candidate statements will be allowed in the formal Voter Information packs, Mr Somyurek said.
Guidance would be available on suitable and safe campaigning methods.
The move is counter to the majority of Greater Dandenong councillors’ views. They recently voted in favour of attendance voting rather than postal voting.
