{"id":"city-of-adelaide-elections-and-polls-regulations-2025","name":"City of Adelaide (Elections and Polls) Regulations 2025","slug":"city-of-adelaide-elections-and-polls-regulations-2025","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":235280,"registerId":"sa-city-of-adelaide-elections-and-polls-regulations-2025-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"City of Adelaide (Elections and Polls) Regulations 2025","content":"South Australia\nCity of Adelaide (Elections and Polls) Regulations 2025\nunder the City of Adelaide Act 1998\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n3\tInterpretation\n5\tIssue of postal voting papers\n6\tTransitional provision for gifts received\nLegislative history\n\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the City of Adelaide (Elections and Polls) Regulations 2025.\n3—Interpretation\n\t(1)\tIn these regulations—\nAct means the City of Adelaide Act 1998.\n5—Issue of postal voting papers\n\t(1)\tPursuant to Schedule 1 clause 18(3) of the Act, envelopes used under Schedule 1 clause 18(1) for ballot papers sent by post must have an extension to a flap on the back of the envelope that bears the name and address of the natural person, body corporate or group to whom the voting papers are issued.\n\t(2)\tFor the purposes of Schedule 1 clause 18(3) of the Act, an explanatory notice will be prepared by the returning officer and must outline the steps which a voter must follow in order to comply with the requirements of section 40 of the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999.\n6—Transitional provision for gifts received\n\t(1)\tSubject to this regulation, the application of old Schedule 1 Part 8 in relation to gifts received by candidates before the commencement day is not affected by the amendments effected by the Statutes Amendment (Local Government Elections Review) Act 2025.\n\t(2)\tDespite subregulation (1)—\n\t(a)\tif a candidate includes details relating to all gifts received by the candidate required to be included in a return under clause 24 of old Schedule 1 Part 8 in the first return relating to gifts furnished by the candidate under new Schedule 1 Part 8, the candidate will be taken to have complied with the requirements of old Schedule 1 Part 8 in relation to those gifts; and\n\t(b)\ta failure to submit a return under old Schedule 1 Part 8 (including in accordance with paragraph (a)) will be taken to be a failure to comply with new Schedule 1 Part 8.\n\t(3)\tFor the purposes of the periodic elections to determine the membership of councils to be held in 2026, the special disclosure period and disclosure period under clauses 24 and 24A (respectively) of new Schedule 1 Part 8 in relation to a candidate who is not a new candidate will be taken to commence on the commencement day.\n\t(4)\tFor the purposes of subregulation (3), a candidate is a new candidate, in relation to an election, if the person had not been a candidate in the last general election of a council and had not been a candidate at a supplementary election held after the last general election of a council.\n\t(5)\tIn this regulation—\ncommencement day means the day on which section 44 of the Statutes Amendment (Local Government Elections Review) Act 2025 comes into operation;\nnew Schedule 1 Part 8 means Schedule 1 Part 8 of the Act (as in force on and after the commencement day);\nold Schedule 1 Part 8 means Schedule 1 Part 8 of the Act (as in force immediately before the commencement day).\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nLegislation revoked by principal regulations\nThe City of Adelaide (Elections and Polls) Regulations 2025 revoked the following:\nCity of Adelaide (Elections and Polls) Regulations 2010\nPrincipal regulations and variations\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n2025\n75\nGazette 31.7.2025 p2904 \n1.9.2025: r 2\n2025\n143\nGazette 18.12.2025 p4965\n1.1.2026: r 2\nProvisions varied\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\nr 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n1.1.2026\nr 3\n\n\nr 3(2)\ndeleted by 143/2025 r 3\n1.1.2026\nr 4\ndeleted by 143/2025 r 4\n1.1.2026\nr 6\nsubstituted by 143/2025 r 5\n1.1.2026\nSch 1\ndeleted by 143/2025 r 6\n1.1.2026\nSch 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n1.1.2026\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not retrievable. No comparison between original intent and final form is possible."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404 Page Not Found error","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without the actual text of the regulations","Score of 1 reflects absence of content, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"The City of Adelaide (Elections and Polls) Regulations 2025 set out detailed rules for conducting Adelaide’s local elections and polls. They govern how council and lord mayor contests are run, affecting candidates, voters, electoral administrators, campaigners and scrutineers — essential for fair, lawful local elections."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This appears to be a standard set of regulations made under the City of Adelaide Act 1998. The scope remains focused on elections and polls for the City of Adelaide, consistent with the enabling Act. The 2025 version replaces the 2010 regulations but maintains the same fundamental purpose. The transitional provisions in regulation 6 are a natural consequence of legislative amendment rather than scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple cross-references to other legislation (City of Adelaide Act 1998, Local Government (Elections) Act 1999, Statutes Amendment (Local Government Elections Review) Act 2025)","Transitional provisions requiring tracking of 'old' vs 'new' versions of Schedule 1 Part 8 of the Act","Defined terms including 'commencement day', 'new Schedule 1 Part 8', and 'old Schedule 1 Part 8' that require understanding of legislative amendment timelines","Nested conditional logic in regulation 6 (subregulation (2) operates 'despite' subregulation (1), with paragraph exceptions)","Reference to specific clause numbers in Schedules of other Acts without reproducing their content","Legislative history table showing multiple amendments and deletions, indicating evolving regulatory framework"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations set specific rules for how elections are run in Adelaide's city council. They cover two main things:\n\n*   **Postal voting:** Rules about the physical envelopes used for postal votes — specifically, they must have a special flap extension on the back showing who the voting papers belong to. They also require the returning officer (the official running the election) to provide instructions explaining how voters must fill out their postal ballot to comply with state election laws.\n\n*   **Handling of political gifts:** Transitional rules for how candidates must report gifts (donations) they received around the time when new election laws took effect. This ensures candidates don't get caught between old and new reporting rules — if they report everything under the new system, they're considered compliant with the old system too. It also sets special reporting timelines for the 2026 council elections.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   Voters in Adelaide who vote by post\n*   Candidates running for Adelaide City Council\n*   The returning officer who administers Adelaide's elections\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThese are technical but important operational rules. The postal voting rules help ensure ballots can be properly tracked and verified. The gift disclosure rules prevent candidates from accidentally breaching donation reporting requirements during a period of law reform, while ensuring transparency in local government elections."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations implement procedural details (envelope design and explanatory notices) and transitional rules for gift disclosures tied to the Statutes Amendment (Local Government Elections Review) Act 2025, without expanding substantive electoral powers or creating new categories of regulated actors. They principally reallocate administrative and compliance tasks to candidates and the returning officer (see r5 and r6) while preserving pre‑commencement disclosure treatment for past gifts."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to the City of Adelaide Act 1998 (Schedule 1 clause 18(3)) and the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 (s40) create inter‑instrument dependency (r5(1)–(2)).","Transitional deeming rules in r6 map old Schedule 1 Part 8 returns to the new disclosure regime and set the disclosure-period start for 2026, requiring careful identity of ‘new’ v. ‘not new’ candidates (r6(1)–(4)).","Defined terms—commencement day, new Schedule 1 Part 8, old Schedule 1 Part 8—affect timing and which obligations apply (r6(5)).","Operational obligations on the returning officer to prepare explanatory material increase administrative workload (r5(2)).","Requirement to print issuer name/address on postal envelope flaps raises practical compliance and privacy considerations for organisers and recipients (r5(1)).","Legislative history shows revocation and variation of earlier regulations, so practitioners must track which prior provisions remain relevant."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations require postal ballot envelopes to include an extended back flap showing the name and address of the natural person, body corporate or group issued the papers, and require the returning officer to prepare an explanatory notice about steps to comply with s40 of the Local Government (Elections) Act. They also preserve transitional treatment for gifts given before the commencement day, deem some earlier returns as compliant with the new disclosure rules and set disclosure start dates for 2026; this places compliance obligations on candidates and small administrative duties on the returning officer."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/city-of-adelaide-elections-and-polls-regulations-2025","history":"/api/acts/city-of-adelaide-elections-and-polls-regulations-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/city-of-adelaide-elections-and-polls-regulations-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/city-of-adelaide-elections-and-polls-regulations-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/city-of-adelaide-elections-and-polls-regulations-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/city-of-adelaide-elections-and-polls-regulations-2025/documents"}}