The 2026 Tasmanian local elections will be held in October 2026 to elect the councils, mayors and deputy mayors of the 29 local government areas (LGAs) in Tasmania.
Electoral system Like at state and federal elections, voting in Tasmanian local elections is compulsory and has been since 2022. All voting is held via post, and the elections are conducted by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission (TEC).
Councillor elections are conducted using a slightly modified version of the Hare-Clark electoral system, which is also used for Tasmanian House of Assembly elections. Mayors and deputy mayors are elected using preferential voting, which is also used for Tasmanian Legislative Council elections. The Robson Rotation is used to rotate the order in which candidate names appear on ballot papers.
Key Dates
7 September — Candidate nominations open 21 September — Candidate nominations close 22 September — Candidates announced 5 October — Voting begins 27 October — Voting closes 28 October — Counting begins
Council changes since last election Local Government Minister Kerry Vincent announced plans on 15 September 2025 to reduced the amount of councillors statewide by 60. The proposal was to have councils with 9, 7 or 5 councillors and then put a councils' councillors in one of 6 allowance bands based on a number of factors.
Council Current Councillors Planned Councillors Clarence129Hobart129Launceston129Glenorchy109Kingborough109Burnie97Central Coast97Devonport97West Tamar97Northern Midlands97Sorell97Circular Head97Meander Valley97Huon Valley97Brighton97Break O'Day97Latrobe97Dorset97Kentish97George Town97Waratah–Wynyard87Derwent Valley87Glamorgan–Spring Bay87Southern Midlands77Central Highlands95West Coast95King Island95Flinders75Tasman75Totals263203
Candidates Political parties The Tasmanian Liberal Party and the Tasmanian Labor Party generally do not endorse candidates for local elections. The Tasmanian Greens do endorse candidates and had 11 candidates elected in 2022. Pauline Hanson's One Nation announced an intention to contest the local elections, however in July 2026 they announced they would not be endorsing candidates in the electionsUpcoming Tasmania Council Elections – Update https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FLQZsUZ4D/ Facebook
Party changes before elections A number of councillors joined or left parties before the 2026 elections. Council Councillor Former party New party Date Dorset Greg Howard Independent Liberal Independent 12 July 2023 Hobart Louise Elliot Independent Independent Liberal November 2023 Latrobe Jacki Martin Independent Independent Liberal 26 November 2023 Northern Midlands Richard Goss Independent Independent Labor 1 December 2023 Glamorgan-Spring Bay Carole McQueeney Independent Independent Labor 1 December 2023 Hobart Louise Elliot Independent Liberal Independent 20 February 2024 West Tamar Julie Sladden Independent Independent Liberal 20 February 2024 King Island Sarina Laidler Independent Independent Liberal 20 February 2024 Latrobe Vonette Mead Independent Independent Liberal 20 February 2024 Burnie Giovanna Simpson Independent Independent Liberal 20 February 2024 Kingborough Aldo Antolli Independent Independent Liberal 20 February 2024 Meander Valley Stephanie Cameron Independent Independent Liberal 20 February 2024 Sorell Kerry Vincent Independent Independent Liberal 3 April 2024 Break O'Day Liz Johnston Greens Independent 2023/2024 Kingborough Gideon Cordover Greens Independent Mid-2024 Latrobe Claudia Baldock Independent Independent National 5 October 2024 Glamorgan-Spring Bay Neil Edwards Independent Independent National 5 October 2024 Northern Midlands Paul Terett Independent Independent National 5 October 2024 Northern Midlands Andrew McCullagh Independent Independent National 5 October 2024 West Coast Kerry Graham Independent Independent Fusion 2 April 2025 Central Coast Kate Wylie Independent Independent Liberal 13 June 2025 Central Coast Cheryl Fuller Independent Independent Labor 18 June 2025 Kingborough Gideon Cordover Independent Greens June 2025 Latrobe Claudia Baldock Independent National Independent June 2025 Hobart Louise Elliot Independent Independent National 19 September 2025 Hobart Zelinda Sherlock Your Hobart Independents Greens 20 December 2025
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