Update: State and Local Government elections and access to Remote Aboriginal Communities

Under the Remote Aboriginal Communities Directions (No 3) a person is prohibited from entering on to land or waters in a Remote Aboriginal Community unless they meet certain pre-conditions.

One of the pre-conditions is that a person is performing an essential, community or human service to a Remote Aboriginal Community.

Under the Remote Aboriginal Communities Directions (No 3) the following people have been designated as an essential, community or human service and allowed access to a remote aboriginal community:

• Registered electoral candidates for the area in which the Remote Aboriginal Community is located.
• A Member of the State or Commonwealth Parliament.
• A Councillor of the Local Government in which the Remote Aboriginal Community is located.
• Persons employed or engaged, including in a volunteer capacity, by one of the above categories of people or by a registered political party.

The designation is made for the purposes of facilitating the informed engagement and participation of voters in a Remote Aboriginal Community in a relevant election. 

These entry rules also allow people working for the Western Australian Electoral Commission to enter remote Aboriginal communities to help register voters and organise mobile polling stations so residents can vote.

Visitors should still contact a remote Aboriginal community before visiting to check the rules for entering the community. They should only stay for as long as they need to provide their services and should not come in big groups.

The Remote Aboriginal Communities Directions (No 3) sets out the definition of ‘relevant election’ and the terms and conditions of entry into a Remote Aboriginal Community.

The designation is in effect until:

• 5 March 2021 for local government elections scheduled to be held in an area where remote Aboriginal communities are located; and
• 13 March 2021 for the State general election.