WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Non-citizens can stand as candidates in South Australian local government elections.
OUR VERDICT
False. Only Australian citizens are eligible to stand.
AAP FACTCHECK - One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has falsely claimed that non-citizens can stand as candidates and vote in local government elections in South Australia.
State laws allow only Australian citizens to stand, while voting is restricted to citizens and a small cohort of British subjects who have been on the electoral roll for more than 42 years.
The Queensland senator made the claims during a podcast recorded in late January 2026.
"Did you know in South Australia, I don't know if you know, they're allowing foreign students in the country or people on a visa here for three months to actually vote in your council elections," Senator Hanson said.
She also claimed that foreigners were serving on local governments in the state.
"So you've got people here on your councils who are not even Australian citizens, as the mayors, and positions on councils," Senator Hanson said.
"And the foreign students, they were going around lobbying them to get their vote for the council elections. Didn't you know that?"
She added that she had heard the Labor government planned to change the rules on non-citizens being able to vote.
When asked for her evidence, the One Nation leader's spokesperson provided a link to information about the 2022 local government elections on the Electoral Commission of South Australia website.
It states that non-Australian citizens aged 18 and above were eligible to enrol to vote in council elections, including international students, temporary or permanent residents and visitors on holiday or working visas.
However, non-citizens are no longer eligible to vote following a recent law change and the website does not say that they can stand as candidates.
All candidates must be Australian citizens and enrolled to vote under Section 17 of the SA Local Government (Elections) Act 1999.
Non-citizens were previously eligible to run for office if they had served on a council in the late 1990s under the act (Section 17(a)(ii)).
However, a 2021 amendment removed this provision before the November 2022 local elections.
Meanwhile, people can only vote in local elections in SA if they're eligible to vote in state lower house elections under Section 14 of the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999.
To enrol to vote in state elections, you must be an Australian citizen or among a narrow cohort of British subjects who were enrolled in the three months before January 26, 1984, under Section 29 of SA's Electoral Act 1985.
The legal exemption for this British subjects cohort also applies in NSW, Victoria, WA, NT and federal elections.
It ensures that these voters didn't lose their right to vote when Australian citizenship became a requirement for enrolment in 1984, according to the Australian Electoral Commission website.
This cohort was estimated to total around 100,000 people nationwide in 2023.
The SA electoral commission confirmed that only Australian citizens and the British subjects cohort can vote in local elections as of early 2026.
Non-citizens who were ratepayers or residents in a council ward for at least a month were previously allowed to enrol to vote under an earlier version of the SA Local Government (Elections) Act 1999.
However, the state government restricted voting eligibility to citizens and the British subjects cohort under an amendment that took effect on January 1, 2026.
During a debate in September 2025, Local Government Minister Joe Szakacs said the change reflected community expectations.
"Simply to be a resident in the area, as is the current requirement for enrolment on a council's voter roll, is not enough," Mr Szakacs told parliament.
SA Electoral Commissioner Mick Sherry told AAP FactCheck that two local by-elections, which were called before the amendment took effect, were held in February 2026 under the old rules.
Once those two results are finalised, he said, the voter eligibility information on the electoral commission website would be updated.
Future local government elections in SA will require voters to be either Australian citizens or among the British subjects cohort, Mr Sherry added.
AAP FactCheck recently debunked a similar claim about the eligibility of foreign nationals to run for council in most states.
With the exception of the British subjects cohort, Tasmania is the only state that permits non-citizens to stand for local government.
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