The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand must, as soon as practicable after the commencement of these rules and in accordance with clause 4(1) of Schedule 20 of the Act, fix a date for the first election of the 7 elected members of the Teaching Council.

Subsequent elections of elected members must be held every 3 years on a date—

This rule applies if—

If the Teaching Council decides to hold an election for a replacement, it must—

If the Teaching Council decides to appoint a replacement, it must make the appointment, in accordance with the following process, as soon as practicable after the seat becomes vacant:

The Teaching Council must appoint a returning officer or an election agent to run each triennial election and extraordinary election held under these rules.

The Teaching Council must not appoint as a returning officer a person who—

If an election agent is engaged, the election agent (or one of its officers) must carry out any functions of the returning officer under these rules in relation to the election that are agreed upon between the Teaching Council and the election agent.

If the returning officer or election agent becomes unable to carry out the duties of a returning officer, the Teaching Council must appoint a replacement returning officer or a replacement election agent.

Every returning officer or election agent must conduct the election—

However, the Teaching Council remains responsible for the conduct of any elections.

A person is entitled to vote if that person’s name appears on the roll prepared under rule 9.

However, a person may not vote for a candidate in a sector unless, when the person votes, that person makes a declaration to the returning officer that the person is entitled to vote in that sector because—

Voting must take place by sectors to ensure that—

A person who is entitled to vote—

For the purposes of subclause (2)(b),—

Before notice is given of an election, the returning officer must prepare a roll for the election.

The returning officer must, before the election voting period begins, set a cut-off date, which must be at least 30 days before election day, on which the roll will close.

Subject to rule 10, no person may be added to the roll after the cut-off date.

The roll is to consist of persons who, on the cut-off date, will, on election day, be—

Despite anything in rule 7, a person—

A person’s name may be included on the roll for the election on or before the cut-off date if the returning officer reasonably believes, based on the register of teachers and the sector information that the Teaching Council provides, that the person will, on election day,—

For the purposes of subclause (6)(a), a person is to be treated as not holding a current practising certificate on the cut-off date or election day if the person’s practising certificate is subject to an interim suspension under section 498 of the Act.

The roll must be made available for inspection on the Teaching Council’s Internet site.

The returning officer must—

The returning officer may amend the roll at any time up to election day.

The rules in this Part apply, with any necessary modifications, to extraordinary elections conducted under rule 5.

The voting method to be used for an election is electronic voting.

Voting documents and any notices given under these rules must be issued electronically.

This rule is subject to Part 9, which provides for postal voting in certain circumstances.

The electoral system that must be used for an election is the single transferable voting system.

In any election, the returning officer must determine the times and dates of the voting period.

The returning officer must give notice of every election to each person who, at the time notice is given,—

The notice must—

The notice must—

The closing time and date for the nomination of candidates must be 12 noon on the 60th day before the election day.

To be nominated as a candidate, a person must meet the criteria set out in section 475 of the Act.

A nomination of a person as a candidate for election as an elected member is not valid unless—

Every nomination of a candidate must—

A candidate may be nominated for only 1 sector.

A current employee of the Teaching Council may not be nominated as a candidate.

The returning officer must determine the validity of every nomination.

A candidate may, before the close of nominations, give the returning officer a candidate profile statement for supply to persons entitled to vote at the election.

The returning officer may omit or abridge part of the candidate profile statement before supplying it to persons entitled to vote at the election if the returning officer considers, on reasonable grounds, that it is likely to be defamatory or offensive.

The candidate profile statement—

If any requirements set out in subclause (3)(a) to (f) are not met, the returning officer may omit or abridge any part of the candidate profile statement that does not comply, before supplying it to persons entitled to vote at the election.

The returning officer may impose additional reasonable requirements on candidate profile statements.

The returning officer—

Candidates must sign a statutory declaration that states that their candidate profile statement is true and correct to the best of their knowledge.

The Teaching Council may not endorse, comment on, give advice to, or financially contribute to any candidate.

During the election process, all communications from candidates to the Teaching Council regarding the election process must be directed to the returning officer.

A person who has been nominated as a candidate may, at any time before the election day, withdraw from the election by giving written notice to the returning officer.

If the returning officer becomes aware that a person who has been nominated as a candidate ceases to be eligible to be a candidate, the returning officer must withdraw the candidate from the election.

Before withdrawing a candidate, the returning officer must—

The returning officer must take reasonable steps to check periodically before the election that persons nominated as candidates remain eligible to be candidates.

The returning officer must, before the voting period begins, take reasonable steps to ensure that persons entitled to vote at the election are notified of the withdrawal of any candidate.

The returning officer must, at least 30 days before the date of an election, give notice of the list of candidates in the election—

If only 1 valid nomination is received in an election for an elected member, the returning officer must immediately declare that nominee duly elected and no election for that sector’s representative may be held.

If, at any time between the close of nominations and the election day, a candidate withdraws and, as a result of that withdrawal, only 1 candidate remains, the returning officer must immediately declare that remaining candidate duly elected and no election for that sector’s representative may be held.

If no election for an elected member in a given sector is to be held, the returning officer must, when publishing the list of candidates and their candidate profile statements (if any), publish the result on the Teaching Council’s Internet site and by any other method that the Teaching Council may direct.

If no nominations are received for a sector, the returning officer must re-advertise the election for the sector.

The period for re-advertising must—

If an election is to be held, the returning officer must arrange for voting documents to be prepared.

Each voting document accessed by a person entitled to vote—

Voting documents may contain any other information that the returning officer considers appropriate to ensure that—

The returning officer must, at least 20 days before election day, issue the voting documents to every person whose name is, on the day the voting documents are issued, listed on the roll.

If, after the voting documents have been issued, a person’s name is added to the roll, the returning officer must issue voting documents to that person as soon as practicable after that person’s name is added to the roll.

Subject to Part 9, voting documents must be issued electronically.

Each candidate may, by written notice to the returning officer at least 7 working days before the commencement of the voting period, appoint 1 scrutineer.

The role of a scrutineer is to observe the counting of preferences.

A candidate in the election may not be a scrutineer in that election.

The returning officer must, as soon as practicable after the close of voting, count preferences that are, in the returning officer’s opinion, valid.

The returning officer may appoint 1 or more persons to assist with counting preferences, but must personally determine all questions relating to the validity of preferences.

The returning officer must use a counting program to determine the results of the election.

The Teaching Council must be satisfied that the returning officer has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the counting program to be used produces outcomes consistent with the New Zealand method of counting single transferable votes.

The returning officer may, before the close of voting, begin to process preferences that are received during the voting period.

If the returning officer decides to begin processing preferences before the close of voting,—

At least 1 Justice of the Peace must be present when—

A scrutineer may not be present when a preference is processed during the voting period.

However, any scrutineer may be present when a preference is processed after the close of voting.

The counting of preferences is complete when the number of successful candidates is equal to the number of vacancies.

The returning officer must, as soon as practicable after the results of an election for an elected member are known,—

The names of all successful candidates must, as soon as practicable after the results of an election are known, be publicly notified—

The returning officer must retain a record of the order in which the unsuccessful candidates were ranked for a period of 3 years.

The candidate who is declared to be elected may be elected even though 1 or more of the requirements of these rules were not complied with if, in the opinion of the returning officer, the irregularity or irregularities that occurred did not materially affect the results of the election.

If, in the opinion of the returning officer, an irregularity occurred that may have materially affected the results of the election, the returning officer may—

Any person who was declared to have been elected before a recount, but who is found not to have been elected after the recount, is to be treated as having resigned as an elected member, and the candidate who is declared to be elected after the recount becomes the elected member.

If the irregularity that occurred is attributable to a person acting otherwise than in good faith, the returning officer must advise the Teaching Council of the name of the person.

The decision of the returning officer as to all matters that relate to the regularity and propriety of the election is final.

However, nothing in these rules may be taken as limiting or precluding the right of an affected party to seek judicial review of a decision of the returning officer.

The returning officer must—

The returning officer and any scrutineer or other person involved in the conduct of the election must maintain the secrecy of the election and must not—

This Part applies to persons who are electronically uncontactable persons.

In respect of electronically uncontactable persons, the rules in this Part prevail over any rules in any other Part that are inconsistent with the rules in this Part.

For electronically uncontactable persons, the default voting method to be used for an election is electronic voting.

However, instructions for electronic voting, including electronic addresses for election materials, must be sent to electronically uncontactable persons by post.

Despite subclause (1), electronically uncontactable persons may ask the returning officer to send voting documents to them by post.

The returning officer must give notice of every election to each electronically uncontactable person by post.

The notice must contain the particulars specified in rule 15.

For the purposes of rule 19, taking reasonable steps includes sending, as soon as practicable, the required notice to electronically uncontactable persons by post.

The returning officer must, at least 30 days before election day, send to each electronically uncontactable person by post an electronic address linking to—

The returning officer must arrange for a sufficient number of physical voting documents to be prepared to ensure that every electronically uncontactable person who wishes to receive voting documents by post may receive them.

In addition to the requirements set out in rule 23, each voting document prepared under this rule must—

For the purposes of rule 24, voting documents must be sent by post to an electronically uncontactable person who has requested that the voting documents be sent to that person by post.

Voting documents sent by post must be accompanied by a postage-paid envelope that—

A voting document is informal and must not be counted if—

For the purposes of rule 29, the returning officer must, as soon as practicable after the results of an election are known, send notice by post of the names of all successful candidates to electronically uncontactable persons who requested the returning officer to send voting documents to them by post.

The New Zealand Teachers Council Election Rules 2002 (SR 2002/192) are revoked.