Vacancy on Surf Coast Shire Council

Wednesday 8 October 2025

For immediate release

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A countback to fill an extraordinary vacancy on Surf Coast Shire Council for Torquay Ward will be held online at 10:30 am on Monday 27 October. The vacancy is due to the resignation of Councillor Rebecca Bourke.

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) will hold a countback of all formal votes from the 2024 Surf Coast Shire Council, Torquay Ward election to fill the vacancy. Votes will be redistributed to candidates who were unsuccessful in 2024 but are still eligible to be elected.

The countback is based on the proportional representation method of counting, which means candidates must achieve a proportion of votes known as a quota.

‘The candidate who gets the quota will be elected. If no candidate reaches the quota, the candidate with the highest number of countback votes will be elected,’ Election Manager Roger Millar said.

Candidates and other interested parties can watch the countback online. A link to join the countback will be available from 10 am on Monday 27 October at vec.vic.gov.au.

The result will be announced through a media release and published on the VEC website.