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,” 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,” 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 state government planned to change the rules on non-citizens being able to vote.
When asked for her evidence, a spokesperson for the One Nation leader provided a link to information about the 2022 local government elections on the Electoral Commission of South Australia website.
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