On June 29, the Journal reported that Monash Council shredded documents that could have proved or disproved alleged electoral fraud during the 2005 council elections.

The report followed claims by South Eastern Metropolitan Region MP Inga Peulich in State Parliament on June 25 that Cr Stephen Dimopoulos had committed electoral fraud witnessed by councillors Geoff Lake and Paul Klisaris and former councillor Dane Manzie. The councillors have denied the claims.

Monash Council said the election records were destroyed in accordance with the Public Record Office Victoria's disposal schedule, which states documents used to prepare for an election can be destroyed after three years.

However, the Local Government (Electoral) Regulations 2005, proclaimed on August 9, about four months before the 2005 election, state that election documents must be "kept safely and secretly for four years".

PROV director and public records keeper Justine Heazlewood told the Journal the organisation had decided not to vary the existing schedule because it had limited resources, and a new disposal schedule that would correct the discrepancy was being developed.

Last week, the Journal asked all 54 councils that held elections in 2005 whether they had destroyed the nomination forms.

Nine councils - including Monash, Mornington Peninsula, Wodonga, South Gippsland, Mildura, Benalla, Moira and Bass Coast - confirmed they had destroyed the forms.

Bass Coast corporate services director Danny Luna said the council had never received written notification about the changes from PROV.

"This discrepancy in state legislation needs to be addressed by the Parliament," he said.

Seventeen councils said they had kept the 2005 election nomination forms in storage. They included Casey, Cardinia, Knox, Greater Dandenong, Yarra Ranges, Maroondah, Whitehorse, Frankston, Alpine, Central Goldfields, Greater Shepparton, Maribyrnong, Moonee Valley, Swan Hill, Hume and Wellington.

In their replies, 14 councils stated they were keeping the forms until the end of 2009 "in accordance with the Local Government (Electoral) Regulations 2005".

Twenty-eight councils did not reply to the Journal survey.