It is a call backed by the Municipal Association of Victoria - the peak body for the state's local councils - but not universally supported by councillors in the city.

Long-serving south ward representative Des Hudson told The Courier he thought voting - which is planned to be entirely by postal ballot for the first time - should be deferred due to the uncertainty.

Speaking on Wednesday - a week after he introduced the local Labor party's official candidates launch in front of town hall - Cr Hudson said the newly declared state of disaster added weight to calls for the elections not to be held as planned by October 24.

"I do favour them being pushed back. What you want is a fair and level playing field for everyone."

He said the normal processes of campaigning - including electioneering, talking to the public, gathering in public areas and holding meetings - would not be able to take place given the restrictions - and that online campaigns would not be adequate.

"If you consider the age demographic across our community, there would be significant [numbers] who don't have the means to participate online," Cr Hudson said.

"When Melbourne is in stage 4 lockdowns with curfews, even getting information out is going to be difficult.

"The state and local governments have plenty on their plate to worry about planning how to come out of this COVID environment

"Deferring the election cycle for 12 months would allow the focus to be on the immediate issue that is before all communities."

He called for an early decision before candidates invested too much money in their campaigns, including sending out campaign material.

Cr Daniel Moloney said elections should only be delayed "as a last resort", but said he did not think the state government was far away from having to make that decision.

"It will be impossible to get out and campaign. It pushes everything online. The traditional ways people would get to understand who their candidates are just won't happen this year."

However, Cr Amy Johnson argued the other way, telling The Courier: "Lots of other things have been put on hold this year - but I don't think democracy should be one of them."

"These are challenging times; however, given the method of voting is via post and therefore doesn't require in person attendance, I believe the elections should proceed as planned."

The deputy mayor Cr Belinda Coates said the decision was "a tricky one".

"In an ideal world, council elections probably would be postponed," she told The Courier.

However, Cr Coates made the point there had already been a "state of disaster" declared in Victoria this year. In an email, she wrote: "It has demonstrated that we live in extremely uncertain times with no really clear end in sight.

"Democracy is possibly more important than ever during times of such instability and uncertainty."

Local government Victoria had already published guidelines on campaigning, but these do not yet contain reference to the increased Stage 4 restrictions now covering Melbourne.

The Courier asked the minister for local government whether any decision was imminent.

A government spokesperson said no decision had yet been made: "Victorians have the right to a say on who represents them at all levels of government."

"We will continue to take advice from the Chief Health Officer on stage 4 restrictions and the upcoming council elections."

If the elections are postponed for 12 months, it would mean this current council would most likely select a new, full-time permanent chief executive to replace interim CEO Janet Dore.

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