Date: 21st August 2026

Wyndham City councillor Josh Gilligan has announced he intends to conclude his time on council when the term of the state-appointed municipal monitors finishes at the end of January 2027. Cr Gilligan, who represents Wimba Ward, said he would remain until then “to ensure their work can be seen through properly.”

Two municipal monitors, Jim Gifford and Jo-Anne Mazzeo, were appointed to Wyndham City Council from 11 May 2026 to 31 January 2027, following a unanimous no-confidence motion against then-mayor Preet Singh over a character reference he had written for a convicted sex offender.

In his statement, Cr Gilligan was critical of the current regulatory framework for Victorian councils, saying local government “is being regulated into paralysis” and arguing the governing legislation “empowers too many vested interests, leaving the sector ungovernable.”

Cr Gilligan is serving his third term as a Wyndham councillor. He was first elected mayor in 2019 at age 26, making him the council’s youngest-ever mayor, and later served as deputy mayor from 2024 to 2025 before a second mayoral term from November 2025 to February 2026. That second term ended early after an independent arbiter found he had breached the Model Councillor Code of Conduct over social media comments about a former mayor, resulting in a one-month suspension from 25 February 2026. The former mayor in question, Kim McAliney, was recently re-elected to the council in a by-election.

Cr Gilligan was then suspended a second time, for two weeks from 24 June 2026, following a separate arbitration matter.

In his statement, Cr Gilligan pointed to a series of achievements from his time on council, including reforms requiring parks to be delivered alongside housing in new estates, the securing of land for Bemin Secondary College in Truganina, and infrastructure investment in Tarneit. He said these outcomes followed two Supreme Court wins, and one loss, in disputes connected to the city’s growth.

Cr Gilligan’s departure will leave Wimba Ward’s seat to be filled in a by-election.