The Minister for Local Government, Melissa Horne has announced changes to the electoral structures of 39 Victorian councils, having accepted the recommendations of the Electoral Representation Advisory Panels (ERAPS).
The changes come ahead of the 2024 local government general elections set to occur in October this year.
The ERAPS have worked over the past 15 months to ensure that councils align with the new requirements under the Local Government Act 2020.
The structural amendments will see 30 councils change to a single-member ward structure, except in instances where ERAPs have recommended the council have uniform multi-member wards or an unsubdivided structure.
Four councils will change to a multi-member ward structure, while another five councils will change to an unsubdivided structure.
The ERAPs, formed in October 2022, have provided advice to the Victorian Government on the recommended structures and have included community engagement to ensure local views were considered. The VEC has supported this work, providing technical and administrative support.
The panels have made recommendations for the total number of councillors for each municipality, the ward structure, the number of wards, number of councillors per ward, ward boundaries, and names.
The new electoral boundary details are available at localgovernment.vic.gov.au/council-governance/electoral-representation-advisory-panels-eraps.
Minister Horne lauded the work of ERAPs, stating, “The Electoral Representation Advisory Panels have delivered thorough work over an extensive period to ensure that Victorian councils will be set up to effectively represent their communities.”
She added, “These new ward boundaries will be in place for the local government elections this year – an important step in our work to reform local government and meet the expectations of communities right across Victoria.”
The 30 councils that will change to a single-member ward structure are:
- Ballarat City Council
- Brimbank City Council
- Casey City Council
- Central Goldfields Shire Council
- Corangamite Shire Council
- Frankston City Council
- Glen Eira City Council
- Greater Bendigo City Council
- Greater Geelong City Council
- Greater Shepparton City Council
- Hobsons Bay City Council
- Horsham Rural City Council
- Hume City Council
- Latrobe City Council
- Maribyrnong City Council
- Melton City Council
- Merri-bek City Council
- Mildura Rural City Council
- Monash City Council
- Moonee Valley City Council
- Mornington Peninsula Shire Council
- Mount Alexander Shire Council
- Port Phillip City Council
- Stonnington City Council
- Wangaratta Rural City Council
- Warrnambool City Council
- Whittlesea City Council
- Wodonga City Council
- Wyndham City Council
- Yarra City Council
The four councils changing to a multi-member ward structure are:
- Buloke Shire Council
- Northern Grampians Shire Council
- Surf Coast Shire Council
- Yarriambiack Shire Council
The five councils changing to an unsubdivided structure are:
- Campaspe Shire Council
- Gannawarra Shire Council
- Hepburn Shire Council
- Moorabool Shire Council
- Strathbogie Shire Council