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Local government areas
The state of Victoria is divided up into 79 local government areas which are referred to as councils or municipalities. They are classified as being either a city, rural city, shire or borough.
There are some small parts of Victoria which lie outside the boundaries of those 79 council areas and therefore have no local government. They are referred to as unincorporated areas and include French Island in Western Port Bay, a number of other off-shore islands, and the snow resorts of Falls Creek, Lake Mountain, Mount Baw Baw, Mount Buller, Mount Hotham and Mount Stirling.
What local government does
The powers and responsibilities that local governments have are determined by the state government of Victoria.
Typically, councils maintain designated community infrastructure including things like local roads, drains, public buildings, recreation facilities and parks. They take responsibility for planning and land use within the community, waste collection and recycling services. Health, wellbeing, counselling and youth programs are conducted. Councils also create local laws which help to protect public health, safety or amenity, ensuring that actions by individuals or groups do not negatively impact on the rest of the community.
Local government is primarily funded by property taxes (council rates) and government grants. Additional revenue sources include the collection of fees for use of certain community facilities and fees associated with obtaining permits and licences.
Structure of councils
Councillors are democratically elected by residents and ratepayers of a local government area. They define policies and make decisions that are in the best interests of the community they represent.
Councillors appoint a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who heads a team of staff which are responsible for implementing council decisions and delivering services to the community. Council staff also provide advice and expertise to the elected councillors.
The mayor is a member of the elected council that acts as a ceremonial figurehead and provides leadership for both the council and community. The mayor is elected by councillors who vote amongst themselves for the position. In the City of Melbourne, residents and ratepayers directly elect the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor when voting.
Council elections
Council elections are currently held for every municipality in Victoria every four years, on the fourth Saturday in October. The last council elections were held on Saturday 29th November 2008. The next council elections are expected to be held on Saturday 28th October 2012.
Voting is compulsory for residents aged between 18 and 69. Voting is optional for residents aged 70 years and over. Ratepayers who don't live within the municipality their property is situated within are entitled to cast a vote in the election for that municipality, however voting is not compulsory unless their property is within the City of Melbourne.
Depending on the municipality, voting may be conducted by attendance voting at nominated venues or by post whereby ballot papers are sent out and then returned back in the mail when completed.
Municipalities within Greater Melbourne
31 municipalities cover Melbourne's metropolitan area. The largest of those in terms of land coverage is the Yarra Ranges Shire, while the City of Casey is home to the most people.
Map above is not clickable. See numbered list of municipalities below.
| No. |
Municipality |
Population |
Size |
Headquarters |
| 1 |
City of Banyule |
115,000 |
63 km² |
Ivanhoe |
| 2 |
City of Bayside |
88,000 |
37 km² |
Sandringham |
| 3 |
City of Boroondara |
154,000 |
60 km² |
Camberwell |
| 4 |
City of Brimbank |
168,000 |
123 km² |
Sunshine |
| 5 |
Cardinia Shire |
57,000 |
1,280 km² |
Pakenham |
| 6 |
City of Casey |
215,000 |
400 km² |
Narre Warren |
| 7 |
City of Greater Dandenong |
126,000 |
130 km² |
Dandenong |
| 8 |
City of Darebin |
128,000 |
53 km² |
Preston |
| 9 |
City of Frankston |
118,000 |
131 km² |
Frankston |
| 10 |
City of Glen Eira |
124,000 |
39 km² |
Caulfield South |
| 11 |
City of Hobsons Bay |
81,000 |
66 km² |
Altona |
| 12 |
City of Hume |
148,000 |
504 km² |
Broadmeadows |
| 13 |
City of Kingston |
135,000 |
91 km² |
Cheltenham |
| 14 |
City of Knox |
147,000 |
114 km² |
Wantirna South |
| 15 |
City of Manningham |
110,000 |
113 km² |
Doncaster |
| 16 |
City of Maribyrnong |
63,000 |
31 km² |
Footscray |
| 17 |
City of Maroondah |
99,000 |
61 km² |
Ringwood |
| 18 |
City of Melbourne |
71,000 |
38 km² |
Melbourne |
| 19 |
Melton Shire |
79,000 |
527 km² |
Melton |
| 20 |
City of Monash |
161,000 |
82 km² |
Glen Waverley |
| 21 |
City of Moonee Valley |
107,000 |
44 km² |
Moonee Ponds |
| 22 |
City of Moreland |
136,000 |
51 km² |
Coburg |
| 23 |
Mornington Peninsula Shire |
136,000 |
723 km² |
Rosebud |
| 24 |
Nillumbik Shire |
60,000 |
432 km² |
Greensborough |
| 25 |
City of Port Phillip |
85,000 |
21 km² |
St Kilda |
| 26 |
City of Stonnington |
90,000 |
26 km² |
Malvern |
| 27 |
City of Whitehorse |
145,000 |
64 km² |
Nunawading |
| 28 |
City of Whittlesea |
125,000 |
490 km² |
South Morang |
| 29 |
City of Wyndham |
113,000 |
542 km² |
Werribee |
| 30 |
City of Yarra |
69,000 |
20 km² |
Richmond |
| 31 |
Yarra Ranges Shire |
140,000 |
2,470 km² |
Lilydale |
- Population data is taken from the 2006 ABS Census and rounded to the nearest thousand.
- Some councils also extend outside of Melbourne's metropolitan area.
- Some councils have additional offices and customer service centres located within the municipality.
Municipalities in regional Victoria
48 municipalities cover land within Victoria that lies outside of Melbourne's metropolitan area. The largest of those in terms of land coverage is the Rural City of Mildura, while the City of Greater Geelong is home to the most people.
Map above is not clickable. See numbered list of municipalities below.
| No. |
Municipality |
Population |
Size |
Headquarters |
| 1 |
Alpine Shire |
12,000 |
4,839 km² |
Bright |
| 2 |
Rural City of Ararat |
11,000 |
4,207 km² |
Ararat |
| 3 |
City of Ballarat |
85,000 |
740 km² |
Ballarat |
| 4 |
Bass Coast Shire |
27,000 |
865 km² |
Wonthaggi |
| 5 |
Baw Baw Shire |
37,000 |
4,028 km² |
Warragul |
| 6 |
Rural City of Benalla |
14,000 |
2,351 km² |
Benalla |
| 7 |
City of Greater Bendigo |
93,000 |
2,999 km² |
Bendigo |
| 8 |
Buloke Shire |
6,900 |
8,004 km² |
Wycheproof |
| 9 |
Campaspe Shire |
36,000 |
4,526 km² |
Echuca |
| 10 |
Central Goldfields Shire |
12,000 |
1,534 km² |
Maryborough |
| 11 |
Colac Otway Shire |
20,000 |
3,433 km² |
Colac |
| 12 |
Corangamite Shire |
17,000 |
4,404 km² |
Camperdown |
| 13 |
East Gippsland Shire |
40,000 |
20,931 km² |
Bairnsdale |
| 14 |
Gannawarra Shire |
11,000 |
3,732 km² |
Kerang |
| 15 |
City of Greater Geelong |
197,000 |
1,247 km² |
Geelong |
| 16 |
Glenelg Shire |
20,000 |
6,212 km² |
Portland |
| 17 |
Golden Plains Shire |
16,000 |
2,704 km² |
Bannockburn |
| 18 |
Hepburn Shire |
14,000 |
1,470 km² |
Daylesford |
| 19 |
Hindmarsh Shire |
6,000 |
7,527 km² |
Nhill |
| 20 |
Rural City of Horsham |
18,000 |
4,249 km² |
Horsham |
| 21 |
Indigo Shire |
15,000 |
2,044 km² |
Beechworth |
| 22 |
City of Latrobe |
69,000 |
1,422 km² |
Morwell |
| 23 |
Loddon Shire |
7,800 |
6,694 km² |
Wedderburn |
| 24 |
Macedon Ranges Shire |
38,000 |
1,747 km² |
Kyneton |
| 25 |
Mansfield Shire |
7,200 |
3,892 km² |
Mansfield |
| 26 |
Rural City of Mildura |
50,000 |
22,087 km² |
Mildura |
| 27 |
Mitchell Shire |
31,000 |
2,862 km² |
Broadford |
| 28 |
Moira Shire |
27,000 |
4,057 km² |
Cobram |
| 29 |
Moorabool Shire |
25,000 |
2,110 km² |
Ballan |
| 30 |
Mount Alexander Shire |
17,000 |
1,529 km² |
Castlemaine |
| 31 |
Moyne Shire |
15,000 |
5,478 km² |
Port Fairy |
| 32 |
Murrindindi Shire |
14,000 |
3,889 km² |
Alexandra |
| 33 |
Northern Grampians Shire |
12,000 |
5,728 km² |
Stawell |
| 34 |
Pyrenees Shire |
6,600 |
3,433 km² |
Beaufort |
| 35 |
Borough of Queenscliffe |
3,000 |
13 km² |
Queenscliff |
| 36 |
City of Greater Shepparton |
57,000 |
2,422 km² |
Shepparton |
| 37 |
South Gippsland Shire |
26,000 |
3,280 km² |
Leongatha |
| 38 |
Southern Grampians Shire |
17,000 |
6,652 km² |
Hamilton |
| 39 |
Strathbogie Shire |
9,300 |
3,302 km² |
Euroa |
| 40 |
Surf Coast Shire |
22,000 |
1,560 km² |
Torquay |
| 41 |
Rural City of Swan Hill |
21,000 |
6,116 km² |
Swan Hill |
| 42 |
Towong Shire |
6,000 |
6,635 km² |
Tallangatta |
| 43 |
Rural City of Wangaratta |
26,000 |
3,764 km² |
Wangaratta |
| 44 |
City of Warrnambool |
30,000 |
121 km² |
Warrnambool |
| 45 |
Wellington Shire |
40,000 |
10,989 km² |
Sale |
| 46 |
West Wimmera Shire |
4,500 |
9,116 km² |
Edenhope |
| 47 |
City of Wodonga |
33,000 |
433 km² |
Wodonga |
| 48 |
Yarriambiack Shire |
7,500 |
7,310 km² |
Warracknabeal |
- Population data is taken from the 2006 ABS Census and rounded to the nearest thousand for populations above 10,000 and to the nearest hundred for populations under 10,000.
- Some councils have additional offices and customer service centres located within the municipality.
Further information
For further information about local government in Victoria and how it operates, see the Local Government Victoria web site at www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au.
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