Ward Boundary Review

In accordance with schedule 2.2 of the Local Government Act 1995 (LGA), local governments are required to undertake a review of their ward boundaries and councillor representation from time to time, with no more than eight years passing between each successive review.

The purpose of a review is to evaluate the current arrangements and consider other options, to find the system of representation that best reflects the characteristics of the district and its people. Any of the following may be considered:

• Creating new wards in a district already divided into wards
• Changing the boundaries of a ward
• Abolishing any, or all of the wards, into which a district is divided
• Changing the name of a district or a ward
• Changing the number of offices of councillor on a Council
• Specifying or changing the number of offices of councillor for a ward

The Local Government Advisory Board (LGAB) encourages local governments to complete their reviews so that any changes can be in place within the eight year period. It is appropriate for local governments to undertake reviews on a more frequent basis when the district is experiencing changes to its population that may impact on representation.

In 2021 Council completed a review of its ward representaion boundaries and on the 16 October the new ward boundaries will come into effect. The changes, which cover a combied area of 545 square kilometres includes:

• The retention of a seven ward representation model with modified boundaries, so that each ward has a councillor ratio that is within the required plus or minus 10% of the average councillor/elector ratio for the entire City
• The retention of two councillors per ward, creating a total of 14 councillors

For details of Council's recent ward representation review, please download the document below: