Local government areas of Western Australia

The local government areas of Western Australia (LGAs) are those areas, towns and districts in Western Australia that manage their own affairs to the extent permitted by the Local Government Act 1995.[1] The Local Government Act 1995 also makes provision for regional local governments (referred to as "regional councils", established by two or more local governments for a particular purpose.[2]

Map of local government areas in Western Australia

There are three classifications of local government in Western Australia:

  • City – predominantly urban, some larger regional centres
  • Town – predominantly inner urban, plus Port Hedland
  • Shire – predominantly rural or outer suburban areas

The Shire of Christmas Island and the Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands are Federal external territories and covered by the Indian Ocean Territories Administration of Laws Act, which allows the Western Australian Local Government Act to apply "on-island" as though it were a Commonwealth act. Nonetheless, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are not part of Western Australia.

History

The first form of local government in Western Australia were town trusts established under the Towns Improvement Act of 1838.[3] Many of these town trusts, including the Perth town trust, experienced severe administrative and financial difficulties, and in some cases barely functioned at all.[4]

The District Roads Act and Municipal Institutions Act, both of 1871 improved matters by allowing for the establishment of Roads Boards and Municipal Corporations.[5] Municipal Corporations had the capacity to levy property taxes, pass municipal by-laws and undertake various local regulatory services previously carried out by colonial officials and other central bodies. Corporations could also establish civic institutions and facilities with the governors' consent, including libraries and botanical gardens.[4] Road Boards where strictly limited to the construction of roads, could not levy property taxes and depended on colonial government grants for any expenditures.

Women were permitted to be elected to Road Boards from 1911 and to Municipal Corporations from 1919.[6] The influence of town clerk WE Bold and the greater Perth movement around this time led to the amalgamation of inner city local governments to create a greatly expanded City of Perth until 1993, when the City was broken up once again.

The first local government department was established by the state in 1949 to guide local government authorities.[7] Following the war local governments increasingly expanded their services from property, health and local infrastructure (roads, drainage) to community and social services.

Only a few cities – Perth, Fremantle, Subiaco, South Perth and Nedlands – existed prior to 1961. On 1 July 1961, all road districts became shires, and all municipalities became towns or cities. This structure has continued till the present day.

In the 1970s, the scope of local government services expanded to encompass the provision of nursing homes and other forms of aged care.

During the late 1980s, and early 1990s a bi-partisan reform process led to the Local Government Act 1995, which amongst other changes, established for the first time a clear separation of responsibility between elected councillors and local government administration. Other key changes included a significant reduction in the number of decisions requiring ministerial approval which allowed for streamlined decision-making and greater local government autonomy.

In 2017 the McGowan government initiated a review process to reform the Local Government Act 1995.[8]

Although successive state governments have periodically promoted municipal amalgamation, only a small number of local governments have merged over the course of Western Australia's history. Historically most local governments have strongly resisted forced amalgamations[9] and the total number of authorities has declined only marginally over the last century. The most recent state government led effort to encourage the voluntary amalgamation of 30 metropolitan local governments into 16 was abandoned by the Barnett government in 2014.[10]

Metropolitan LGAs
Local government area Council seat[11] Year est. Land area[12] Population density (2018)[12] Population Notes
km² sq mi 2013[13] 2018[13][12]
Armadale, City ofArmadale1894560 21615772,66287,634Armadale-Kelmscott until 1979
Bassendean, Town ofBassendean190110 41,52115,82815,739West Guildford until 1922
Bayswater, City ofMorley189735 141,97169,08368,232
Belmont, City ofCloverdale189840 151,04239,91941,510
Cambridge, Town ofFloreat199422 81,29727,85628,481Split from Perth
Canning, City ofCannington190765 251,43393,49192,965Placed under control of a Commissioner in 2012
Claremont, Town ofClaremont18985 22,16010,22010,704
Cockburn, City ofSpearwood1871168 65668102,787112,165Fremantle RD until 1959
Cottesloe, Town ofCottesloe18953.9 22,1518,4098,188
East Fremantle, Town ofEast Fremantle18973.1 12,4897,7408,711
Fremantle, City ofFremantle187119 71,62430,15630,868
Gosnells, City ofGosnells1907127 49969119,381123,325
Joondalup, City ofJoondalup199899 381,618164,414160,031Split from Wanneroo
Kalamunda, City ofKalamunda1897324 12518258,62258,946Governed by a Commissioner until 1961
Kwinana, City ofKwinana Town Centre1954120 4636334,70743,511
Melville, City ofBooragoon[14]190053 201,929104,319101,940
Mosman Park, Town ofMosman Park18994.3 22,0869,2179,067Split from Peppermint Grove RD. Buckland Hill RD 1899–1908, 1930–1937; Cottesloe Beach RD 1908–1930
Mundaring, Shire ofMundaring1903643 2486139,64439,139Greenmount until 1932
Nedlands, City ofNedlands189320 81,14822,66522,554Claremont RD until 1932
Peppermint Grove, Shire ofPeppermint Grove18951.1 01,6121,6941,721
Perth, City ofPerth185614 52,02424,31727,762
Rockingham, City ofRockingham1897258 100518119,300133,389
Serpentine–Jarrahdale, Shire ofMundijong1894901 3483422,01130,933
South Perth, City ofSouth Perth189219.8 82,19844,34843,554
Stirling, City ofStirling1871105 412,103218,043220,249Shire of Perth until 1971
Subiaco, City ofSubiaco18965.6 23,04516,46617,106
Swan, City ofMidland18711,043 403138123,643143,374
Victoria Park, Town ofVictoria Park199418 72,04036,26036,601Split from Perth
Vincent, City ofLeederville199411 43,17235,44236,088Split from Perth
Wanneroo, City ofWanneroo1902683 264298176,627203,679

Non-metropolitan LGAs
Local government area Council seat[11] Region Year est. Land area[12] Population
 Website Notes
km² sq mi (2013)[13] (2018)[13][12]
Albany, City ofAlbanyGreat Southern19984,310.5 1,664 36,318 37,826albany.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Town of Albany (1871)
Shire of Albany (1871)
Ashburton, Shire ofTom PricePilbara1972202,325 78,118 12,02513,329ashburton.wa.gov.auWest Pilbara until 1987. Formerly:
Shire of Ashburton (1887)
Shire of Tableland (1896)
Augusta–Margaret River, Shire ofMargaret RiverSouth West18912,123 820 13,48715,700amrsc.wa.gov.auAugusta until 1926
Beverley, Shire ofBeverleyWheatbelt18712,372 916 1,6921,748beverley.wa.gov.au
Boddington, Shire ofBoddingtonPeel19031,900 734 2,2251,833boddington.wa.gov.auMarradong until 1961
Boyup Brook, Shire ofBoyup BrookSouth West18962,827 1,092 1,6671,756boyupbrook.wa.gov.auUpper Blackwood until 1969
Bridgetown–Greenbushes, Shire ofBridgetownSouth West19701,340 517 4,6474,722bridgetown.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of:
Nelson RD (1887–1917), Bridgetown RD (1917–1961), Shire of Bridgetown (1961–1970);
Greenbushes RD (1900–1961), Shire of Greenbushes (1961–1970)
Brookton, Shire ofBrooktonWheatbelt19061,602 619 998965brookton.wa.gov.au
Broome, Shire ofBroomeKimberley191854,632 21,094 17,18516,952broome.wa.gov.au
Broomehill–Tambellup, Shire ofTambellupGreat Southern20072,610 1,008 1,1941,132shirebt.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Shire of Broomehill (1892)
Shire of Tambellup (1905)
Bruce Rock, Shire ofBruce RockWheatbelt19132,727 1,053 988940brucerock.wa.gov.auEast Avon until 1918
Bunbury, City ofBunburySouth West187165 25 32,95131,776bunbury.wa.gov.auCity in 1979
Busselton, City ofBusseltonSouth West19511,455 562 34,69638,926busselton.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of Municipality and RD (both 1871)
Capel, Shire ofCapelSouth West1894558 215 16,48318,022capel.wa.gov.auBunbury RD until 1907
Carnamah, Shire ofCarnamahMid West19232,876 1,110 566541carnamah.wa.gov.auSplit from Irwin and Mingenew
Carnarvon, Shire ofCarnarvonGascoyne191146,665 18,017 6,0345,362carnarvon.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Town of Carnarvon (1891–1965)
Lower Gascoyne RD (1887–1911)
Minilya RD (1893–1911)
Gascoyne–Minilya RD and Shire (1911–1965)
Chapman Valley, Shire ofNabawaMid West19013,988 1,540 1,3491,492chapmanvalley.wa.gov.auUpper Chapman until 1958
Chittering, Shire ofBindoonWheatbelt18961,221 471 5,1125,742chittering.wa.gov.au
Christmas Island, Shire ofChristmas Island1992137 53 1,4621,928[15]shire.gov.cxFederal external territory.
Cocos, Shire ofHome Island199214 5 605538[15]shire.cc

Federal external territory.

Collie, Shire ofCollieSouth West19511,711 661 9,4648,754collie.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of Municipality (1901) and RD (1900)
Coolgardie, Shire ofCoolgardieGoldfields192130,381 11,730 4,1963,506coolgardie.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of Municipality (1894) and RD (1896)
Coorow, Shire ofCoorowMid West19624,194 1,619 1,0991,004coorow.wa.gov.auSplit from Carnamah
Corrigin, Shire ofCorriginWheatbelt19132,682 1,036 1,1471,146corrigin.wa.gov.au
Cranbrook, Shire ofCranbrookGreat Southern19263,278 1,266 1,1291,077cranbrook.wa.gov.au
Cuballing, Shire ofCuballingWheatbelt19021,196 462 901862cuballing.wa.gov.au
Cue, Shire ofCueMid West191213,607 5,254 272148cue.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of Day Dawn M. (1894) and Cue RD (1895)
Cunderdin, Shire ofCunderdinWheatbelt18941,864 720 1,3921,440cunderdin.wa.gov.auSplit from Northam, named Meckering until 1944
Dalwallinu, Shire ofDalwallinuWheatbelt19167,235 2,793 1,3751,431dalwallinu.wa.gov.au
Dandaragan, Shire ofJurien BayWheatbelt18906,718 2,594 3,3083,259dandaragan.wa.gov.au
Dardanup, Shire ofEatonSouth West1894526 203 13,82414,368dardanup.wa.gov.au
Denmark, Shire ofDenmarkGreat Southern19111,860 718 5,8046,154denmark.wa.gov.au
Derby–West Kimberley, Shire ofDerbyKimberley1884119,841 46,271 9,4918,255sdwk.wa.gov.auWest Kimberley until 1983
Donnybrook–Balingup, Shire ofDonnybrookSouth West19701,561 603 5,8036,062donnybrook-balingup.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Shire of Donnybrook, Preston RD until 1961 (1896)
Shire of Balingup, Upper Capel RD until 1905 (1899)
Dowerin, Shire ofDowerinWheatbelt19111,865 720 707676dowerin.wa.gov.au
Dumbleyung, Shire ofDumbleyungWheatbelt19092,542 981 653676dumbleyung.wa.gov.au]
Dundas, Shire ofNorsemanGoldfields192992,656 35,775 1,069735dundas.wa.gov.au
East Pilbara, Shire ofNewmanPilbara1972372,301 143,746 12,57010,970eastpilbara.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Shire of Marble Bar (1896)
Shire of Nullagine (1898)
Esperance, Shire ofEsperanceGoldfields189545,059 17,397 14,42214,281esperance.wa.gov.auAbsorbed municipality (1895–1908)
Exmouth, Shire ofExmouthGascoyne19646,504 2,511 2,6552,836exmouth.wa.gov.au
Gingin, Shire ofGinginWheatbelt18933,211 1,240 5,2675,258gingin.wa.gov.auAbsorbed municipality (1893–1903)
Gnowangerup, Shire ofGnowangerupGreat Southern19124,267 1,647 1,2941,207gnowangerup.wa.gov.au
Goomalling, Shire ofGoomallingWheatbelt19271,837 709 1,0381,011goomalling.wa.gov.au
Greater Geraldton, City ofGeraldtonMid West20119,903 3,824 39,83838,738cgg.wa.gov.auFormerly:
City of Geraldton (1871–2007)
Shire of Greenough (1951–2007)
Shire of Mullewa (1911–2011)
Halls Creek, Shire ofHalls CreekKimberley1887133,061 51,375 3,8103,490hcshire.wa.gov.auKimberley Goldfields until 1915
Harvey, Shire ofHarveySouth West18941,729 668 25,65727,798harvey.wa.gov.au
Irwin, Shire ofDongaraMid West18712,375 917 3,7493,560irwin.wa.gov.au
Jerramungup, Shire ofJerramungupGreat Southern19826,509 2,513 1,1121,133jerramungup.wa.gov.auSplit from Gnowangerup
Kalgoorlie–Boulder, City ofKalgoorlieGoldfields198995,242 36,773 33,26729,998kalbould.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Town of Kalgoorlie (1897–1989)
Shire of Boulder (1969–1989)
Karratha, City ofKarrathaPilbara188715,278 5,899 24,43222,414karratha.wa.gov.auAbsorbed Roebourne and Cossack municipalities in 1910, was known as Shire of Roebourne until 2014
Katanning, Shire ofKatanningGreat Southern18921,519 586 4,4034,085katanning.wa.gov.au
Kellerberrin, Shire ofKellerberrinWheatbelt19081,917 740 1,2511,207kellerberrin.wa.gov.au
Kent, Shire ofNyabingGreat Southern19225,631 2,174 547562kent.wa.gov.auNyabing–Pingrup 1955–1972
Kojonup, Shire ofKojonupGreat Southern18712,932 1,132 2,0441,980kojonup.wa.gov.au
Kondinin, Shire ofKondininWheatbelt19257,427 2,868 985870kondinin.wa.gov.au
Koorda, Shire ofKoordaWheatbelt19272,835 1,095 446408koorda.wa.gov.au
Kulin, Shire ofKulinWheatbelt19184,720 1,822 831774kulin.wa.gov.auRoe until 1926
Lake Grace, Shire ofLake GraceWheatbelt192211,892 4,592 1,3741,282lakegrace.wa.gov.au
Laverton, Shire ofLavertonGoldfields1906180,127 69,547 1,4281,206laverton.wa.gov.auMount Margaret until 1950, absorbed Mount Morgans M (1900–1913)
Leonora, Shire ofLeonoraGoldfields191231,941 12,332 2,4191,529leonora.wa.gov.au
Mandurah, City ofMandurahPeel1949174 67 79,29285,302mandurah.wa.gov.auCity in 1990
Manjimup, Shire ofManjimupSouth West19087,027 2,713 9,4829,159manjimup.wa.gov.auWarren until 1925
Meekatharra, Shire ofMeekatharraMid West1909100,327 38,736 1,4261,008meekashire.wa.gov.au
Menzies, Shire ofMenziesGoldfields1912124,794 48,183 486521menzies.wa.gov.au
Merredin, Shire ofMerredinWheatbelt19213,297 1,273 3,3793,410merredin.wa.gov.au
Mingenew, Shire ofMingenewMid West19011,937 748 487432mingenew.wa.gov.auUpper Irwin until 1919
Moora, Shire ofMooraWheatbelt19083,767 1,454 2,5272,426moora.wa.gov.auSplit from Victoria Plains
Morawa, Shire ofMorawaMid West19283,517 1,358 872698morawa.wa.gov.auSplit from Perenjori–Morawa RD
Mount Magnet, Shire ofMount MagnetMid West190113,893 5,364 661464mtmagnet.wa.gov.auAbsorbed municipality (1896–1901)
Mount Marshall, Shire ofBencubbinWheatbelt192310,197 3,937 523518mtmarshall.wa.gov.au
Mukinbudin, Shire ofMukinbudinWheatbelt19333,438 1,327 545531mukinbudin.wa.gov.au
Murchison, Shire ofMurchisonMid West187545,110 17,417 146162murchison.wa.gov.au
Murray, Shire ofPinjarraPeel18871,711 661 16,08717,653murray.wa.gov.au
Nannup, Shire ofNannupSouth West18903,055 1,180 1,3431,363nannup.wa.gov.auLower Blackwood until 1925
Narembeen, Shire ofNarembeenWheatbelt19253,836 1,481 826837narembeen.wa.gov.au
Narrogin, Shire ofNarroginWheatbelt18921,632 630 5,3245,040narrogin.wa.gov.auAbsorbed Town of Narrogin (1906–2016)
Ngaanyatjarraku, Shire ofWarburtonGoldfields1993160,733 62,059 1,6891,747ngaanyatjarraku.wa.gov.au
Northam, Shire ofNorthamWheatbelt18711,432 553 11,47211,190northam.wa.gov.auAbsorbed Town of Northam (1879–2007)
Northampton, Shire ofNorthamptonMid West187112,638 4,880 3,4323,077northampton.wa.gov.auMines RD until 1887
Nungarin, Shire ofNungarinWheatbelt19211,164 449 254247nungarin.wa.gov.au
Perenjori, Shire ofPerenjoriMid West19168,311 3,209 830596perenjori.wa.gov.auPerenjori–Morawa until 1928
Pingelly, Shire ofPingellyWheatbelt18911,295 500 1,2051,152pingelly.wa.gov.auMoorumbine until 1913
Plantagenet, Shire ofMount BarkerGreat Southern18714,877 1,883 5,1725,249plantagenet.wa.gov.au
Port Hedland, Town ofPort HedlandPilbara189118,482 7,136 15,95114,975porthedland.wa.gov.auPilbara until 1904. Town 1989
Quairading, Shire ofQuairadingWheatbelt19132,018 779 1,0661,007quairading.wa.gov.auAvon until 1922
Ravensthorpe, Shire ofRavensthorpeGoldfields19009,833 3,797 2,1181,598ravensthorpe.wa.gov.auPhillips River until 1961
Sandstone, Shire ofSandstoneMid West189732,714 12,631 11281sandstone.wa.gov.auBlack Range until 1961
Shark Bay, Shire ofDenhamGascoyne190424,184 9,337 936946sharkbay.wa.gov.au
Tammin, Shire ofTamminWheatbelt19481,103 426 415401tammin.wa.gov.auSplit from Cunderdin
Three Springs, Shire ofThree SpringsMid West19282,656 1,025 638591threesprings.wa.gov.au
Toodyay, Shire ofToodyayWheatbelt19121,693 654 4,6824,427toodyay.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of Newcastle M (1877) and Toodyay RD (1871)
Trayning, Shire ofTrayningWheatbelt19111,652 638 366348trayning.wa.gov.au
Upper Gascoyne, Shire ofGascoyne JunctionGascoyne188758,007 22,397 270279uppergascoyne.wa.gov.au
Victoria Plains, Shire ofCalingiriWheatbelt18712,553 986 932934victoriaplains.wa.gov.au
Wagin, Shire ofWaginWheatbelt18871,947 752 1,9251,824wagin.wa.gov.auArthur until 1905. Absorbed municipality (1906–1961)
Wandering, Shire ofWanderingWheatbelt18741,901 734 451431wandering.wa.gov.au
Waroona, Shire ofWaroonaPeel1898832 321 3,9314,169waroona.wa.gov.auDrakesbrook until 1961
West Arthur, Shire ofDarkanWheatbelt18962,834 1,094 884798westarthur.wa.gov.au
Westonia, Shire ofWestoniaWheatbelt19163,316 1,280 302302westonia.wa.gov.au
Wickepin, Shire ofWickepinWheatbelt19092,041 788 764730wickepin.wa.gov.au
Williams, Shire ofWilliamsWheatbelt18712,306 890 9771,024williams.wa.gov.au
Wiluna, Shire ofWilunaMid West1909181,662 70,140 1,131706wiluna.wa.gov.au
Wongan–Ballidu, Shire ofWongan HillsWheatbelt18873,368 1,300 1,4741,299wongan.wa.gov.auMelbourne until 1926
Woodanilling, Shire ofWoodanillingGreat Southern19061,129 436 430428woodanilling.wa.gov.au
Wyalkatchem, Shire ofWyalkatchemWheatbelt19201,596 616 541498wyalkatchem.wa.gov.au
Wyndham East Kimberley, Shire ofKununurraKimberley1887112,023 43,252 8,2437,317swek.wa.gov.auEast Kimberley until 1896, Wyndham until 1961
Yalgoo, Shire ofYalgooMid West190727,976 10,802 426357yalgoo.wa.gov.auUpper Murchison until 1912
Yilgarn, Shire ofSouthern CrossWheatbelt189130,405 11,739 1,5391,169yilgarn.wa.gov.auAbsorbed Southern Cross M (1892–1918)
York, Shire ofYorkWheatbelt18712,133 824 3,6193,591york.wa.gov.auAbsorbed Town of York (1871–1965)

Regional local government organisations

References
  1. "Local Government Act 1995". Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  2. Refer Part 3 Division 4 of the "Local Government Act 1995". Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  3. Gregory, Jenny; Gothard, Janice; Gregory, Jenny; Gothard, Jan (2009), Historical encyclopedia of Western Australia, University of Western Australia Press, ISBN 978-1-921401-15-2 - Berry, Christopher Local Government pp.540-542. the act enabled the establishment of Town Trusts.
  4. Johns, J. R. H. (1949). "The Development of Local Government in Western Australia". The Australian Journal of Public Administration: 172–179.
  5. District Roads Act 1871.
  6. "History". Western Australia Local Government Association. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  7. Committee for Perth (September 2009) ‘Successful’ Metropolitan Local Government Models: Potential Lessons for Perth
  8. "Local Government Act Review". Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. 25 June 2019.
  9. Consolidation in Local Government: A Fresh Look (May 2011), p16
  10. Foster, Brendan; Riddell, Alex (8 February 2015). "Council mergers scrapped after ratepayer polls". WA Today.
  11. Department of Health. "Local Government contacts". Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  12. "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
  13. "People: Population: ERP by LGA (ASGS 2018), 2001 to 2018". ABS.Stat. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  14. Contact Us – City of Melville
  15. "ERP by SA2 and above (ASGS 2016), 2001 onwards". ABS.Stat. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  16. "Bunbury Harvey Regional Council". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  17. "Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  18. "Mindarie Regional Council". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  19. "Murchison Regional Vermin Council". Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  20. "Pilbara Regional Council". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  21. "Rivers Regional Council". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  22. "Southern Metropolitan Regional Council". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  23. "Tamala Park Regional Council". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  24. "Western Metropolitan Regional Council". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
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