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There are 137 local government areas (LGAs) in Western Australia,[1] which comprise 27 cities, 102 shires, and 8 towns that manage their own affairs to the extent permitted by the Local Government Act 1995.[2] 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.[3]

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Map of local government areas in Western Australia

There are three classifications of local government in Western Australia:

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 parts of Western Australia.

The most recent local government elections were held in 2023.

History

Land was originally granted in the Swan River Colony under regulations which allowed for land commissioners to assess a tax on private allotments to fund the construction and maintenance of "roads, paths and plantations".[4] As the Colony began to develop, the first form of local government was established in some areas under the Towns Improvement Act of 1838.[5] These trusts were empowered to elect ratepayers as Trustees and assess and collect a property tax for the construction of roads. Many of these town trusts, including the Perth Town Trust, experienced severe administrative and financial difficulties, and in some cases barely functioned at all. The Guildford Town Trust lasted only a couple of years before ceasing to function until it was reconstituted in 1863.[6]

The District Roads Act and Municipal Institutions Act, both of 1871 improved matters by allowing for the establishment of Roads Boards and Municipal Corporations.[7] 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.[6] 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.[8] The influence of town clerk W.E. 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.[9] Following the war local governments increasingly expanded their services from property, health and local infrastructure (roads, drainage) to community and social services. This was termed the “New Order” at the time, and encompassed the development of community centres, infant health clinics and sporting facilities.

Only a few cities – Fremantle, Nedlands, Perth, South Perth, and Subiaco – existed prior to 1961. On 1 July 1961, all road districts became shires, and all municipalities became towns or cities.[citation needed] 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.

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[10] 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.[11]

In 2017, the McGowan government initiated a review process to reform the Local Government Act 1995.[12]

Metropolitan LGAs

Further information: Perth metropolitan region § Subregions and local government areas

The 30 metropolitan local government areas (LGAs) comprise 20 cities, 3 shires, and 7 towns.

More information Council seat, Year est. ...
Local government area Council seat[13] Year est. Land area[14] Population density (km²)(2022) Population[15] Notes
km² sq mi 2021 2022
Armadale, City ofArmadale189456021618097,650100,737Armadale-Kelmscott until 1979
Bassendean, Town ofBassendean19011041,60516,50516,601West Guildford until 1922
Bayswater, City ofMorley189735142,08471,79672,145
Belmont, City ofCloverdale189840151,11143,87344,258
Cambridge, Town ofFloreat19942281,37229,83630,116Restructuring of Perth
Canning, City ofCannington190765251,53499,35199,510Placed under control of a Commissioner in 2012
Claremont, Town ofClaremont1898522,36411,64511,715
Cockburn, City ofSpearwood187116865745122,211125,031Fremantle RD until 1959
Cottesloe, Town ofCottesloe18953.922,1528,2468,297
East Fremantle, Town ofEast Fremantle18973.112,5688,0658,060
Fremantle, City ofFremantle18711971,74833,10933,711
Gosnells, City ofGosnells1907127491,044131,381132,845
Joondalup, City ofJoondalup199899381,673165,075165,512Restructuring of Wanneroo
Kalamunda, City ofKalamunda189732412518960,80361,229Governed by a Commissioner until 1961
Kwinana, City ofKwinana Town Centre19541204641247,65849,457
Melville, City ofBooragoon[16]190053202,031106,845107,311
Mosman Park, Town ofMosman Park18994.3222059,4829,585Split from Peppermint Grove RD. Buckland Hill RD 1899–1908, 1930–1937; Cottesloe Beach RD 1908–1930
Mundaring, Shire ofMundaring19036432486140,54140,506Greenmount until 1932
Nedlands, City ofNedlands18932081,17022,98422,977Claremont RD until 1932
Peppermint Grove, Shire ofPeppermint Grove18951.101,5401,6391,644
Perth, City ofPerth18561452,21129,66730,364
Rockingham, City ofRockingham1897258100558140,595143,560
Serpentine–Jarrahdale, Shire ofMundijong18949013483933,34634,770
South Perth, City ofSouth Perth189219.882,27744,98245,106
Stirling, City ofStirling1871105412,252234,380235,845Shire of Perth until 1971
Subiaco, City ofSubiaco18965.623,19817,91417,967
Swan, City ofMidland18711,043403157158,691163,699
Victoria Park, Town ofVictoria Park19941872,15338,31238,361Restructuring of Perth
Vincent, City ofLeederville1994114369537,86538,433Restructuring of Perth
Wanneroo, City ofWanneroo1902683.3264323216,450220,932
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Non-metropolitan LGAs

The 107 non-metropolitan local government areas (LGAs) comprise 7 cities, 99 shires, and 1 town.

The Shire of Christmas Island and the Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands are also included for comparison purposes.

More information Council seat, Region ...
Local government area Council seat[13] Region Year est. Land area[14] Population
[15]		 Website Notes
km² sq mi (2021) (2022)
Albany, City ofAlbanyGreat Southern19984,308.51,664 40,11540,434albany.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Town of Albany (1871)
Shire of Albany (1871)
Ashburton, Shire ofTom PricePilbara1972100,81738,926 7,7857,832ashburton.wa.gov.auWest Pilbara until 1987. Formerly:
Shire of Ashburton (1887)
Shire of Tableland (1896)
Augusta–Margaret River, Shire ofMargaret RiverSouth West18912,122819 17,29817,889amrsc.wa.gov.auAugusta until 1926
Beverley, Shire ofBeverleyWheatbelt18712,371915 1,7351,738beverley.wa.gov.au
Boddington, Shire ofBoddingtonPeel19031,905736 1,7591,758boddington.wa.gov.auMarradong until 1961
Boyup Brook, Shire ofBoyup BrookSouth West18962,8271,092 1,8741,938boyupbrook.wa.gov.auUpper Blackwood until 1969
Bridgetown–Greenbushes, Shire ofBridgetownSouth West19701,337516 5,3765,527bridgetown.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 ofBrooktonWheatbelt19061,601618 961955brookton.wa.gov.au
Broome, Shire ofBroomeKimberley191854,40221,005 18,20918,361broome.wa.gov.au
Broomehill–Tambellup, Shire ofTambellupGreat Southern20072,6101,008 1,0891,093shirebt.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Shire of Broomehill (1892)
Shire of Tambellup (1905)
Bruce Rock, Shire ofBruce RockWheatbelt19132,7251,052 1,0161,019brucerock.wa.gov.auEast Avon until 1918
Bunbury, City ofBunburySouth West18716425 34,14834,396bunbury.wa.gov.auCity in 1979
Busselton, City ofBusseltonSouth West19511,454561 42,00642,888busselton.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of Municipality and RD (both 1871)
Capel, Shire ofCapelSouth West1894558215 18,78019,021capel.wa.gov.auBunbury RD until 1907
Carnamah, Shire ofCarnamahMid West19232,8711,108 573572carnamah.wa.gov.auSplit from Irwin and Mingenew
Carnarvon, Shire ofCarnarvonGascoyne191146,67518,021 5,5265,531carnarvon.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 West19013,9811,537 1,6131,649chapmanvalley.wa.gov.auUpper Chapman until 1958
Chittering, Shire ofBindoonWheatbelt18961,220471 6,1006,301chittering.wa.gov.au
Christmas Island, Shire ofChristmas IslandAIOT199213653 1,7161,782[17]shire.gov.cxFederal external territory.
Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Shire ofHome IslandAIOT1992145 602614[17]shire.cc

Federal external territory.

Collie, Shire ofCollieSouth West19511,710660 9,0889,147collie.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of Municipality (1901) and RD (1900)
Coolgardie, Shire ofCoolgardieGoldfields192130,29811,698 3,6383,642coolgardie.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of Municipality (1894) and RD (1896)
Coorow, Shire ofCoorowMid West19624,1901,618 1,0911,091coorow.wa.gov.auSplit from Carnamah
Corrigin, Shire ofCorriginWheatbelt19132,6811,035 1,0281,022corrigin.wa.gov.au
Cranbrook, Shire ofCranbrookGreat Southern19263,2761,265 1,1371,141cranbrook.wa.gov.au
Cuballing, Shire ofCuballingWheatbelt19021,195461 927931cuballing.wa.gov.au
Cue, Shire ofCueMid West191213,5825,244 228230cue.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of Day Dawn M. (1894) and Cue RD (1895)
Cunderdin, Shire ofCunderdinWheatbelt18941,862719 1,3421,342cunderdin.wa.gov.auSplit from Northam, named Meckering until 1944
Dalwallinu, Shire ofDalwallinuWheatbelt19167,2242,789 1,4361,429dalwallinu.wa.gov.au
Dandaragan, Shire ofJurien BayWheatbelt18906,7122,592 3,4733,559dandaragan.wa.gov.au
Dardanup, Shire ofEatonSouth West1894526203 15,19915,373dardanup.wa.gov.au
Denmark, Shire ofDenmarkGreat Southern19111,860718 6,4676,534denmark.wa.gov.au
Derby–West Kimberley, Shire ofDerbyKimberley1884119,73146,228 8,4148,411sdwk.wa.gov.auWest Kimberley until 1983
Donnybrook–Balingup, Shire ofDonnybrookSouth West19701,560602 6,3126,400donnybrook-balingup.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Shire of Donnybrook, Preston RD until 1961 (1896)
Shire of Balingup, Upper Capel RD until 1905 (1899)
Dowerin, Shire ofDowerinWheatbelt19111,863719 733732dowerin.wa.gov.au
Dumbleyung, Shire ofDumbleyungWheatbelt19092,539980 699693dumbleyung.wa.gov.au]
Dundas, Shire ofNorsemanGoldfields192992,88635,863 699697dundas.wa.gov.au
East Pilbara, Shire ofNewmanPilbara1972372,296143,744 10,37710,307eastpilbara.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Shire of Marble Bar (1896)
Shire of Nullagine (1898)
Esperance, Shire ofEsperanceGoldfields189544,79817,297 14,39814,500esperance.wa.gov.auAbsorbed municipality (1895–1908)
Exmouth, Shire ofExmouthGascoyne19646,4882,505 3,2053,313exmouth.wa.gov.au
Gingin, Shire ofGinginWheatbelt18933,2081,239 5,7515,892gingin.wa.gov.auAbsorbed municipality (1893–1903)
Gnowangerup, Shire ofGnowangerupGreat Southern19124,2651,647 1,2601,262gnowangerup.wa.gov.au
Goomalling, Shire ofGoomallingWheatbelt19271,835708 985985goomalling.wa.gov.au
Greater Geraldton, City ofGeraldtonMid West20119,9093,826 41,19841,514cgg.wa.gov.auFormerly:
City of Geraldton (1871–2007)
Shire of Greenough (1951–2007)
Shire of Mullewa (1911–2011)
Halls Creek, Shire ofHalls CreekKimberley1887133,04651,369 4,0414,102hcshire.wa.gov.auKimberley Goldfields until 1915
Harvey, Shire ofHarveySouth West18941,728667 29,63130,141harvey.wa.gov.au
Irwin, Shire ofDongaraMid West18712,369915 3,7713,795irwin.wa.gov.au
Jerramungup, Shire ofJerramungupGreat Southern19826,5112,514 1,1961,196jerramungup.wa.gov.auSplit from Gnowangerup
Kalgoorlie–Boulder, City ofKalgoorlieGoldfields198995,50036,873 30,67430,697kalbould.wa.gov.auFormerly:
Town of Kalgoorlie (1897–1989)
Shire of Boulder (1969–1989)
Karratha, City ofKarrathaPilbara188715,2385,883 23,42123,778karratha.wa.gov.auAbsorbed Roebourne and Cossack municipalities in 1910, was known as Shire of Roebourne until 2014
Katanning, Shire ofKatanningGreat Southern18921,518586 4,2264,233katanning.wa.gov.au
Kellerberrin, Shire ofKellerberrinWheatbelt19081,915739 1,1781,178kellerberrin.wa.gov.au
Kent, Shire ofNyabingGreat Southern19225,6252,172 506506kent.wa.gov.auNyabing–Pingrup 1955–1972
Kojonup, Shire ofKojonupGreat Southern18712,9311,132 1,9651,972kojonup.wa.gov.au
Kondinin, Shire ofKondininWheatbelt19257,4412,873 872866kondinin.wa.gov.au
Koorda, Shire ofKoordaWheatbelt19272,8321,093 373373koorda.wa.gov.au
Kulin, Shire ofKulinWheatbelt19184,7191,822 791784kulin.wa.gov.auRoe until 1926
Lake Grace, Shire ofLake GraceWheatbelt192211,8864,589 1,3001,290lakegrace.wa.gov.au
Laverton, Shire ofLavertonGoldfields1906179,99469,496 1,4321,433laverton.wa.gov.auMount Margaret until 1950, absorbed Mount Morgans M (1900–1913)
Leonora, Shire ofLeonoraGoldfields191231,91512,322 1,7171,720leonora.wa.gov.au
Mandurah, City ofMandurahPeel194917568 93,41495,509mandurah.wa.gov.auCity in 1990
Manjimup, Shire ofManjimupSouth West19087,0302,714 9,3519,416manjimup.wa.gov.auWarren until 1925
Meekatharra, Shire ofMeekatharraMid West1909100,18938,683 1,2871,293meekashire.wa.gov.au
Menzies, Shire ofMenziesGoldfields1912124,11547,921 569570menzies.wa.gov.au
Merredin, Shire ofMerredinWheatbelt19213,2941,272 3,2213,228merredin.wa.gov.au
Mingenew, Shire ofMingenewMid West19011,935747 423423mingenew.wa.gov.auUpper Irwin until 1919
Moora, Shire ofMooraWheatbelt19083,7631,453 2,3842,371moora.wa.gov.auSplit from Victoria Plains
Morawa, Shire ofMorawaMid West19283,5111,356 669668morawa.wa.gov.auSplit from Perenjori–Morawa RD
Mount Magnet, Shire ofMount MagnetMid West190113,8585,351 698701mtmagnet.wa.gov.auAbsorbed municipality (1896–1901)
Mount Marshall, Shire ofBencubbinWheatbelt192310,1853,932 467463mtmarshall.wa.gov.au
Mukinbudin, Shire ofMukinbudinWheatbelt19333,4271,323 593587mukinbudin.wa.gov.au
Murchison, Shire ofMurchisonMid West187545,04617,392 108108murchison.wa.gov.au
Murray, Shire ofPinjarraPeel18871,706659 18,64119,104murray.wa.gov.au
Nannup, Shire ofNannupSouth West18903,0541,179 1,5741,586nannup.wa.gov.auLower Blackwood until 1925
Narembeen, Shire ofNarembeenWheatbelt19253,8091,471 820821narembeen.wa.gov.au
Narrogin, Shire ofNarroginWheatbelt18921,631630 4,9374,953narrogin.wa.gov.auAbsorbed Town of Narrogin (1906–2016)
Ngaanyatjarraku, Shire ofWarburtonGoldfields1993159,81661,705 1,4761,478ngaanyatjarraku.wa.gov.au
Northam, Shire ofNorthamWheatbelt18711,431553 11,81011,940northam.wa.gov.auAbsorbed Town of Northam (1879–2007)
Northampton, Shire ofNorthamptonMid West187112,5444,843 3,3353,332northampton.wa.gov.auMines RD until 1887
Nungarin, Shire ofNungarinWheatbelt19211,166450 263261nungarin.wa.gov.au
Perenjori, Shire ofPerenjoriMid West19168,3013,205 652651perenjori.wa.gov.auPerenjori–Morawa until 1928
Pingelly, Shire ofPingellyWheatbelt18911,295500 1,0721,067pingelly.wa.gov.auMoorumbine until 1913
Plantagenet, Shire ofMount BarkerGreat Southern18714,8771,883 5,5345,590plantagenet.wa.gov.au
Port Hedland, Town ofPort HedlandPilbara189118,4177,111 16,66016,987porthedland.wa.gov.auPilbara until 1904. Town 1989
Quairading, Shire ofQuairadingWheatbelt19132,017779 982983quairading.wa.gov.auAvon until 1922
Ravensthorpe, Shire ofRavensthorpeGreat Southern19009,8423,800 2,1572,190ravensthorpe.wa.gov.auPhillips River until 1961
Sandstone, Shire ofSandstoneMid West189732,60512,589 117117sandstone.wa.gov.auBlack Range until 1961
Shark Bay, Shire ofDenhamGascoyne190424,2019,344 1,0691,076sharkbay.wa.gov.au
Tammin, Shire ofTamminWheatbelt19481,102425 401402tammin.wa.gov.auSplit from Cunderdin
Three Springs, Shire ofThree SpringsMid West19282,6571,026 587587threesprings.wa.gov.au
Toodyay, Shire ofToodyayWheatbelt19121,692653 4,7134,812toodyay.wa.gov.auAmalgamation of Newcastle M (1877) and Toodyay RD (1871)
Trayning, Shire ofTrayningWheatbelt19111,651637 307304trayning.wa.gov.au
Upper Gascoyne, Shire ofGascoyne JunctionGascoyne188757,81022,321 180187uppergascoyne.wa.gov.au
Victoria Plains, Shire ofCalingiriWheatbelt18712,551985 832827victoriaplains.wa.gov.au
Wagin, Shire ofWaginWheatbelt18871,946751 1,8021,811wagin.wa.gov.auArthur until 1905. Absorbed municipality (1906–1961)
Wandering, Shire ofWanderingWheatbelt18741,904735 551548wandering.wa.gov.au
Waroona, Shire ofWaroonaPeel1898832321 4,3574,405waroona.wa.gov.auDrakesbrook until 1961
West Arthur, Shire ofDarkanWheatbelt18962,8321,093 795799westarthur.wa.gov.au
Westonia, Shire ofWestoniaWheatbelt19163,3191,281 255252westonia.wa.gov.au
Wickepin, Shire ofWickepinWheatbelt19092,041788 712706wickepin.wa.gov.au
Williams, Shire ofWilliamsWheatbelt18712,305890 1,0501,055williams.wa.gov.au
Wiluna, Shire ofWilunaGoldfields1909181,29769,999 570572wiluna.wa.gov.au
Wongan–Ballidu, Shire ofWongan HillsWheatbelt18873,3651,299 1,3381,339wongan.wa.gov.auMelbourne until 1926
Woodanilling, Shire ofWoodanillingGreat Southern19061,129436 468469woodanilling.wa.gov.au
Wyalkatchem, Shire ofWyalkatchemWheatbelt19201,595616 484484wyalkatchem.wa.gov.au
Wyndham East Kimberley, Shire ofKununurraKimberley1887112,06643,269 8,0538,058swek.wa.gov.auEast Kimberley until 1896, Wyndham until 1961
Yalgoo, Shire ofYalgooMid West190727,95010,792 364365yalgoo.wa.gov.auUpper Murchison until 1912
Yilgarn, Shire ofSouthern CrossWheatbelt189130,42911,749 1,2061,196yilgarn.wa.gov.auAbsorbed Southern Cross M (1892–1918)
York, Shire ofYorkWheatbelt18712,132823 3,5533,565york.wa.gov.auAbsorbed Town of York (1871–1965)
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Regional councils

Currently, Western Australia has ten regional councils. Each regional council comprises two or more local government areas (LGAs).

Metropolitan regional councils

Non-metropolitan regional councils

References

External links

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