The Minister for Local Government forms electoral representation advisory panels to review the electoral structures of local councils. These reviews are known as electoral structure reviews.

Councils under review

There are 39 local councils must have their electoral structure reviewed, and residents can have their say. The reviews are being held in 3 rounds that will conclude in January 2024.

The second round of reviews are underway. This round covers some metropolitan and regional city councils.

Find councils under review

The first round of reviews was completed in May 2023. It covered rural shire councils. Find completed reviews.

Why the reviews are being held

The Local Government Act 2020 (the Act) introduced several changes, including rules about the types of electoral structure councils can have.

According to the Act, all councils in Victoria must be structured in the following way:

Metropolitan, interface and regional city councils	Single-councillor wards
Large and small rural shire councils	Unsubdivided or Multi-councillor wards with equal number of councillors per ward or Single-councillor wards

Currently, the structures of 39 local councils do not meet the requirements of the Act and must change.

To make sure all councils meet these requirements, the Minister for Local Government has formed 2 panels to conduct electoral structure reviews.

What the reviews will achieve

Metropolitan, interface and regional city councils

These councils must move to single-councillor ward electoral structures.

The panels will consider:

• the appropriate number of councillors and wards for the council
• the location of ward boundaries
• the name of each ward

Rural shire councils

The panels will consider if the council:

• has an appropriate number of councillors
• should be one large unsubdivided area or subdivided into wards.

What happens at the end of a review

The panels make a recommendation to the Minister for Local Government at the end of each review. It is up to the minister to review the recommendation and decide what is best for that council.

Once the minister has made their decision, any changes will apply at the next local council elections.

What the reviews do not cover

An electoral structure review cannot:

• change the external boundaries of a local council
• divide local councils
• combine local councils.

Have your say

Your input is valuable. As a local, you know your council area better than anyone. This is your chance to provide your views about the single-councillor ward electoral structure that you believe would best provide representation in your community. This is known as a submission. 

Find which councils are under review and submission open dates.

About the electoral representation advisory panels

The fixed-term panels are formed by the Minister for Local Government to carry out electoral structure reviews.

We provide administrative and technical support to the panels. The Electoral Commissioner (or a delegate) must be a panel member.

The minister has appointed the following panels:

Panel 1

• The Hon. Frank Vincent AO KC (Chair)
• Ms Liz Williams PSM
• Acting Deputy Electoral Commissioner Ms Máiréad Doyle (nominated representative of the Electoral Commissioner)

Panel 2

• Ms Julie Eisenbise (Chair)
• Mr Tim Presnell
• Acting Electoral Commissioner Ms Dana Fleming.