External boundary & electoral arrangement reviews

The Change Commission is responsible for assessing proposed changes to external boundaries or electoral arrangements, and whether the changes are in the public interest.

An external boundary review considers proposed changes to the shared boundaries between councils.

An electoral arrangement review can include things like whether a council should be divided or undivided, the number of councillors representing the area, or a change to a council’s name or classification (i.e., whether it is a city, shire, region or town).

By law, there is no set timeframe for these types of reviews. The timing is subject to a range of factors such as the complexity of the proposal and public consultation requirements.

Please note: The Change Commission is legally required to address enrolment quotas in divided councils in the year before the local government quadrennial elections. Therefore, divisional boundary reviews must be prioritised during this time. The next divisional boundary reviews will occur in 2023.

Reviews

The Minister responsible for Local Government has referred the following change requests to the Change Commission for an independent assessment.

External boundary reviews

Electoral arrangement reviews

There are currently no electoral arrangement reviews being considered by the Change Commission.

Cook Shire Council - withdrawn

In 2019, the Change Commission was asked to assess changing the Cook Shire Council from an undivided council to a divided one.

The change was requested by the Cook Shire Council however in October 2021, the council resolved that it no longer wished to proceed with the proposal.

Following consideration of the council’s position, the Minister responsible for Local Government withdrew the referral to the Change Commission in December 2021.