Local Government Area (abbreviated LGA) is a term used in Australia (and especially by the Australian Bureau of Statistics) to refer to areas controlled by each individual local government.

Contents 1 Names 2 Creation and powers 3 By state/territory 3.1 New South Wales 3.2 Northern Territory 3.3 Queensland 3.4 South Australia 3.5 Tasmania 3.6 Victoria 3.7 Western Australia 3.8 Other territories 4 See also 5 External links

NamesEdit

The generic names of Local Governments vary from state to state; examples include Borough, City, District, Municipality, Region, Rural City, Shire and Town. Many local councils in New South Wales and some in South Australia no longer possess a classifier such as Shire or Municipality, but are simply known as Council, e.g. Manly Council or Waverley Council. This is due to the phenomenon in some regional variants of Australian English of referring to the geographic area belonging to a local government as a council, when in other countries this word refers only to the board of elected politicians that administers local government affairs.

In this wiki we propose to use the council names exactly as Wikipedia has them wherever there is no ambiguity. The names nearly all indicate something about government and are therefore partly distinguishable from geographic names such as those of towns and regions.

Creation and powersEdit

There are currently over 600 Local Government Areas in Australia.

The creation and delimitation of LGAs is the responsibility of the state and territory Governments. In all states and the Northern Territory, each incorporated area has an official status.

Another term used, especially for the LGA governing bodies, is G3 for the third level of Government in Australia: Commonwealth, State, LGA. G3 is difficult to accurately place in the structure of Australian Government; it is not mentioned in the Commonwealth Constitution, nor in most State Constitutional Law. State Governments are responsible for the legislation creating it, and ultimately for supervision. However, recent years have seen State governments increasingly devolving powers onto LGAs, as for example in Queensland where LGAs have been granted the power to independently enact their own (local) legislation, in contrast to the previous system of by-laws.

By state/territory Edit

New South WalesEdit

File:New South Wales Local Government Areas.svg.png

There are 152 LGAs in New South Wales, plus

• the Unincorporated Far West
• Lord Howe Island, which is also unincorporated, although governed by the Lord Howe Island Board.

LGAs may be designated cities, municipalities, shires, regions, or simply "councils". LGAs are classified in legislation as either Cities (C) or Areas (A) (all other types).

Northern TerritoryEdit

There are 63 LGAs in the Northern Territory, although only 6 of the councils are considered municipalities. LGA status types or classifiers currently in use are: Cities (C), Towns (T), Community Government Councils (CGC), and Shires (S).

QueenslandEdit

There are 73 LGAs in Queensland, including the Aboriginal councils, which have full Shire Council status from January 2007. LGA status types or classifiers currently in use are: Cities (C), Shires (S), Towns (T), and Island Councils (IC)

South AustraliaEdit

There are 69 LGAs in South Australia. LGA status types or classifiers currently in use are: Cities (C), Rural Cities (RC), Municipalities/Municipal Councils (M), District Councils (DC), Regional Councils (RegC), and Aboriginal Councils (AC). The Outback Areas Community Development Trust covers more than half the state, but is not in any LGA.

TasmaniaEdit

There are 29 LGAs in Tasmania. LGA status types or classifiers currently in use are: Cities (C) and Municipalities (M)

VictoriaEdit

There are 79 LGAs in Victoria, with LGA status types or classifiers currently in use are: Cities (C), Rural Cities (RC), Boroughs (B), and Shires (S). There is only one borough (the only one in Australia), the Borough of Queenscliffe.

Western AustraliaEdit

There are 144 LGAs in Western Australia, including Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands. LGA status types or classifiers currently in use are: Cities (C), Towns (T), and Shires (S)

Other territories Edit

The Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay Territory, and the external territories do not have Local Government Areas distinct from their Territory governments.

See also Edit

• Australian Local Government Association
• Local government in Australia

External linksEdit

• Australian Bureau of Statistics: Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) 2005

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