Map of local government areas in Western Australia
The local government areas (LGAs) in the Australian state of Western Australia describes the 140 institutions and processes by which towns and districts can 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 government , established by two or more local governments for a particular purpose.[2]
There are three classifications of local government in Western Australia:
City – predominantly urban, some larger regional centres
Town – predominantly inner urban and three medium-sized rural centres
Shire – predominantly rural or outer suburban areas
The Shire of Christmas Island and the Shire of Cocos are Federal external territories and covered by the Indian Ocean Territories Administration of Laws Act which allows the 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.
Historically, two types of local government existed – municipalities , which represented towns or condensed urban areas, and road districts, which represented all other regions. For instance, the Perth Road District was the precursor to the City of Stirling . 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.
Metropolitan LGAs [ edit ]
Local government area
Council seat[3]
Year est.
Land area
Population
(2013)[4]
Notes
km²
sq mi
Armadale, City of
Armadale
1894
560
216
73,725
Armadale-Kelmscott until 1979
Bassendean, Town of
Bassendean
1901
10
4
15,923
West Guildford until 1922
Bayswater, City of
Morley
1897
33
13
69,493
Belmont, City of
Cloverdale
1898
40
15
40,083
Cambridge, Town of
Floreat
1994
22
8
27,997
Split from Perth
Canning, City of
Cannington
1907
65
25
96,356
Placed under control of a Commissioner in 2012
Claremont, Town of
Claremont
1898
5
2
10,359
Cockburn, City of
Spearwood
1871
168
65
103,351
Fremantle RD until 1959
Cottesloe, Town of
Cottesloe
1895
4
2
8,572
East Fremantle, Town of
East Fremantle
1897
3
1
7,736
Fremantle, City of
Fremantle
1871
19
7
30,321
Gosnells, City of
Gosnells
1907
127
49
121,252
Joondalup, City of
Joondalup
1998
99
38
167,623
Split from Wanneroo .
Kalamunda, Shire of
Kalamunda
1897
324
125
59,716
Governed by commissioner until 1961.
Kwinana, City of
Kwinana Town Centre
1954
120
46
34,413
Melville, City of
Ardross
1900
53
20
106,335
Mosman Park, Town of
Mosman Park
1899
4
2
9,506
Split from Peppermint Grove RD. Buckland Hill RD 1899-1908, 1930-1937; Cottesloe Beach RD 1908-1930.
Mundaring, Shire of
Mundaring
1903
644
249
39,796
Greenmount until 1932.
Nedlands, City of
Nedlands
1893
20
8
22,918
Claremont RD until 1932.
Peppermint Grove, Shire of
Peppermint Grove
1895
1
0
1,681
Perth, City of
Perth
1856
8
3
20,285
Rockingham, City of
Rockingham
1897
257
99
120,859
South Perth, City of
South Perth
1892
20
8
46,113
Stirling, City of
Stirling
1871
105
41
223,317
Shire of Perth until 1971.
Subiaco, City of
Subiaco
1896
7
3
19,693
Swan, City of
Midland
1871
1,044
403
124,782
Victoria Park, Town of
Victoria Park
1994
18
7
37,682
Split from Perth .
Vincent, City of
Leederville
1994
11
4
36,692
Split from Perth .
Wanneroo, City of
Wanneroo
1902
686
265
178,438
Non-metropolitan LGAs [ edit ]
Local government area
Council seat[3]
Region
Year est.
Popn.
(2013) [4]
Land area
Website
Notes
km²
sq mi
Albany, City of
Albany
Great Southern
1998
36,262
4,310.5
1,664
albany .wa .gov .au
Formerly:
Town of Albany (1871)
Shire of Albany (1871)
Ashburton, Shire of
Tom Price
Pilbara
1972
10,959
202,325
78,118
ashburton .wa .gov .au
West Pilbara until 1987. Formerly:
Shire of Ashburton (1887)
Shire of Tableland (1896)
Augusta-Margaret River, Shire of
Margaret River
South West
1891
13,168
2,123
820
amrsc .wa .gov .au
Augusta until 1926
Beverley, Shire of
Beverley
Wheatbelt
1871
1,566
2,372
916
beverley .wa .gov .au
Boddington, Shire of
Boddington
Peel
1903
2,471
1,900
734
boddington .wa .gov .au
Marradong until 1961
Boyup Brook, Shire of
Boyup Brook
South West
1896
1,738
2,827
1,092
boyupbrook .wa .gov .au
Upper Blackwood until 1969
Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Shire of
Bridgetown
South West
1970
4,513
1,340
517
bridgetown .wa .gov .au
Formerly:
Shire of Bridgetown, Nelson RD until 1917 , (1887)
Shire of Greenbushes (1900)
Brookton, Shire of
Brookton
Wheatbelt
1906
992
1,602
619
brookton .wa .gov .au
Broome, Shire of
Broome
Kimberley
1918
17,251
54,797
21,157
broome .wa .gov .au
Broomehill-Tambellup, Shire of
Tambellup
Great Southern
2007
1,167
2,610
1,008
shirebt .wa .gov .au
Formerly:
Shire of Broomehill (1892)
Shire of Tambellup (1905)
Bruce Rock, Shire of
Bruce Rock
Wheatbelt
1913
996
2,727
1,053
brucerock .wa .gov .au
East Avon until 1918
Bunbury, City of
Bunbury
South West
1871
33,623
65
25
bunbury .wa .gov .au
City in 1979
Busselton, City of
Busselton
South West
1951
34,290
1,455
562
busselton .wa .gov .au
Amalgamation of Municipality and RD (both 1871)
Capel, Shire of
Capel
South West
1894
16,447
558
215
capel .wa .gov .au
Bunbury RD until 1907
Carnamah, Shire of
Carnamah
Mid West
1923
550
2,876
1,110
carnamah .wa .gov .au
Split from Irwin and Mingenew
Carnarvon, Shire of
Carnarvon
Gascoyne
1911
6,139
46,665
18,017
carnarvon .wa .gov .au
Formerly:
Town of Carnarvon (1891–1965)
Lower Gascoyne RD (1887–1911)
Minilya RD (1893–1911)
Chapman Valley, Shire of
Nabawa
Mid West
1901
1,214
3,988
1,540
chapmanvalley .wa .gov .au
Upper Chapman until 1958
Chittering, Shire of
Bindoon
Wheatbelt
1896
4,996
1,221
471
chittering .wa .gov .au
Christmas Island, Shire of
Christmas Island
1992
1462
137
53
shire .gov .cx
Federal external territory
Cocos, Shire of
Home Island
1992
605
14
5
shire .cc
Federal external territory
Collie, Shire of
Collie
South West
1951
9,692
1,711
661
collie .wa .gov .au
Amalgamation of Municipality (1901) and RD (1900)
Coolgardie, Shire of
Coolgardie
Goldfields
1921
4,324
30,381
11,730
coolgardie .wa .gov .au
Amalgamation of Municipality (1894) and RD (1896)
Coorow, Shire of
Coorow
Mid West
1962
1,085
4,194
1,619
coorow .wa .gov .au
Split from Carnamah
Corrigin, Shire of
Corrigin
Wheatbelt
1913
1,099
2,682
1,036
corrigin .wa .gov .au
Cranbrook, Shire of
Cranbrook
Great Southern
1926
1,101
3,278
1,266
cranbrook .wa .gov .au
Cuballing, Shire of
Cuballing
Wheatbelt
1902
878
1,196
462
cuballing .wa .gov .au
Cue, Shire of
Cue
Mid West
1912
298
13,607
5,254
cue .wa .gov .au
Amalgamation of Day Dawn M. (1894) and Cue RD (1895)
Cunderdin, Shire of
Cunderdin
Wheatbelt
1894
1,302
1,864
720
cunderdin .wa .gov .au
Split from Northam, named Meckering until 1944
Dalwallinu, Shire of
Dalwallinu
Wheatbelt
1916
1,295
7,235
2,793
dalwallinu .wa .gov .au
Dandaragan, Shire of
Jurien Bay
Wheatbelt
1890
3,325
6,718
2,594
dandaragan .wa .gov .au
Dardanup, Shire of
Dardanup
South West
1894
13,791
526
203
dardanup .wa .gov .au
Denmark, Shire of
Denmark
Great Southern
1911
5,748
1,860
718
denmark .wa .gov .au
Derby-West Kimberley, Shire of
Derby
Kimberley
1884
10,047
120,228
46,420
sdwk .wa .gov .au
West Kimberley until 1983
Donnybrook-Balingup, Shire of
Donnybrook
South West
1970
5,753
1,561
603
donnybrook-balingup .wa .gov .au
Formerly:
Shire of Donnybrook, Preston RD until 1961 (1896)
Shire of Balingup, Upper Capel RD until 1905 (1899)
Dowerin, Shire of
Dowerin
Wheatbelt
1911
672
1,865
720
dowerin .wa .gov .au
Dumbleyung, Shire of
Dumbleyung
Wheatbelt
1909
608
2,542
981
dumbleyung .wa .gov .au ]
Dundas, Shire of
Norseman
Goldfields
1929
1,182
92,656
35,775
dundas .wa .gov .au
East Pilbara, Shire of
Newman
Pilbara
1972
12,960
372,301
143,746
eastpilbara .wa .gov .au
Formerly:
Shire of Marble Bar (1896)
Shire of Nullagine (1898)
Esperance, Shire of
Esperance
Goldfields
1895
14,242
45,059
17,397
esperance .wa .gov .au
Absorbed municipality (1895–1908)
Exmouth, Shire of
Exmouth
Gascoyne
1964
2,570
6,504
2,511
exmouth .wa .gov .au
Gingin, Shire of
Gingin
Wheatbelt
1893
5,248
3,211
1,240
gingin .wa .gov .au
Absorbed municipality (1893–1903)
Gnowangerup, Shire of
Gnowangerup
Great Southern
1912
1,303
4,267
1,647
gnowangerup .wa .gov .au
Goomalling, Shire of
Goomalling
Wheatbelt
1927
976
1,837
709
goomalling .wa .gov .au
Greater Geraldton, City of
Geraldton
Mid West
2011
40,448
9,903
3,824
cgg .wa .gov .au
Formerly:
City of Geraldton (1871–2007)
Shire of Greenough (1951–2007)
Shire of Mullewa (1911–2011)
Halls Creek, Shire of
Halls Creek
Kimberley
1887
3,940
133,359
51,490
hcshire .wa .gov .au
Kimberley Goldfields until 1915
Harvey, Shire of
Harvey
South West
1894
25,924
1,729
668
harvey .wa .gov .au
Irwin, Shire of
Dongara
Mid West
1871
3,780
2,375
917
irwin .wa .gov .au
Jerramungup, Shire of
Jerramungup
Great Southern
1982
1,085
6,509
2,513
jerramungup .wa .gov .au
Split from Gnowangerup
Kalgoorlie-Boulder, City of
Kalgoorlie
Goldfields
1989
33,763
95,242
36,773
kalbould .wa .gov .au
Formerly:
Town of Kalgoorlie (1897–1989)
Shire of Boulder (1969–1989)
Karratha, City of
Karratha
Pilbara
1887
25,907
15,278
5,899
karratha .wa .gov .au
Absorbed Roebourne and Cossack municipalities in 1910, was known as Shire of Roebourne until 2014.
Katanning, Shire of
Katanning
Great Southern
1892
4,407
1,519
586
katanning .wa .gov .au
Kellerberrin, Shire of
Kellerberrin
Wheatbelt
1908
1,227
1,917
740
kellerberrin .wa .gov .au
Kent, Shire of
Nyabing
Great Southern
1922
528
5,631
2,174
kent .wa .gov .au
Nyabing-Pingrup 1955–1972
Kojonup, Shire of
Kojonup
Great Southern
1871
2,022
2,932
1,132
kojonup .wa .gov .au
Kondinin, Shire of
Kondinin
Wheatbelt
1925
1,042
7,427
2,868
kondinin .wa .gov .au
Koorda, Shire of
Koorda
Wheatbelt
1927
431
2,835
1,095
koorda .wa .gov .au
Kulin, Shire of
Kulin
Wheatbelt
1918
834
4,720
1,822
kulin .wa .gov .au
Roe until 1926
Lake Grace, Shire of
Lake Grace
Wheatbelt
1922
1,370
11,892
4,592
lakegrace .wa .gov .au
Laverton, Shire of
Laverton
Goldfields
1906
1,357
180,127
69,547
laverton .wa .gov .au
Mount Margaret until 1950, absorbed Mount Morgans M (1900–1913)
Leonora, Shire of
Leonora
Goldfields
1912
2,764
31,941
12,332
leonora .wa .gov .au
Mandurah, City of
Mandurah
Peel
1949
80,683
174
67
mandurah .wa .gov .au
City in 1990
Manjimup, Shire of
Manjimup
South West
1908
9,427
7,027
2,713
manjimup .wa .gov .au
Warren until 1925
Meekatharra, Shire of
Meekatharra
Mid West
1909
1,521
100,327
38,736
meekashire .wa .gov .au
Menzies, Shire of
Menzies
Goldfields
1912
422
124,794
48,183
menzies .wa .gov .au
Merredin, Shire of
Merredin
Wheatbelt
1921
3,300
3,297
1,273
merredin .wa .gov .au
Mingenew, Shire of
Mingenew
Mid West
1901
486
1,937
748
mingenew .wa .gov .au
Upper Irwin until 1919
Moora, Shire of
Moora
Wheatbelt
1908
2,535
3,767
1,454
moora .wa .gov .au
Split from Victoria Plains
Morawa, Shire of
Morawa
Mid West
1928
906
3,517
1,358
morawa .wa .gov .au
Split from Perenjori-Morawa RD
Mount Magnet, Shire of
Mount Magnet
Mid West
1901
711
13,893
5,364
mtmagnet .wa .gov .au
Absorbed municipality (1896–1901)
Mount Marshall, Shire of
Bencubbin
Wheatbelt
1923
471
10,197
3,937
mtmarshall .wa .gov .au
Mukinbudin, Shire of
Mukinbudin
Wheatbelt
1933
491
3,438
1,327
mukinbudin .wa .gov .au
Murchison, Shire of
Murchison
Mid West
1875
127
45,110
17,417
murchison .wa .gov .au
Murray, Shire of
Pinjarra
Peel
1887
16,304
1,711
661
murray .wa .gov .au
Nannup, Shire of
Nannup
South West
1890
1,316
3,055
1,180
nannup .wa .gov .au
Lower Blackwood until 1925
Narembeen, Shire of
Narembeen
Wheatbelt
1925
810
3,836
1,481
narembeen .wa .gov .au
Narrogin, Town of
Narrogin
Wheatbelt
1906
4,430
13
5
narrogin .wa .gov .au
Narrogin, Shire of
Narrogin
Wheatbelt
1892
884
1,619
625
narrogin .wa .gov .au
Ngaanyatjarraku, Shire of
Warburton
Goldfields
1,543
160,733
62,059
ngaanyatjarraku .wa .gov .au
Northam, Shire of
Northam
Wheatbelt
1871
11,730
1,432
553
northam .wa .gov .au
Absorbed Town of Northam (1879–2007)
Northampton, Shire of
Northampton
Mid West
1871
3,379
12,638
4,880
northampton .wa .gov .au
Mines RD until 1887
Nungarin, Shire of
Nungarin
Wheatbelt
1921
228
1,164
449
nungarin .wa .gov .au
Perenjori, Shire of
Perenjori
Mid West
1916
924
8,311
3,209
perenjori .wa .gov .au
Perenjori-Morawa until 1928
Pingelly, Shire of
Pingelly
Wheatbelt
1891
1,195
1,295
500
pingelly .wa .gov .au
Moorumbine until 1913
Plantagenet, Shire of
Mount Barker
Great Southern
1871
5,182
4,877
1,883
plantagenet .wa .gov .au
Port Hedland, Town of
Port Hedland
Pilbara
1891
16,472
18,482
7,136
porthedland .wa .gov .au
Pilbara until 1904. Town 1989
Quairading, Shire of
Quairading
Wheatbelt
1913
1,094
2,018
779
quairading .wa .gov .au
Avon until 1922
Ravensthorpe, Shire of
Ravensthorpe
Goldfields
1900
2,288
9,833
3,797
ravensthorpe .wa .gov .au
Phillips River until 1961
Sandstone, Shire of
Sandstone
Mid West
1897
116
32,714
12,631
sandstone .wa .gov .au
Black Range until 1961
Serpentine-Jarrahdale, Shire of
Mundijong
Peel
1894
21,162
905
349
sjshire .wa .gov .au
Shark Bay, Shire of
Denham
Gascoyne
1904
928
24,184
9,337
sharkbay .wa .gov .au
Tammin, Shire of
Tammin
Wheatbelt
1948
401
1,103
426
tammin .wa .gov .au
Split from Cunderdin
Three Springs, Shire of
Three Springs
Mid West
1928
632
2,656
1,025
threesprings .wa .gov .au
Toodyay, Shire of
Toodyay
Wheatbelt
1912
4,886
1,693
654
toodyay .wa .gov .au
Amalgamation of Newcastle M (1877) and Toodyay RD (1871)
Trayning, Shire of
Trayning
Wheatbelt
1911
342
1,652
638
trayning .wa .gov .au
Upper Gascoyne, Shire of
Gascoyne Junction
Gascoyne
1887
262
58,007
22,397
uppergascoyne .wa .gov .au
Victoria Plains, Shire of
Calingiri
Wheatbelt
1871
921
2,553
986
victoriaplains .wa .gov .au
Wagin, Shire of
Wagin
Wheatbelt
1887
1,975
1,947
752
wagin .wa .gov .au
Arthur until 1905. Absorbed municipality (1906–1961)
Wandering, Shire of
Wandering
Wheatbelt
1874
438
1,901
734
wandering .wa .gov .au
Waroona, Shire of
Waroona
Peel
1898
3,843
832
321
waroona .wa .gov .au
Drakesbrook until 1961
West Arthur, Shire of
Darkan
Wheatbelt
1896
887
2,834
1,094
westarthur .wa .gov .au
Westonia, Shire of
Westonia
Wheatbelt
1916
272
3,316
1,280
westonia .wa .gov .au
Wickepin, Shire of
Wickepin
Wheatbelt
1909
750
2,041
788
wickepin .wa .gov .au
Williams, Shire of
Williams
Wheatbelt
1871
928
2,306
890
williams .wa .gov .au
Wiluna, Shire of
Wiluna
Mid West
1909
1,279
181,662
70,140
wiluna .wa .gov .au
Wongan-Ballidu, Shire of
Wongan Hills
Wheatbelt
1887
1,586
3,368
1,300
wongan .wa .gov .au
Melbourne until 1926
Woodanilling, Shire of
Woodanilling
Great Southern
1906
429
1,129
436
woodanilling .wa .gov .au
Wyalkatchem, Shire of
Wyalkatchem
Wheatbelt
1920
519
1,596
616
wyalkatchem .wa .gov .au
Wyndham-East Kimberley, Shire of
Kununurra
Kimberley
1998
8,652
112,416
43,404
swek .wa .gov .au
Wyndham until 1961
Yalgoo, Shire of
Yalgoo
Mid West
1907
445
27,976
10,802
yalgoo .wa .gov .au
Upper Murchison until 1912
Yilgarn, Shire of
Southern Cross
Wheatbelt
1891
1,698
30,405
11,739
yilgarn .wa .gov .au
Absorbed Southern Cross M (1892–1918)
York, Shire of
York
Wheatbelt
1871
3,581
2,133
824
york .wa .gov .au
Absorbed Town of York (1871–1965)
Regional local governments [ edit ]
Bunbury Harvey Regional Council, comprising the LGAs of City of Bunbury and Shire of Harvey [5]
Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council, comprising the LGAs of Town of Bassendean , City of Bayswater , City of Belmont , Shire of Kalamunda , Shire of Mundaring and City of Swan [6]
Geraldton Greenough Regional Council (no longer operating, refer to City of Greater Geralton )
Great Southern Regional Council, dissolved[7]
Mindarie Regional Council, comprising the LGAs of Town of Cambridge , City of Joondalup , City of Perth , City of Stirling , Town of Victoria Park , City of Vincent and City of Wanneroo [8]
Pilbara Regional Council, comprising the LGAs of Shire of Ashburton , Shire of East Pilbara , City of Karratha and Town of Port Hedland [9]
Rivers Regional Council, comprising the LGAs of City of Armadale , City of Gosnells , City of Mandurah , Shire of Murray , Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale and City of South Perth [10]
Southern Metropolitan Regional Council, comprising the LGAs of City of Cockburn , Town of East Fremantle , City of Fremantle , City of Kwinana and City of Melville [11]
Tamala Park Regional Council, comprising the LGAs of Town of Cambridge , City of Joondalup , City of Perth , City of Stirling , Town of Victoria Park , City of Vincent and City of Wanneroo [12]
Western Metropolitan Regional Council, comprising the LGAs of Town of Claremont , Town of Cottesloe , Town of Mosman Park , Shire of Peppermint Grove and City of Subiaco [13]
Wildflower Country Regional Council,[14] comprising the LGAs of Shire of Carnamah , Shire of Coorow , Shire of Dalwallinu , Shire of Enneabba , Shire of Green Head , Shire of Leeman , Shire of Mingenew , Shire of Moora , Shire of Morawa , Shire of Mullewa , Shire of Perenjori , and Shire of Three Springs [15]
Yarra Yarra Catchment Regional Council[16]
References [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]
Local government areas of Western Australia
Perth Metropolitan
Gascoyne
Goldfields-Esperance
Great Southern
Kimberley
Mid West
Peel
Pilbara
South West
Wheatbelt
Indian Ocean territories
^* This LGA holds city status under the
Local Government Act 1995 ,
^† This LGA holds town status under the
Local Government Act 1995