Local government in Australia

in Berrigan, New South Wales. council, a local government area within Sydney. , the offices of the City of Melbourne council. Local governments are subdivisions of the six federated states as well as the Northern Territory. The term "local government area" (LGA) is used by the ABS to collectively refer to all local government administrative zones regardless of the varying designations.The Australian Capital Territory has no separate local government, and municipal functions in Canberra and the surrounding regions (normally performed by local governments in other states) are performed by the ACT territorial government. Local government authorities across the country have similar functions and powers, but have different official designations in different states, which may vary based on whether the LGA is regional or for historical reasons. Below is a table that lists the various designations per state. Most urban municipalities in all states are "cities". Many in Western Australia are officially "towns", even within the Perth metropolitan area. The classification, at the two-digit level, is: • RA Rural Agricultural • RS Rural Significant • RT Rural Remote • UC Urban Capital • UD Urban Developed • UF Urban Fringe • UR Urban Regional ==Powers and functions==

in Caboolture, Queensland. All local governments are approximately equal in their theoretical powers, although LGAs that encompass large cities such as Brisbane and the Gold Coast command more resources due to their larger population base. Unlike local governments in many other countries, services such as police, fire protection and schools are provided by respective state or territory governments rather than by local councils. However, local governments still maintain some responsibility for fire service functions within Queensland and Western Australia. The councils' chief responsibility in the first half of the 20th century was the provision of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewerage. From the 1970s the emphasis changed to community facilities such as libraries and parks, maintenance of local roads, town planning and development approvals, and local services such as waste disposal. Child care, tourism and urban renewal were also beginning to be part of local governments' role. These are financed by collection of local land taxes known as "rates", and grants from the state and Commonwealth governments. They are caricatured as being concerned only with the "three Rs": Rates, Roads and Rubbish. However, the roles of local government areas in Australia have recently expanded as higher levels of government have devolved activities to the third tier. Examples include the provision of community health services, regional airports and pollution control ==History==

There is no mention of local government in the Constitution of Australia, though it is mentioned several times in the Annotated Constitution of Australia. "Municipal institutions and local government" appears in Annotation 447, and "Power of the Parliament of a Colony" appears under "Residuary Legislative Powers" on pages 935 and 936. The first official local government in Australia was the Perth Town Trust, established in 1838, only three years after British colonisation of Western Australia. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840. The City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. All of these early forms failed; it was not until the 1860s and 1870s that the various colonies established widespread stable forms of local government, mainly for the purpose of raising money to build roads in rural and outer-urban regions. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation, however local government was unquestionably regarded as outside the Constitutional realm. Reforms Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics and efficiency analysis developed within the private sector in the local government arena. Each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s. An increase in the range of services offered by councils, but only minor cost savings of less than 10% have been noted by academics as outcomes after mergers. The council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced a larger workload. The growth of the Regional Organisations of Councils has also been a factor in local government reform in Australia. In 1995, there were 50 such agreements across the country. A 2002 study identified 55 ROCs with the largest involving 18 councils. ==Constitutional position==

Local government powers are determined by state governments, and states have primary responsibility for funding and exclusive responsibility for supervision of local councils. Local government is mentioned in the annotated Australian constitution, as a department of the State Governments, and they are mentioned in the constitutions of each of the six states. Under the Constitution, the federal government cannot provide funding directly to local governments; a 1974 referendum sought to amend the Constitution to authorise the federal government to directly fund local governments, but it was defeated. A 1988 referendum sought to explicitly insert mention of local government in the federal constitution but this was comprehensively defeated. A further referendum was proposed in 2013, but was cancelled due to the change in the election date. Federal government interaction with local councils happens regularly through the provision of federal grants to help fund local government managed projects. State/territory control Local government in Australia has very limited legislative powers and no judicial powers, and executive-wise is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state/territory it belongs to. The functions and practices of local councils are mostly centered around managing public services and land uses at the community level, and are similar throughout Australia, but can vary to some degree between jurisdictions. State departments oversee the activities of local councils and may intervene in their affairs when needed, subject to relevant legislation. For more details in each state and territory, see the following: • Local government areas of New South Wales • Local government areas of the Northern Territory • Local government in Queensland and Local government areas of Queensland (list) • Local government areas of South Australia • Local government areas of Tasmania • Local government in Victoria and Local government areas of Victoria (list) • Local government areas of Western Australia The Australian Capital Territory is not divided into local government areas, so it is regarded as a single "unincorporated" local government area during censusing. ==Unincorporated areas==

Unlike many other countries, Australia has only one level of local government immediately beneath state and territorial governments. Aside from very sparsely populated areas and a few other special cases, almost all of Australia is part of a local government area. Unincorporated areas are often in remote locations, cover vast areas, or have very small populations. Queensland and Tasmania are entirely partitioned into LGAs and have no unincorporated areas. Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has no municipalities. The ACT government is responsible for both state-level and local-level matters. In some countries, such an arrangement would be referred to as a unitary authority, but the Australian Bureau of Statistics refers to the whole of the ACT as an unincorporated area. The ACT Government directorate Transport Canberra & City Services handles responsibilities that are under the purview of local government in other parts of Australia, such as local road maintenance, libraries and waste collection. Many Canberra districts have community organisations called "community councils", but these are not part of the government (though they generally receive government funding). They do not have the power to change laws or policies, and their role is limited to advising government. They are effectively residents' associations. New South Wales New South Wales has two unincorporated areas: • Lord Howe Island is managed by the Lord Howe Island Board, a State Government agency. • The Unincorporated Far West Region covers the western third of the state (other than the City of Broken Hill). This area is sparsely populated. Local government functions in this area are managed directly by the state government and its agencies. Northern Territory In the Northern Territory, 1.47% of the total area and 3.0% of the population are in unincorporated areas. These include the Cox-Daly and Marrakai-Douglas Daly areas in the Top End region, the Northern Territory Rates Act Area and Darwin Waterfront Precinct within Darwin, Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula, Alyangula on Groote Eylandt, and Yulara in Central Australia. South Australia In South Australia, 63% of the state's area is unincorporated. Residents in this area – less than 0.2% of the state's population – receive municipal services provided by a state agency, the Outback Communities Authority. Victoria Victoria has a number of unincorporated areas which are not part of any LGA, including French Island, the six alpine resorts (Falls Creek Alpine Resort, Lake Mountain Alpine Resort, Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort, Mount Buller Alpine Resort, Mount Hotham Alpine Resort, and Mount Stirling Alpine Resort) and Gabo Island. The Australian Bureau of Statistics includes numerous other uninhabited offshore islands, including Lady Julia Percy Island, in its definition of unincorporated areas of Victoria. Western Australia Western Australia has two unincorporated areas: • Abrolhos Islands, which are officially uninhabited and controlled by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. • Kings Park in central Perth, which is administered by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority. ==See also==