Yarra City Council will move to a single-councillor ward structure for its 2024 election. This comes following a Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) electoral structure review, which takes place every 12 years.

This will mean that following the 2024 council elections Yarra will have 9 separate wards, each with one councillor. This is a change from our current structure of 3 wards each with 3 councillors.

Yarra is one of 39 Councils to have its electoral structure reviewed because of new requirements under the Local Government Act 2020 (the Act).

For residents of the City of Yarra there will be no significant difference to the way that they participate in the 2024 council elections based on this change. However, if you own a property or business in Yarra but do not live in the municipality, it is important that you register in the voter roll by August in order to participate in the election in October.

Prior to the completion of the review, Council made a submission to the VEC including a range of recommendations for the new ward structure. Council’s recommended ward boundaries were selected with careful consideration for existing communities, rather than selecting arbitrary boundaries based on major roads. 

Following Yarra’s 2024 elections, the following ward structure will be implemented:

• Boulevard Ward
• Curtain Ward
• Hoddle Ward
• Langridge Ward
• Lennox Ward
• MacKillop Ward
• Melba Ward
• Nicholls Ward
• Yarra Bend Ward

The review has not changed any external boundaries for the City of Yarra.

To ensure that all Councils meet the requirements under the Act, the Minister for Local Government formed two panels to conduct electoral structure reviews. The reviews were held over three rounds, concluding in January 2024.

The move to single-councillor wards is consistent among all metropolitan, interface and regional city councils. A broader range of structures are available for large and small rural shire councils.

You can learn more about Yarra’s electoral structure review from the Victorian Government here.