Advisory Board : Overview
The Local Government Advisory Board is a statutory body established under the
Local Government Act 1995 (The Act) to provide advice to the Minister for Local Government on local government constitutional matters. It has five members including members nominated by local government and the Department of Local Government.
The Board’s major function is to assess proposals to change local government boundaries and their systems of representation and then make recommendations to the Minister.
Changes to Local Government District Boundaries
Under Schedule 2.1 of the Act, proposals to change local government district boundaries can be submitted to the Board by the Minister, local governments or electors of an affected local government.
View the
Processes Associated with Making Submissions for District Boundary Changes (July 2009)
Electors may wish to view the following documents:
Where the Board decides that a proposed district boundary change is not minor, it must conduct formal inquiries giving affected local governments and electors 6 weeks to make submissions.
In assessing proposals, the Board must consider any submissions received during the submission period and takes the following specific factors into consideration:
- Community of interest
- Physical and topographic features
- Demographic trends
- Economic factors
- The history of the area
- Transport and communication
- Matters affecting the viability of local governments
- The effective delivery of local government services
View the
Guiding Principles for an explanation of how the board interprets these factors.
When its assessment is complete, the Board submits a report to the Minister for Local Government with a recommendation. This may recommend that the proposal be accepted or rejected. The Minister may accept or reject the Board’s recommendation but cannot change it.
Changes to Wards and Representation
Under Schedule 2.2 of the Act, local governments with wards must conduct regular reviews of ward boundaries of representation in consultation with their communities.
An explanation of the processes for reviewing ward boundaries and representation (June 2006)
For advice about how to complete a review, local governments may wish to view the
Information Package
Electors may wish to view
Form 3 Community submission about changes to wards, name or representation
The Board considers the outcome of these reviews and ensures that the local governments have complied with the Act.
Where after a review, a local government proposes to change its system of representation the Board must be satisfied that the Council has correctly considered the following criteria:
- Community of interest
- Physical and topographic features
- Demographic trends
- Economic factors
- The ratio of councillors to electors in the various wards
If it is not satisfied that this criteria has been taken into account it may ask the local government to reconsider its decision or to do a further review.
The Board must recommend to the Minister any proposal that in its opinion correctly takes account of the above criteria. The Minister may accept or reject the Board’s recommendation but cannot change it.