City of Ballarat

Updated on Nov 21, 2024

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Population 101,758 (2015 est) Mayor Cr Des Hudson Federal Division(s) Ballarat Founded 1994 Gazetted 6 May 1994		Established 1994 Region Western Victoria Area 740 km² Council seat Ballarat

State electorate(s) BuninyongRiponWendouree University Federation University Australia Points of interest Sovereign Hill, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Kryal Castle, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Sturt Street Gardens Destinations Ballarat, Creswick, Buninyong, Lake Wendouree - Victoria, Eureka - Victoria

The City of Ballarat is a local government area in the west of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and, at the 2011 Census, had a population of 93,501. It is primarily urban with the vast majority of its population living in the Greater Ballarat urban area, while other significant settlements within the LGA include Buninyong, Waubra, Learmonth and Addington. It was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the City of Ballaarat, Shire of Ballarat, Borough of Sebastopol and parts of the Shire of Bungaree, Shire of Buninyong, Shire of Grenville and Shire of Ripon.

Map of Ballarat, VIC, Australia

The City is governed and administered by the Ballarat City Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Ballarat, it also has a service centre located in Buninyong. The City is named after the main urban settlement lying in the centre-south of the LGA, that is Ballarat, which is also the LGA's most populous urban centre with a population of 85,935.

Current composition

The council is composed of three wards and nine councillors, with three councillors per ward elected to represent each ward. The current Council, elected in 2016, in order of election by ward, is:

Administration and governance

The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Ballarat Town Hall Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Ballarat, and its service centre in Buninyong.

The council's main offices are in a modern extension behind the Town Hall called The Phoenix. In 2009 the council voted to move to a new headquarters at Civic Hall on Mair Street, which would turn the heritage listed Town Hall building into a public general purpose venue.