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Facts and Figures

There are a total of 537 councils Australia-wide. Around 55 per cent of councils are located in regional, rural, or remote areas, about 25 per cent urban and urban fringe and 20 per cent in urban regions.

Local government employs about 213,500 people, according to the latest ABS figures, across more than 400 occupations, which is nearly 12 per cent of the total public sector.

There are around 5,500 elected councillors in Australia, according to state and territory electoral commissions and the latest industry data.

The gender breakdown of the Australian local government workforce is 50.9 per cent male and 49.1 per cent female, according to ALGA’s 2022 Local Government Workforce Skills and Capability Survey.

Local government’s total annual expenditure in 2023-24 was approximately $48 billion, representing 9.8 per cent increase since 2022-23, according to latest ABS figures [Government Finance Statistics 2023-24]

Collectively, local government is responsible for about one-third of all Australia’s public infrastructure assets, according to the 2024 National State of the Assets (NSoA) report.

Local government non-financial assets including roads and community infrastructure, such as buildings, facilities, airports, water, and sewerage (in some states) including land, are valued at $643 billion, according to the 2024 NSoA report.

In 2025-26, the Australian Government will provide $3.45 billion in federal Financial Assistance Grants to councils.

These Financial Assistance Grants have slipped from one per cent of Commonwealth taxation revenue in 1996 to just 0.51 percent in 2025-26.  See more information.

General facts about local government

The first local government in Australia was established in Adelaide in 1840.

Australia’s largest council by population is Brisbane City Council, servicing a population of 1.32 million people.

The largest council by area is East Pilbara in Western Australia. It covers a massive 379,571 square km (larger than Victoria), with a population of around 11,000 people and 3,237km of roads.

The smallest local government area is the Shire of Peppermint Grove in Western Australia, covering 1.4 square kilometres, with 1,590 residents inhabiting 588 dwellings (ABS 2021).

Australia has had four Prime Ministers who served on local councils.

  • John Gorton (Kerang Shire Council)
  • Ben Chifley (Abercrombie Shire Council)
  • Earle Page (South Grafton Council)
  • Arthur Fadden (Townsville City Council).

Infrastructure and assets

Local roads comprise around 77 per cent of the national road network (by length) and service every Australian and business on a daily basis, according to the 2024 National State of the Assets (NSoA) report.

About 678,000km of the nation’s roads are managed by local governments, making up 38 per cent of total local government infrastructure, the 2024 NSoA report found.

Sealed and unsealed roads have a total replacement cost of $250 billion, the NSoA report showed.

The latest ABS figures [Government Finance Statistics 2023-24] shows the three highest levels of local government expenditure in 2023-24 were:

  • $10.9 billion on general public services
  • $10.4 billion on transport and communications
  • $7.9 billion on recreation, culture and religion.

Roles and responsibilities

Local government services cover a wide range of areas and can include:

  • Infrastructure and property services, including local roads, bridges, footpaths, drainage, waste collection and management
  • Provision of recreation facilities, such as parks, sports fields and stadiums, golf courses, swimming pools, sport centres, halls, camping grounds and caravan parks
  • Health services such as water and food inspection, immunisation services, toilet facilities, noise control and meat inspection and animal control
  • Community services, such as childcare, aged care and accommodation, community care and welfare services
  • Building services, including inspections, licensing, certification, and enforcement
  • Planning and development approval
  • Provision of and management of facilities, such as airports and aerodromes, ports and marinas, cemeteries, parking stations and on-street parking
  • Cultural facilities and services, such as libraries, art galleries and museums, and community events
  • Emergency Management including aspects of response, recovery and preparation
  • Water and sewerage services; and
  • Other services, such as abattoirs, saleyards and group purchasing schemes.