There are 574 local councils in Australia.
The average population is 41,904.
The average geographic area is 13,401 square kilometres.
The sector employs 188,900 people, an average of 329 per council.
Australia’s largest council by population is Brisbane City Council, with 1,052,458 people.
Australia’s largest council by area is East Pilbara in Western Australia. It covers an area of 371,696 square kilometres which is 1.4 times the size of Victoria and 5.4 times the size of Tasmania. Its population is 7,954 – that’s one person per 47 square kilometres!
Australia’s smallest council by area is the Shire of Peppermint Grove in metropolitan Perth with an area of only 1½ square kilometres. It has a population of 1,600.
Australia’s first local government, Adelaide City Council, was established in 1840.
Australia’s councils manage assets of about $360 billion, an average of $627 million per council, or $14,842 per capita.
Miller Consult 