Local Government Act 2020

The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make an Order in Council to do any one or more of the following in relation to the electoral structure of a Council—

specify or alter the total number of Councillors to be elected for the Council;

specify—

that the municipal district of the Council is to be subdivided into a specified number of wards;

that each of those wards is to consist of a single Councillor;

the boundaries of wards of the municipal district of the Council;

the name of, or alter the name of, a ward of the municipal district of the Council;

if a notice has been published in accordance with section 13(5) in respect of a specific Council or a specific type of Council, specify that the electoral structure of the municipal district of a Council to which the notice applies is to be an un-subdivided municipal district; or

if a notice has been published in accordance with section 13(5A), specifying—

the specific Council or the specific type of Council to be constituted in accordance with section 13(4)(c); and

the number of wards; and

the number of Councillors that are to represent each ward.

Before recommending the making of an Order in Council under this section that provides for the subdivision of a municipal district into wards or the specification of the boundaries of wards of a municipal district, the Minister must seek to ensure that—

each ward has approximately an equal number of voters per Councillor; and

the number of voters per Councillor in a ward does not vary from the average number of voters per Councillor for all of the wards by more than 10 per cent.

An Order in Council made under this section—

must specify a day or days upon which the Order in Council comes into operation; and

may provide that the electoral structure of the Council has effect for the purposes of, and from, the next general election of the Council; and

may provide that the electoral structure of the Council specified in the Order in Council is described in a map lodged in the Central Plan Office or with the VEC as specified in the Order in Council; and

upon being published in the Government Gazette has the like force and effect as if it were expressly enacted in this Act; and

may be amended or revoked by another Order in Council; and

has full force and effect despite any non‑compliance with any of the matters required by this Act as preliminary to the making of the Order in Council.