Inside track: Local Government - Local Government Bill 2019 (Vic)

Local Government Bill 2019 consultation

The Local Government Bill 2019 will introduce a new, contemporary framework to support and improve Victoria's 79 councils.

The Victorian Government has said that it expects the new legislation will be presented to Parliament in 2019, intended to replace the Local Government Act 1989. If enacted, the Bill is expected to be rolled out in four stages, with the final stage implemented in 2021.

The proposed Bill builds on the reforms presented in the Local Government Bill 2018.

The 2019 Bill proposes the following reforms:

Simplified voter franchise

It is proposed to simplify enrolments to vote in council elections. Under the current legislation the Victorian Electoral Commission creates the Municipal voters' roll by combining the State electoral roll of voters and a list of ratepayer voters which is compiled by councils. A consequence is the duplication of voters on the Municipal voters' roll, the correction of which is