What is the difference between a municipality and a shire

The election timetable shows when councils hold elections. In county councils including single tier county councils councillors represent electoral areas called divisions. Metropolitan districts elect 3 councillors and wards in shire district, unitary authorities and London boroughs elect between 1 and 3 councillors. Where a district council holds whole-council elections all councillors are elected at the same time.

For example electors in a 2-member ward cast 2 votes each and elect 2 councillors at the same time. Where a district council holds elections by thirds, a third of the councillors for the whole council will be elected at each annual election. Electors in a 3-member ward will vote in each of the elections, electors in a 2-member ward will vote in 2 out of 3 and electors in a single-member ward will vote in 1 of the 3 elections.

Page updated to reflect council re-organisation: In Buckinghamshire 5 councils have been replaced by 1 new unitary council — Buckinghamshire Council. In Northamptonshire 8 councils have been replaced by 2 new unitary councils — North Northamptonshire Council and West Northamptonshire Council.

Page updated to reflect council re-organisation: In Dorset 9 councils have been replaced by 2 new unitary councils — Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. To help us improve GOV. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Cookies on GOV. UK We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

Accept additional cookies Reject additional cookies View cookies. Hide this message. Home Regional and local government Local government Councils and elections.

How councils make decisions. Consultation and complaints. Search the guide: Search. Local Government in Victoria. The system of local government In Australia there are three tiers of elected government — local, state and federal.

Minister for Local Government The Minister for Local Government is the minister responsible for overseeing the system of local government in Victoria. Federal Government The Australian Government, while not directly involved in the regulation or administration of local government, does support local government through a number of programs including the provision of funding through financial assistance grants as well as encouraging innovation in local government through the National Awards for Local Government.

We have put helpful hints, tips and explanations throughout the site. Lookout for the 'Question mark' icon. Charts and graphs can be viewed in a table view. To switch, look out for the navigation next to each chart. As of today there are councils in the form of local governance in Australia. It is mostly council that we encounter as we go deeper in Australia, though sometimes, words like shire and city are also heard.

Despite clear cut single level local governance, there are a few areas with very small population in Australia that do not have a council, and are administered directly by the state government or a specially elected body. Thus, it is clear that despite different words being used in different states for local governance and there are Boroughs, cities, councils, shires, rural cities, municipalities, district councils, towns, and so on , they all represent the same local government structure below federal and state governments.

If you are a foreigner and happen to be in Australia, there is no need to be confused if you have a council in one state and a shire in another state.