What's happening
A Representation Review is a legislated requirement under Section 12 (4) of the Local Government Act 1999.
The review requires every council to assess its representative composition and electoral ward structure. This process includes considering whether the community would benefit from an alternative composition or ward structure. We engaged planning consultancy Holmes Dyer to undertake the Representation Review process on behalf of the City of PAE.
During September and October 2024, we asked our community how you felt about the representative composition and ward structure that we are proposing. Thank you to everyone who took part in this engagement process. At the Ordinary Council Meeting held on 10 December 2024, Council endorsed the proposed representative structure and is now seeking an exemption certificate from the Electoral Commissioner. If granted the new representative structure and ward boundaries will come into effect in November 2026.
You can find out what we heard from our community under the Engagement Summary tab and view the Final Representation Review Report as part of the 10 December Council Meeting Agenda.
What is the preferred representation structure?
The preferred representation structure has been identified as a “Boundary realignment (7 wards with 17 Elected Members)” which proposes:
Existing Wards
Proposed Wards
Engagement Summary
What we asked
Public consultation was undertaken from Monday 16 September 2024 until Friday 25 October 2024. We asked our community how you felt about the representative composition and ward structure that we proposed.
How we asked
What we heard
24 formal submissions were received during the engagement period, along with 7 questions relating to the draft Representation Report. Roughly half of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that the proposed seven Ward structure with a partial boundary realignment provides adequate representation:
- 13 out of 24 respondents supported the proposal
- 4 out of 24 respondents were neutral
- 7 out of 24 respondents did not support the proposal
Just over two-thirds of respondents supported the proposal to retain the current number of Elected Members, being 17 Ward Councilors and 1 Mayor:
- 18 out of 24 respondents supported the proposal
- 4 out of 24 respondents did not support the proposal
- 2 out of 24 respondents selected their answer as ‘Other’
The majority of respondents supported the retention of the current Ward names
- 21 out of 24 respondents supported the proposal
- 2 out of 24 respondents did not support the proposal
- 1 respondent selected their answer as ‘Other’
Full details of the community feedback received through the consultation is included in the final Representation Report included as part of the 10 December Council Meeting Agenda.
Overall, the community feedback supported the recommended structure in the
Representation Report of retaining the 7 Wards with a partial boundary alignments and
retaining the current number of Elected Members.
Next steps
At the Ordinary Council Meeting held on 10 December 2024, Council endorsed the proposed representative structure and is now seeking an exemption certificate from the Electoral Commissioner due to the proposed composition exceeding the member cap specified under Section 11A of the Local Government Act. The Electoral Commission of South Australia will review both the Representation Report and the request for an exemption certificate simultaneously. If granted the new representative structure and ward boundaries will come into effect in November 2026.
