Council elections
Council elections
City of Port Phillip is divided into nine wards with one councillor elected to represent each ward.
In Victoria, local government elections are held every four years in October, and it is compulsory to vote. The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) is responsible for managing elections on behalf of all Councils. You can find out more information on the VEC website.
The next general election for the City of Port Phillip will be held on October 2028.
Visit the City of Port Phillip_Your councillors page to see who will be representing the community of Port Phillip City Council until the next general council election.
2024 Council election
The last general election for the City of Port Phillip was held in October 2024. The election results were declared by the election manager on Tuesday 12 November and the elected councillors were sworn in at a Special Council Meeting held on Thursday 14 November 2024.
The election results are available on the VEC website.
Failure to Vote
Voting in council elections is compulsory. The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) will send out failure-to-vote notices to Port Phillip residents in early March 2025 where it appears they have not voted in the 2024 Council election.
The notice is not a fine.
If you receive a notice, you have until Tuesday 8 April 2025 to respond to the notice. You will need to provide a reason why you didn't vote.
If you don't respond to the notice or your explanation is not accepted by the VEC, you may be issued with an infringement notice. The infringement notice carries a penalty of $99.00.
Instructions on how to respond are on the notice and a reply-paid envelope will be provided.
Council cannot accept responses.
If you have a question about the notice, you will need to contact the VEC's compulsory voting centre directly on 1300 551 575.
For more information about what to do if you receive a notice, visit the fines and reviews page on the VEC website.
Who can vote?
There are two types of voters who are eligible to vote in this Council election:
- State-enrolled
- Council-enrolled
Enrolling to vote
You have one vote per council
The rules have changed for Council-enrolled voters - you must apply (or re-apply) to vote in the council elections, even if you have voted in previous Port Phillip elections. Please ensure you read all the changes listed.