Being a Councillor at City of Port Phillip

To nominate as a candidate for City of Port Phillip you must: 

• be an Australian citizen or an eligible British subject referred to in section 48(1)(a) of the Constitution Act 1975 

• be aged 18 years or older 

• be an Australian citizen 

• be eligible to vote in Port Phillip as a state-enrolled or council-enrolled voter 

• have completed the mandatory Local Government Candidate Training 

• not be disqualified from being a Councillor. 

To familiarise yourself with the key requirements and responsibilities of nominating for council elections, please visit the Become a local council candidate page on the VEC website. 

As long as you are eligible to nominate as a candidate, you can stand for any ward within City of Port Phillip, regardless of whether or not you live in that ward.  

Port Phillip is moving to a new ward structure for the 2024 elections. There will now be nine wards, with one Councillor representing each ward.  

The new wards will be named: 

• Albert Park Ward 
• Alma Ward 
• Balaclava Ward 
• Elwood Ward 
• Lakeside Ward 
• Montague Ward 
• Port Melbourne Ward 
• South Melbourne Ward 
• St Kilda Ward 

You can see an outline of this new ward structure below, and can read the full structure review report for Port Phillip here.  

We have a diverse population with an estimated of 103,836 people calling Port Phillip home.  

Almost half (48.1 per cent) our residents are between 25 and 49 years of age. A high proportion rent their home (48.8 per cent) and one third were born overseas (33.1 per cent). 

You can find more information about our people and our local economy by visiting the demographics page on Council’s website.  

Australia has three levels of government: federal, state and local.  

Local government (council) is responsible for planning and delivering a wide range of services for residents, businesses, and visitors within the City of Port Phillip. At present, we deliver over 100 programs and services across our municipality.

There are five divisions in the organisational structure of the City of Port Phillip. Each division has between 2 and 5 departments that provide services and support to the local community. Divisions are managed by a general manager or an executive manager. The Executive Leadership Team includes the general managers and the Chief Executive Officer, who reports directly to Council.

You can find out more about the Executive Leadership team here. 

A Council’s role is to lead, govern and make decision for the benefit of all residents and ratepayers.  

The role of every Councillor is: 

• to participate in the decision making of the Council; 
• to represent the interests of the municipal community in that decision making 
• to contribute to the strategic direction of the Council through the development and review of key strategic documents of the Council, including the Council Plan. 

In performing these roles, every Councillor must: 

• consider the diversity of interests and needs of the municipal community  
• support the role of the Council 
• acknowledge and support the role of the Mayor 
• act lawfully and in accordance with the oath or affirmation of office 
• act in accordance with the standards of conduct 
• comply with Council procedures required for good governance 

The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for ensuring the effective and efficient management of the day-to-day operations of the Council, and supporting the Mayor and Councillors to perform their roles. 

The role of the Mayor is to: 

• Promote behaviour among Councillors that meets the standards of conduct set out in the Councillor Code of Conduct 
• Chair Council Meetings 
• Be the principal spokesperson for the Council 
• Lead engagement with the community on the development of the Council Plan 
• Assist Councillors to understand their role 
• Take a leadership role in ensuring the regular review of the performance of the Chief Executive Officer 
• Provide advice to the Chief Executive Officer when they are setting the agenda for Council meetings 
• Perform civic and ceremonial duties on behalf of the Council 

If you are successfully elected as a candidate in City of Port Phillip, you will receive a letter from the CEO which will provide you with information on the next steps.  

You will be required to take an Oath or Affirmation of Office at a public Council Meeting, currently planned for Wednesday 13 November, and will vote to elect a Mayor and Deputy Mayor shortly after. 

Under the Local Government Act 2020 you will be required to undertake mandatory induction training on a range of topics, aimed at setting you up for success in the role.

You will be required to adhere to the Council Code of Conduct, which outlines the expected behaviour of Councillors as required under the Local Government Act 2020.

The Councillor induction will be held over several weeks and will also cover the Council Plan and Budget, which will be a key strategic priority for Council to deliver.  

Councillors will also be required to participate in team building workshops to help them collaborate and work effectively together.  

The role of a Councillor at the City of Port Phillip is a busy one. 

While not a full-time job, you can expect to spend a significant amount of time performing the duties of a Councillor. 

A typical month includes: 

• attending Council Meetings twice a month, usually from 6.30 pm 

• attending Councillor briefings four times a month, usually from 5 pm 

• attending Planning Committee Meeting once a month, usually from 6.30 pm 

• reading Council Meeting and briefing documents  

• serving on Council’s advisory committees  

• meeting fellow Councillors weekly during business hours to collaborate on issues 

• attending external events and meeting with community members 

Below is a typical monthly calendar for a Councillor at Port Phillip.  

Candidates at a local government election are required under Victorian law to submit a campaign donation return to the City of Port Phillips Chief Executive officer within 40 days of election day. This includes candidates who were not elected and/or did not receive any campaign donations or gifts.  

Failure to lodge an Election Campaign Donation Return form is an offence and penalties apply under section 306 of the Local Government Act 2020. 

More information is available on the Local Government Inspectorate website at https://www.lgi.vic.gov.au/councillor-campaign-donation-returns 

Yes. An independent tribunal is responsible for setting the values of allowances for all Councillors, Deputy Mayors and Mayors across the state. 

Further information about Councillor allowances can be found at the Victorian's Government Allowances for Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Councillors website at https://www.vic.gov.au/allowances-mayors-deputy-mayors-and-councillors 

For the City of Port Phillip, a Councillor is currently paid $40,769, the Deputy Mayor is paid $67,477 and the Mayor is paid $134,954. 

A range of administrative support is provided to Councillors to assist them in performing their roles effectively. These include the scheduling of meetings, answering of phone calls, responding to community invitations, and preparing correspondence.  

Councillors receive equipment, including a Council laptop and mobile phone, to enable them to undertake the official business of Council. Council facilities, particularly the Mayor and Councillors’ Office, are available for Councillors to conduct official business at.  

Councillors are also encouraged to undertake professional development and training. Subject to the annual Council budget, each Councillor is entitled to access up to $6,000 per annum, and $10,000 for the Mayor, for the purpose of professional development. This is an important method of support as it helps grow the collective professional abilities of Council.  

More information on the support available to Councillors can be found in the Councillor Expenses and Support Policy.  

Yes. There is a candidate nomination fee of $250. You must pay this fee in cash or by a cheque drawn on a bank, building society or credit union. The VEC cannot accept online or electronic payments, personal cheques or money orders. 

The $250 nomination fee is refunded to candidates who are declared elected or receive at least four per cent (4%) of the total number of formal first preference votes in the ward they nominated in. 

More information is available in the candidate handbook on the VEC website at vec.vic.gov.au/candidates-and-parties/becoming-a-local-council-candidate. 

The Election Period (commonly known as caretaker period) starts from the last day that nominations to be a candidate for a Council election can be received and ends at 6pm on the election day. For the 2024 elections this will be from 17 September to 25 October.

During this time, Council business is conducted in accordance with the Election Period Policy, to avoid the use of public resources in a way that may unduly affect the election result. It also minimises Councils making decisions that may unduly limit the decision-making ability of the incoming Council.

All candidates are required to adhere to the Election Period Policy.

In accordance with the Election Period Policy, any requests for information that Council receives from candidates during the Election Period, and the answers provided, must be added to a publicly available register.

This intended to allow all candidates to have access to the same level of information wherever possible.

If you make a request for information from Council, please note that it will be added to this register and be made available to all other candidates.

Recognising and disclosing conflicts of interest is vital to ensure transparency and accountability in local government.

Councillors and Council officers must identify any real or perceived conflicts of interest and step aside from decision-making processes. This allows the community to see they have represented the public interest with impartiality and integrity.

Councillors and council officers must disclose conflicts of interest to demonstrate that they are not using their public office for their own private benefit. Doing so avoids perceptions that they are not acting on behalf of the whole community as required by their oath of office or code of conduct, depending on their role.

You may have a conflict of interest if you, or a person, group, or organisation close to you, could benefit or be seen to benefit from a decision or action you take.

The City of Port Phillip has a conflict of interest register, which can be viewed on our website and requires any declared conflicts to be included.

The management of the election process is undertaken by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) on behalf of the City of Port Phillip. The VEC will also nominate an Election Manager to manage the election. The VEC will open an office at the Port Melbourne Town Hall from 9am on Monday 9 September to support the conduct of the election.

More information is available on the VEC Port Phillip City Council election page

The VEC will run an in-person information session to learn more about becoming a candidate in the City of Port Phillip election at 6 pm Thursday 5 September. Details will be available in the coming weeks.