FAQs
What is a ward?
Cessnock City Council local government area is divided into four areas called “wards”. Each ward has a similar number of people and elects three councilors (along with a popularly elected Mayor) who make decisions on behalf of all residents of Cessnock.
Why do we have to change ward boundaries?
Under the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW), each ward must have a similar number of electors. This means a maximum variation of + or – 10 percent. Due to population growth, some wards are above this variation. This means that we need to adjust the ward boundaries to allow for a more even distribution of voters.
Why are we doing this now?
The Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) requires us to review ward boundaries prior to each local government election. The next election is in September 2024. We need to advise the Office of Local Government and the NSW Electoral Commission of new boundaries by October 2023.
Will my ward boundary change?
Currently Cessnock has more than 48,000 enrolled voters. The boundary changes impact around 4,500 of the enrolled voters. You can see whether you are impacted by searching for your address on our interactive map.
How will the changes affect me?
Residents affected by the ward boundary adjustments will need to vote in their new ward at the council election in September 2024.
How has Council determined the new ward boundaries?
In line with the Office of Local Government guidelines, Council has consulted with the NSW Electoral Commission and the Australian Statistician on the proposed ward boundaries. The focus is on keeping communities of interest together, however, where there is a split in a particular area, these were made using defined geographic features such as water courses, or roads and railway lines.
The ward boundary adjustments were made using the following guidance:
Statistical boundaries – where possible we have retained whole Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s)
Future growth – the expect increase in electoral numbers covers all of the current wards A, C and D. The proposed ward boundary adjustments move a number of electors into current ward B to account for this growth and reduce the need for future boundary alterations.
Suburb boundaries – where possible we have kept communities together. However, the proposed ward boundary adjustments will see some whole suburbs change wards to address elector variance, while in other cases only minor adjustments are proposed.
Will this impact my rates?
No, the process that Council follows to determine rates is separate from our ward boundary adjustment. You can reads more about how rates are determined at: Home - Valuer General of New South Wales (nsw.gov.au).