South Australian Elections 2026 - South Australian Electoral Commission

There are 68 councils across South Australia. Each council area may be divided into wards.

To access maps of council areas visit the council websites page.

Council boundaries can be changed through a representation review process.

View changes resulting from the 2024 / 2025 representation reviews

Click on the council link to view the Gazettal notice (and maps if applicable).

Council	Changes Made?	Principal member	Wards and boundaries	Councillors
Adelaide Hills	Yes	Mayor	Increased 2 wards to 3	Retained 12 councillors
Barossa	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 11 councillors
Barunga West	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained No wards	Reduced 9 councillors to 8
Berri Barmera	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 8 councillors
Campbelltown	No	Mayor	Retained 5 wards	Retained 10 councillors
Ceduna	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 8 councillors
Charles Sturt	No	Mayor	Retained 8 wards	Member cap exemption granted for 16 councillors
Clare & Gilbert Valleys	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 9 councillors
Cleve	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained No wards	Reduced 7 councillors to 6
Copper Coast	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 9 councillors
Elliston	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained No wards	Reduced 8 councillors to 7
Franklin Harbour	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained No wards	Reduced 6 councillors to 5
Goyder	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Reduced 4 wards to 2	Reduced councils from 7 to 6
Grant	Yes	Mayor	Abolished Wards (3 to 0)	Retained 9 councillors
Kangaroo Island	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 9 councillors
Karoonda East Murray	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 6 councillors
Kimba	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained No wards	Reduced 7 councillors to 6
Kingston	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 7 councillors
Lower Eyre	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 7 councillors
Loxton Waikerie	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 10 councillors
Mount Gambier	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 8 councillors
Mount Remarkable	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained 2 wards	Reduced councillors from 7 to 6
Naracoorte Lucindale	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 10 councillors
Northern Areas	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Abolished wards (4 to 0)	Reduced 9 councillors to 8
Norwood, Payneham & St Peters	Yes	Mayor	Reduced 6 wards to 4	Reduced 13 councillors to 11 (1 ward with 2 councillors, 3 wards with 3)
Onkaparinga	No	Mayor	Retained 8 wards	Retained 12 councillors
Orroroo Carrieton	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained No wards	Reduced 6 councillors to 5
Peterborough	Yes	Mayor	Retained No wards	Reduced 8 councillors to 7
Playford	Yes	Mayor	Reduced 5 wards to 4	Reduced 15 councillors to 12 (3 for each ward)
Port Adelaide Enfield	No	Mayor	Retained 7 wards	Member cap exemption granted for 17 councillors
Port Augusta	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 9 councillors
Port Lincoln	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 9 councillors
Renmark Paringa	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 8 councillors
Salisbury	No	Mayor	Retained 7 wards	Member cap exemption granted for 14 councillors
Southern Mallee	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained No wards	Reduced 7 councillors to 6
Streaky Bay	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained 2 wards	Retained 8 councillors
Tea Tree Gully	No	Mayor	Retained 6 wards	Retained 12 councillors
Victor Harbor	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 9 councillors
Walkerville	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 8 councillors
West Torrens	No	Mayor	Retained 7 wards	Member cap exemption granted for 14 councillors
Whyalla	No	Mayor	Retained No wards	Retained 9 councillors
Wudinna	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained No wards	Reduced 7 councillors to 6
Yankalilla	Yes	Chairperson to Mayor	Retained 2 wards	Retained 9 councillors

View changes resulting from the 2021 representation reviews

Click on the council link to view the Gazettal notice (and maps if applicable).

Council	Principal member	Wards	Boundary changes	Councillors
Adelaide, City of	Lord mayor	3	No	Reduced from 11 to 9
Adelaide Plains Council	Mayor	Abolished	N/A	9
Alexandrina Council	Mayor	Reduced from 5 to 3	Yes	9
Charles Sturt, City of	Mayor	8	Yes	16
Coorong District Council	Changed from chairperson to mayor	Abolished	N/A	Reduced from 9 to 7
Goyder, Regional Council of	Chairperson	4	Yes	7
Light Regional Council	Mayor	Reduced from 4 to 3	Yes	Reduced from 10 to 9
Mid Murray Council	Mayor	3	Yes	Reduced from 9 to 8
Mitcham, City of	Mayor	6	Yes	Reduced from 13 to 12
Mount Barker District Council	Mayor	3	Yes	10
Prospect, City of	Mayor	4	Yes	8

Local government representation reviews

A representation review is a process to determine whether a council would benefit from an alteration to its current composition or ward structure to meet future requirements.

A council is required to conduct a review of its representation at least once in each relevant period as prescribed by the regulations of the Local Government Act 1999 (The Act). The Minister for Local Government from time to time will publish a timing schedule for determination of the relevant period.

However, councils may undertake a review at any time into aspects of its composition or ward structure or they may be requested to undertake a review within a specified period by the Electoral Commissioner.

The Act prescribes the process and requirements of the representation review that focuses on all aspects of the composition of the council including:

the number of council members,
the division or abolishment of wards in the council area, and
the number of voters represented by each elected council member.

All reviews must take the principles specified in the Act into account so that:

any changes made are to benefit ratepayers,
arrangements should reflect communities of interest and should avoid separations of such communities,
voters should be afforded effective participation in decisions on local matters, and
Council is able to cooperate with other councils and govern effectively.

Reform to the Act has changed the representation review process. Refer to the following instruments for up-to-date information on council responsibilities and the Electoral Commissioner’s role:

Local Government Act 1999
Local Government (General) Regulations 2013
Local Government (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2021
Statutes Amendment (Local Government Review) Act 2021

Guideline for councils

The below Representation Review Guideline provides general information for councils conducting a representation review. This should be read in conjunction with the requirements under the relevant legislative instruments.

Review schedule

The schedule for reviews is determined by the Minister of Local Government.

For more information on the representation review process in your area please contact your council.