Overview of our city
The City of Melbourne is a dynamic municipality covering 37 square kilometres with a broad set of 10 neighbourhoods, each with its unique characteristics and needs – from densely populated urban environments, such as the central business district, to more residential areas, such as Kensington, Carlton and South Yarra.
Our population includes 154,000 residents, including 768 Aboriginal peoples (2021 ABS Census data). We also welcome almost a million visitors daily, including tourists and workers. Our city is incredibly culturally diverse. More than half of our residents were born in other countries – the top five countries of birth are India, China, England, Vietnam, and New Zealand, and almost half of our residents speak a language other than English at home.
About Melbourne City Council
Melbourne City Council is the local government body responsible for the City of Melbourne. It includes Carlton, CBD, Docklands, East Melbourne, Kensington, North Melbourne, Parkville, Southbank, part of South Yarra, and West Melbourne.
The Council consists of a Lord Mayor, a Deputy Lord Mayor and nine Councillors. Each Council term runs for four years.
The City of Melbourne will hold two elections in October 2024 – one to elect the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor (leadership team) and the other to elect the nine Councillors.
The last general election was held by postal ballot in October 2020.
Elected by the community, the Council is the decision-making body that sets the strategic direction and policy of the municipality. It delivers the four-year Council Plan, which sets out what the Council will achieve during its four-year term to further the community vision; and the Annual Plan and Budget, which describes the Council’s key objectives and activities for each 12-month period.
Local councils govern and deliver municipal services that support the community. As the local government authority, the City of Melbourne is focused on access and inclusion in delivering a wide range of services to residents, businesses, and visitors, including economic development, planning and building services, early years care, waste and resource management and wellbeing, community and recreation services.
City of Melbourne has a vision for Melbourne as a City of Possibility, where the world meets and extraordinary happens.
More information
- Learn about City of Melbourne’s Vision and goals.
- To read more about Council’s role and functions, visit About Council.
- To learn more about the acts and local laws that Council operates under, visit Acts and local laws.
