Elections > Standing as a candidate > What to expect as a Council member

What to expect as a Council member

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 directly elect the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor (leadership team) and the other to directly elect the nine Councillors. City of Melbourne does not have wards.

Time commitment

Each Council term runs for four years, and the Council governs the City of Melbourne’s vision, activities, and finances.

Being the Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor or a Councillor involves a considerable weekly time commitment. Generally, Councillors can spend anywhere between 25 and 40 hours per week on Council-related matters.

Committee and Council meetings

Councillors attend regular in-person Council meetings and events, including at least three decision-making meetings each month.

Regular meetings include Council’s Future Melbourne Committee, generally on the first and third Tuesday of each month and Council meetings on the last Tuesday of each month. These are currently held from 5.30pm and range between one to three hours.

As a Councillor, you will also attend weekly forums, where City of Melbourne staff brief Councillors on key and emerging issues. These forums are held during the day and can run for several hours. There are also advisory committees and meetings with external organisations.

Portfolios

The current Council includes individual Councillors representing portfolio areas and attending regular portfolio-specific meetings with relevant Council officers.

There are currently 13 portfolio areas: finance, governance and risk; environment; sustainable building; city planning; heritage; city transport, infrastructure and operations; city activation; creative Melbourne; business and global opportunities; small business; health, wellbeing and belonging; Aboriginal Melbourne; education and innovation.

For full details of current Councillor portfolios and areas of responsibility, visit Councillor portfolios.

Roles

Councillor’s roles include:  

  • participating in developing and communicating policies, strategies and projects 
  • overseeing a budget of approximately $850 million (Budget 2023–2024) and over $4 billion in public assets and subsidiary companies 
  • representing Melbourne’s citizens and stakeholders locally, nationally and overseas 
  • representing the City of Melbourne at various events and forums 
  • representing the Council on advisory committees and bodies and with external organisations 
  • attending regular Council forums, meetings, and briefings 
  • managing Council portfolio areas, which involves acting as a City of Melbourne spokesperson on media matters and participating in national and international forums relevant to your portfolios 
  • being the contact point for members of the community and organisations on portfolio-related issues. 

Helpful links

Find out more about Council’s role and functions: About Council 

Council operates and carries out its roles under several Acts and local laws 

Council also operates under a Code of Conduct and Protocol 

Schedule of Council and committee meetings 

City of Melbourne pays Councillors an annual allowance set by the state government. We also reimburse Councillors for expenses incurred while carrying out their roles. Allowances and expenses. 

More information on the current Council: Lord Mayor and Councillors 

City of Melbourne has a vision for Melbourne as a City of Possibility, where the world meets and extraordinary happens. Learn about Council’s goals 

More information about what to expect as a Councillor 

The Municipal Association of Victoria has information on what is involved in being a Councillor. Hear from current Council members and find out more about what to expect as a Melbourne City Council member.

Find details of information sessions on how to become a candidate and register to attend. 

More information on becoming a candidate 

The Victorian Government provides compulsory training for all Victorians who wish to nominate as a candidate in any Council elections. The training will help you understand the role and responsibilities of being a Councillor. 

The training should take around an hour to complete. Register for the training: Local Government candidate training 

You can find out more about becoming a Council candidate by reading the Victorian Electoral Commission’s candidate handbooks or its local candidate information 

Useful events 

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