2016 Victorian local elections

The 2016 Victorian local elections were held on 22 October 2016 to elect the councils of the 79 local government areas in Victoria, Australia.^[1][2]

2016 Victorian local elections

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First party Second party Third party   IND SOC Leader N/A Greg Barber No leader Party Independents Greens The Socialists Last election 18 seats Did not exist Seats before 16 1 Seats won 29 1 Seat change 13   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   SA RUAP LDP Leader No leader None No leader Party Socialist Alliance Rise Up Liberal Democrats Last election 1 seat 1 seat 0 Seats before 1 1 0 Seats won 1 1 1 Seat change 1   Seventh party   CA Leader Russell Bate Party Country Alliance Last election 1 Seats before 1 Seats won 0 Seat change 1

The elections saw the largest-ever amount of Greens councillors elected, with the party increasing their local government representatives from 17 to 29.^[3] The Labor Party and Liberal Party did not endorse any candidates.^[4]

Party changes before elections

A number of councillors joined or left parties before the 2016 elections.

Council	Ward	Councillor	Former party		New party		Date
Campaspe	Kyabram	Robert Danieli		Independent		Katter's Australian	November/December 2012
Darebin	Cazaly	Vince Fontana		Labor		Independent	6 December 2012[5][6]
Darebin	Cazaly	Vince Fontana		Independent		Mutual	30 January 2014[7]
Darebin	Cazaly	Julie Williams		Independent		Mutual	30 January 2014[7]
Glen Eira	Rosstown	Neil Pilling		Greens		Independent	20 May 2014[8]
Darebin	La Trobe	Gaetano Greco		Labor		Independent	Post-May 2014[9]
Darebin	Cazaly	Vince Fontana		Mutual		Independent	2014
Darebin	Cazaly	Julie Williams		Mutual		Independent	2014
Moreland	North-West	John Kavanagh		Democratic Labour		Independent	2014
Moonee Valley	Myrnong	Cam Nation		Independent Liberal		No East West Link	15 September 2014[10][11]
Moyne	Unsubdivided	James Purcell		Independent		Vote 1 Local Jobs	October 2014[12]
Greater Bendigo	Lockwood	Elise Chapman		Independent		Country Alliance	15 October 2014[13]
Greater Geelong	Austin	John Irvine		Independent		Country Alliance	16 October 2014[14][15]
Port Phillip	Albert Park	Amanda Stevens		Labor		Independent Labor	26 February 2015[16]
Moyne	Unsubdivided	Jim Doukas		Independent		Country Alliance	Mid-2015[17][18][19]
Moonee Valley	Myrnong	Cam Nation		No East West Link		Independent	2015
Greater Bendigo	Lockwood	Elise Chapman		Country Alliance		Independent	2015
Greater Geelong	Austin	John Irvine		Country Alliance		Independent	2015
Greater Bendigo	Lockwood	Elise Chapman		Independent		One Nation	8 January 2016[20]
Yarra	Langridge	Stephen Jolly		Socialist		The Socialists	22 February 2016[21]
Moonee Valley	Rose Hill	John Sipek		Labor		Independent	Mid-2016[22]
Darebin	Cazaly	Julie Williams		Independent		Labor	Pre-October 2016[23]

Results

Main article: Results of the 2016 Victorian local elections

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Independents
	Labor
	Liberal
	Burwood Liberals
	Greens					29	11
	Independent National
	Team Doyle		27,116			3
	Together Melbourne		6,578			1
	Phil Cleary Means Business		5,667			1
	Stephen Mayne T.I.A.E.		3,666			0
	Team Morgan - A City That Works		3,557			1
	Strengthening Melbourne		1,905			0
	Listening To Locals		1,718			0
	An Indigenous Voice On Council		1,534			1	1
	Serving Melbourne With Integrity		1,519			0
	The Light On The Hill Team		960			0
	The Heritage Agenda		816			0
	Melburnian Voice		808			0
	Science		82			0
	Liberal Democrats					1	1
	The Socialists					1	1
	Rise Up Australia					1
	Socialist Alliance					1
	Animal Justice					0
	Independent Labor

Aftermath

Further information: 2020 Victorian local elections § Party changes before elections

On 8 November, Melbourne councillor-elect Brooke Wandin (An Indigenous Voice On Council) stood down from her position amid an investigation by the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate into her eligibility.^[24] Wandin and former councillor Richard Foster were later charged with electoral fraud, with prosecutors alleging Wandin did not live at the Kensington address she had nominated when registering for election.^[25] Both parties plead guilty to charges of electoral fraud; Foster received a 12-month good behaviour bond, while Wandin was placed onto a diversion program. Nic Frances Gilley was declared elected in Wandin's place.^[26]

Additionally in Melbourne, Phil Cleary Means Business councillor Michael Caiafa lost his seat in March 2017 after it was determined he was not duly elected. Team Doyle's Susan Riley was declared elected in his place.^[27]

In April 2017, hundreds of people reported receiving infringement notices for allegedly having not voted, despite claiming that they had.^[28]

By-elections and countbacks

The Victorian Electoral Commission held a number of by-elections and countbacks to fill vacancies on councils after the 2016 elections up until the 2020 elections.

Casey City Council was sacked on 18 February 2020 before two countbacks could occur.^[29]

By-elections

Council	Ward	Before			Change		Result after preference distribution
		Councillor	Party		Cause	Date	Date	Party		Candidate	%
Northern Grampians	South West	Sharon Telford		Independent	Resignation	5 October 2017	17 February 2018		Independent	Stephen Gardner	52.17
									Independent	Christine Fitzgerald	47.83
Pyrenees	Beaufort	Michael O'Connor		Independent	Death	15 May 2018	17 August 2018		Independent	Damian Ferrari	51.16
									Independent	Barbara Blamey[a]	32.56
Knox	Collier	Jackson Taylor		Labor	Elected to Victorian Parliament	6 December 2018	30 March 2019		Independent	Marcia Timmers-Leitch	53.04
									Independent	Robert Williams[a]	28.87
Hepburn	Coliban	Sebastian Klein		Independent	Resignation	18 December 2018	5 April 2019		Ind. Labor	Licia Kokocinski	58.82
									Independent	John McLaren	41.18
Swan Hill	Murray-Mallee	Gary Norton		Independent	Resignation	2 January 2019	29 March 2019		Independent	Nicole McKay	63.61
									Independent	Allen Ridgeway	36.39
Swan Hill	Robinvale	John Katis		Independent	Resignation	14 January 2019	29 March 2019		Ind. National	Jade Benham	N/A
									Elected unopposed
Surf Coast	Anglesea	Libby Coker		Labor	Election to Australian Parliament	15 June 2019	30 August 2019		Independent	Tony Revell	62.24
									Independent	Harry Rosson	37.76
Moorabool	Woodlands	Pat Toohey		Independent	Death	19 September 2019	14 December 2019		Independent	Lawry Borgelt	50.10
									Independent	Ally Giofches[a]	36.88
Strathbogie	Honeysuckle Creek	Kate Stothers		Independent	Resignation	24 December 2019	21 March 2020		Independent	Chris Raeburn	53.29
									Independent	Tom Maher[a]	21.71
Corangamite	Central	Wayne Oakes		Independent	Death	19 April 2020	27 June 2020		Independent	Geraldine Conheadyn	57.85
									Independent	Michael Emerson	42.15

Countbacks

Council	Ward	Before			Change		After
		Councillor	Party		Cause	Date	Date	Councillor	Party
Queenscliffe	Unsubdivided	Helene Cameron		Independent	Resignation	2 November 2016	21 November 2016	Bob Merriman		Independent
Melbourne	Unsubdivided	Brooke Wandin		Indigenous Voice On Council	Not eligible to stand	8 November 2016	14 March 2017	Nic Frances Gilley		Indigenous Voice On Council
East Gippsland	Unsubdivided	Linette Treasure		Independent	Resignation	16 January 2017	14 February 2017	Jackson Roberts		Independent
Casey	Mayfield	Rex Flannery		Independent	Resignation	8 March 2017	3 April 2017	Gary Rowe		Liberal
Melbourne	Unsubdivided	Michael Caiafa		Phil Cleary Means Business	Not duly elected	14 March 2017	14 March 2017	Susan Riley		Team Doyle
Whitehorse	Elgar	Tanya Tescher		Burwood Liberals	Resignation	3 April 2017	9 May 2017	Blair Barker		Burwood Liberals
Whittlesea	North	John Butler		Liberal	Death	6 September 2017	4 October 2017	Tom Joseph		Independent
Wangaratta	City	Ruth Amer		Independent	Death	5 October 2017	13 November 2017	Ashlee Fitzpatrick		Independent
Wellington	Northern	Keith Mills		Independent	Resignation	23 October 2017	15 November 2017	Carmel Ripper		Independent
Mount Alexander	Castlemaine	Tony Bell		Independent	Resignation	9 October 2017	22 November 2017	Dave Petrusma		Independent
Moreland	South	Samantha Ratnam		Greens	Elected to Victorian Parliament	11 October 2017	22 November 2017	Jess Dorney		Greens
Ararat	Unsubdivided	Paul Hooper		Independent	Resignation	1 November 2017	29 November 2017	Bill Braithwaite		Independent
Melbourne	Unsubdivided	Tessa Sullivan		Team Doyle	Resignation	15 December 2017	15 January 2018	Beverley Pinder-Mortimer		Team Doyle
Mount Alexander	Castlemaine	Robin Taylor		Independent	Resignation	13 February 2018	7 March 2018	Max Lesser		Independent
Ararat	Unsubdivided	Glenda McLean		Independent	Resignation	20 April 2018	21 May 2018	Fay Hull		Independent
Ararat	Unsubdivided	Darren Ford		Independent	Resignation	9 May 2018	6 June 2018	Frank Deutsch		Independent
Maroondah	Wyreena	Michael Macdonald		Independent	Resignation	25 June 2018	16 July 2018	Tasa Damante		Liberal
Pyrenees	Beaufort	Darren Ford		Independent	Resignation	9 May 2018	6 June 2018	Frank Deutsch		Independent
Colac Otway	Unsubdivided	Terry Woodcroft		Independent	Resignation	6 August 2018	27 August 2018	Brian Crook		Independent
South Gippsland	Tarwin Valley	Maxine Kiel		Independent	Resignation	26 September 2018	22 October 2018	Rosemary Cousin		Greens
Greater Bendigo	Whipstick	Julie Hoskin		Independent	Resignation	21 September 2018	23 October 2018	Malcolm Pethybridge		Independent
South Gippsland	Tarwin Valley	Meg Edwards		Liberal	Resignation	30 October 2018	5 November 2018	James Fawcett		Independent
Mildura	Unsubdivided	Max Thorburn		Independent	Death	18 October 2018	13 November 2018	Gavin Sedgmen		Independent Liberal
Dandenong	Paperbark	Meng Heang Tak		Labor	Elected to Victorian Parliament	27 November 2018	8 January 2019	Sophie Tan		Labor
Corangamite	Central	Bev McArthur		Liberal	Elected to Victorian Parliament	6 December 2018	18 December 2018	Wayne Oakes		Independent
Mildura	Unsubdivided	Ali Cupper		Independent	Elected to Victorian Parliament	7 December 2018	15 January 2019	Helen Healy		Independent
Maribyrnong	Stony Creek	Catherine Cumming		Justice	Elected to Victorian Parliament	11 December 2018	21 January 2019	Megan Bridger-Darling		Labor
Glen Eira	Tucker	Nina Taylor		Labor	Elected to Victorian Parliament	12 December 2018	9 January 2019	Anne-Marie Cade		Independent
Wodonga	Unsubdivided	Tim Quilty		Liberal Democrats	Elected to Victorian Parliament	12 December 2018	14 January 2019	Brian Mitchell		Independent
South Gippsland	Strzelecki	Lorraine Brunt		Independent	Resignation	28 February 2019	1 April 2019	Frank Hirst		Independent
South Gippsland	Tarwin Valley	James Fawcett		Independent	Resignation	28 February 2019	1 April 2019	No candidate declared elected
South Gippsland	Tarwin Valley	N/A		N/A	No candidate declared elected	3 April 2019	8 April 2019	Steve Finlay		Independent
Yarra	Nicholls	Mike McEvoy		Greens	Resignation	3 April 2019	8 May 2019	Bridgid O'Brien		Victorian Socialists
South Gippsland	Coastal-Promontory	Jeremy Rich		Independent	Resignation after drug charges	22 April 2019	27 May 2019	Matthew Sherry		United Australia
Melton	Coburn	Melissa De Santis		Independent	Resignation	9 May 2019	12 June 2019	Yvonne Sebire		Independent
Surf Coast	Winchelsea	Carol McGregor		Independent	Resignation	3 June 2019	2 July 2019	James McIntyre		Independent
Buloke	Lower Avoca	John Shaw		Independent	Resignation	13 August 2019	17 September 2019	Bronwyn Simpson		Independent
Greater Bendigo	Whipstick	Yvonne Wrigglesworth		Independent	Resignation	12 September 2019	8 October 2019	Susie Hawke		Independent
Greater Dandenong	Paperback	Roz Blades		Labor	Resignation	12 October 2019	11 November 2019	Peter Brown		Independent
Queenscliffe	Unsubdivided	Tony Francis		Independent	Resignation	7 November 2019	2 December 2019	Robert Minty		Independent
Strathbogie	Lake Nagambie	Debra Bower		Independent	Resignation	17 December 2019	20 January 2020	Robert Gardner		Independent
Gannawarra	Patchell	Mark Arians		Independent	Resignation	3 February 2020	14 February 2020	Jenny Fawcett		Independent
Gannawarra	Yarran	Sonia Wright		Independent	Resignation	3 February 2020	2 March 2020	Andrew Gibbs		Independent
Warrnambool	Unsubdivided	Peter Hulin		Independent	Resignation	12 February 2020	11 March 2020	Peter Sycopoulis		Liberal
Casey	Springfield	Rex Flannery		Independent	Resignation	14 February 2020	Council sacked before countback
Casey	Edrington	Timothy Jackson		Independent Labor	Resignation	14 February 2020	Council sacked before countback
Brimbank	Grasslands	Lucinda Congreve		Independent	Resignation	1 March 2020	30 March 2020	Janev Aziz		Independent
Ararat	Unsubdivided	David Pettman		Independent	Resignation	3 April 2020	7 May 2020	Bernadine Atkinson		Independent

Notes

1. Second-placed on primary vote as the by-election did not require preference distribution.