Our Local Government Area is divided into four areas called ‘wards’. Each ward has a similar number of people and elects three councillors who make decisions on behalf of all residents in Maitland.

Under the Local Government Act, each ward must have a similar number of people with a maximum variation of + or – 10 percent. Due to our growing population, some wards in Maitland are exceeding this quota, so we need to realign the boundaries to ensure an even distribution of voters.

We are required under the Local Government Act to review ward boundaries prior to each Local Government election. The next election is in September 2024, and we need to advise the Office of Local Government of new recommended boundaries for Maitland by October 2023. 

Currently, Maitland has more than 67,800 enrolled voters. The boundary changes impact around 8,000 of the 67,800 enrolled voters in Maitland. If you live in the one of the following suburbs, your boundary may be changing.

Affected suburbs are Bishops Bridge, East Maitland, Farley, Gillieston Heights, Louth Park, Maitland, Maitland Vale, Mindaribba, Mount Dee, Raworth, Rutherford, South Maitland, Telarah, Tenambit and Tocal.

Residents affected by the new boundaries will need to vote in their new ward at the upcoming local government elections to be held in September 2024.

It is proposed that the ward names change as follows, moving in a clockwise direction when read on a map:

• Central Ward will become Ward 1
• North Ward will become Ward 2
• East Ward will become Ward 3
• West Ward will become Ward 4

In line with Office of Local Government guidelines, Council has consulted with the NSW Electoral Commission and the Australian Statistician, on the proposed ward boundaries. The ward boundary adjustments were made using defined geographic features such as water courses, roads and railway lines, as well as communities of interest to create a balanced voter distribution across the new wards.