Have your say on new electoral boundaries in Frankston City

Published on 26 July 2023

Frankston City is one of 39 Victorian councils undergoing electoral structure reviews.

The Local Government Act 2020 introduced several changes, including that all metropolitan, interface and regional city councils – including Frankston City Council – must now have single-councillor ward electoral structures.

Feedback is currently being collected by the Electoral Advisory Representative Panel on the proposed electoral structure models.

Frankston City Council is contributing to the State Government process with the official response below. We would love to hear your thoughts on our submission - please read through and comment on our QUICK SURVEY. While we can’t predict how our response will inform the process your feedback will be added to our final submission.

You can also go online to– to the VEC web page for detailed information and to make your own submission to the VEC.

Submission close at 5 pm on Wednesday 2 August

Electoral structure models

Frankston City Council Response Submission – Proposed Electoral Structure

The Electoral Representative Advisory Panel has proposed that Frankston City Council’s Electoral Structure will be one of the following suggestions: 

• Model 1: a subdivided electoral structure with a total of 8 councillors – 8 wards with one councillor per ward.
• Model 2: a subdivided electoral structure with a total of 9 councillors – 9 wards with one councillor per ward.
• Model 3: a subdivided electoral structure with a total of 9 councillors – 9 wards with one councillor per ward, with different boundaries to Model 2.

More details on the models can be found here in the preliminary report here. 

Council’s submission on each model proposed in the Preliminary Report is detailed as follows:

Model 1 - a single Councillor ward structure with 8 councillors

Under this proposed model, Frankston City Council would adopt an 8-ward structure represented by one Councillor, in line with the requirements of the Act. The proposed ward names this model are; Banyan Ward, Boggy Creek Ward, Lloyd Park Ward, Mount Grand Ward, Paratea Ward, Seaford Reserve Ward, Telopea Reserve Ward, Yamala Ward.

This model is NOT preferred by Council due to:

• Proposed reduction in the number of Councillors from 9 (at present) to 8 is not justified considering the geographic area, population and number of voters in the council as compared to other similar metropolitan councils. The Frankston City Council comprises the largest area and has a population almost equal to other similar councils, who have 9-11 councillors.( page 15 of the report);
• It may not represent communities of interest and may have issues relating to representation;
• Even number of Councillors can create a deadlock in decision making and can result vote ties;
• Deadlock in decision making may result in not facilitating good governance as required under section 16(8)(b) of the Local Government Act 2020.

Model 2 - a single Councillor ward structure with 9 councillors

Under this model, Frankston City Council would adopt a 9-ward structure. Each ward would be represented by one Councillor, in line with the requirements of the Act. The proposed ward names this model are; Coastal Ward, Crystal Park Ward, Lloyd Park Ward, Lyrebird Ward, Mount Grand Ward, Paratea Ward, Telopea Reserve Ward, Wilton Bushland Ward, Worland Park Ward.

This model is NOT preferred by Council due to:

• The proposed boundaries are not aligned to the current ward structure and split/breaks the current wards.
• Proposal to keep the entire coastal area in one ward, may not meet the criteria of representation of community interest and can give the impression that only one Councillor would be considering the needs of the community in relation to beach areas.
• Proposing the ward boundaries following the key features of the transport network, such as railway line may not meet the criteria of having meaningful and effective ward boundaries.
• Proposed ward boundaries may not be easily identifiable to local communities.
• These factors may lead to not facilitating good governance as required under section 16(8)(b) of the Local Government Act 2020.

Model 3 - a single Councillor ward structure with 9 councillors (alternative version)

Under this model, Frankston City Council would adopt a 9-ward structure. Each ward would be represented by one Councillor, in line with the requirements of the Act. The proposed ward names this model are; Banyan Ward, Lloyd Park Ward, Mount Grand Ward, Paratea Ward, Seaford Reserve Ward, Telopea Reserve Ward, Wilton Bushland Ward, Worland Park Ward, Yamala Ward.

Ward Boundaries

Frankston Council has a diverse community with varying needs across the entire municipality.  The differing population and circumstances within our locality necessitates the need for diverse representation. Taking this into account the implementation of nine wards with one Councillor in each facilitates representation among the diverse needs of the entire municipality.  This approach also facilitates greater local access to councillors.

Council SUPPORTS the ward boundaries proposed in Model 3 of the Preliminary Report but requests to consider the alternative names for the proposed wards.

This model is supported because:

• The proposed ward boundaries in this model is aligned better and relatively close to the current electoral structure roughly dividing each of the current wards into 3 wards each.
• It is expected that many of the boundaries would be familiar to residents.
• This model is the most stable and keeps some entire suburbs together in wards.

Ward Names

The names proposed by Council are based on:

• Traditional names, influential women and native flora or fauna;
• Names are registered under the Geographic Place Names Act 1998 and have been taken from GNV Naming register;
• Falls within the same ward and easily recognisable and give a sense of the locality being represented.

Council’s proposed alternate names with significance for each name is detailed in the following table: 

Submission Conclusion

• Model 1 – not supported
• Model 2 – not supported
• Model 3 – supportive of ward boundaries. Request to change the ward names as proposed in the submission.

Council will also speak at the public hearing on 6 August 2023