Brisbane City Council

As Australia’s largest municipality – and the third largest in the world – Brisbane City Council serves more than one million residents. With responsibility for more than 1,367 square kilometres, the City of Brisbane spans the Brisbane River in a radius of 25 kilometres from the Central Business District.

Originally part of New South Wales, the self-governing colony of Queensland was formally declared in 1859, and on the 13 October of that same year, the first election for Brisbane’s Municipal Council was held. 

There were 37 candidates for the nine positions on the council and it was John Petrie, a notable builder and stonemason, who was unanimously elected the first mayor of Brisbane.  Mayor Petrie and the eight newly elected aldermen (councillors), helped to establish Brisbane as an important settlement north of New South Wales.

In 1925 – exactly 100 years after Brisbane was founded – State Parliament passed the Greater Brisbane Act, setting up a single, city-wide local government for the whole of Brisbane.

This legislation joined two cities, six towns, ten shires and a number of ad hoc boards into one Greater Brisbane City Council.

The Greater Brisbane Act conferred on the new Council a wide charter that empowered it to make ordinances for the “general good rule and government of the city and its residences”.

The first election for the new city-wide government was held on 21 February 1925, with the newly-formed Council formally taking control of the local administration on 1 October 1925.

Since then, Brisbane City Council has grown significantly and is now the largest local government in the Asia-Pacific region. With a permanent workforce of more than 7,000, Council employees deliver core local government services including roads and infrastructure, bus and CityCat services, environment protection and local parks, as well as neighbourhood planning.

Today, local authorities in Australia are recognised as often having a greater impact on people's quality of life than any other level of government.

This carries with it great responsibility to meet the needs of the community in the face of a demanding and constantly changing environment.

Brisbane City Council is working to meet these challenges daily – and is firmly ‘dedicated to a better Brisbane’.

For further information on Brisbane City Council, visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au.