Boundary Reform
A change to state government legislation in January 2019 means Council has been able to consider boundary realignment to better meet the needs of our whole community.
The following areas are included as part of the Stage 2 General Proposal for Boundary Change and now will be considered as part of the independent Inquiry undertaken by the Local Government Boundaries Commission for inclusion within Gawler:
- Concordia growth area;
- Hewett;
- a portion of Kalbeeba (including Springwood’s rural living; and yet to be developed residential area);
- a portion of Gawler Belt;
- Evanston Park;
- Reid;
- Hillier
The following areas are identified as part of the Stage 2 General Proposal for Boundary Change and now will be considered as part of the independent Inquiry undertaken by the Local Government Boundaries Commission (The Commission) for removal from Gawler:
- The small portion of Bilbaringa that is currently within Gawler;
- The small portion of Uleybury that is currently within Gawler
To read the Town of Gawler Stage 2 General Proposal for Boundary Change submission, which was lodged on the 23 December 2020, please visit the Department for Infrastructure and Transport State Government website: Current Boundary Change Proposals - South Australia
The Commission assessed Council's General Proposal for Boundary Change and a letter dated the 10 November 2021 (available through the link above) has been received by Council from Mr Bruce Green, previous Chair of The Commission which states;
"The Commission formed the view that the Proposal meets the requirements of Guideline 3 and generally aligns with the section 26 principles. The Commission therefore determined that an inquiry into the Proposal may proceed in accordance with Section 31 of the Act and Guideline 4 – Investigations of General Proposals Initiated by Councils."
Council has now accepted The Commission's estimated cost for the independent inquiry therefore the Proposal will proceed to the Inquiry stage. The Independent Inquiry will include a Consultation Phase, providing an opportunity for the Community and neighbouring affected Councils to provide feedback on the Proposal.
The findings of the independent Inquiry will inform a report and recommendations from The Commission which will be presented to the relevant Minister for consideration. The Minister will then determine what action(s) will be taken, if any; i.e. if the Proposal will be implemented in full, partially or not proceed or any other action to be taken and if required these changes will be gazetted by the Minister.
On the 30 August 2023 Council held a Briefing Session on Boundary Reform to provide a summary to Council Members with a summary of the Boundary Reform project thus far. The Briefing Session was open to the public and live streamed and the recording is available on Council's You Tube channel and the slideshow presentation is available here.
Useful Information
On 1 January 2019, the South Australian Local Government Boundaries Commission was formed, as the independent body that assesses and investigates council boundary change proposals, and makes recommendations to the Minister.
The Commission's responsibilities and procedures are set out in the Local Government Act 1999 (Chapter 3, Part 2), which can be accessed via the South Australian Legislation website. The Commission has also prepared Guidelines that detail the process by which it will receive, assess and progress council boundary change proposals. All the details can be found here https://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/local_govt/boundary_changes
Meeting | Details |
28 May 2019 Council Meeting | Council resolved to investigate its boundaries following a Motion on Notice presented by Mayor Redman 28 May 2019 Council Meeting Agenda |
10 September 2019 Special Council Meeting | Council resolved to continue to investigate boundary reform, adopting, in principle, the following Council boundary adjustments as the basis for preparing a Stage 1 Proposal. Areas to be included in the Town of Gawler: Area 1- Concordia Growth Area Area 2 - Hewett Area 3 – Portion of Kalbeeba (including portion of Springwood) Area 4 – Portion of Gawler Belt Area 5 - Evanston Park Area 6 - Reid Area 7 – Hillier Areas to be removed from the Town of Gawler: Area 8 – Portion of Bibaringa Area 9 – Portion of Uleybury 10 September 2019 Special Council Meeting Agenda 10 September 2019 Special Council Meeting Agenda Attachments |
26 November 2019 Council Meeting | Council considered:
Council resolved to submit a Stage 1 Proposal for consideration by the Boundaries Commission. 26 November 2019 Council Meeting Agenda |
| 25 February 2020 Council Meeting | Council considered under item 12.4 of the agenda:
Council resolved to proceed with its investigations into boundary reform. 25 February 2020 Council Meeting Agenda |
| 28 July 2020 Council Meeting | Council considered under item 11.1 of the agenda:
Council resolved to adopt the updated Consultation and Communications plan and proceed to Community Consultation on boundary reform. 28 July 2020 Council Meeting Agenda |
| 3 November 2020 Special Council Meeting | Council considered under item 6.1 of the agenda:
Council formally received the results and written submissions from the public consultation on boundary reform. 3 November 2020 Special Council Meeting Agenda |
| 15 December 2020 Council Meeting | Council considered under item 11.5 of the agenda:
Council resolved to approve the Stage 2 General Proposal for Boundary Change for submission to the Boundaries Commission. 15 December 2020 Council Meeting Agenda 15 December 2020 Council Meeting Agenda Attachments |
| Date of Meeting | |
| 27 July 2021 Council Meeting | Council considered under item 11.2 of the agenda:
Council resolved to approve the submission of the supplementary information to the Boundaries Commission. 27 July 2021 Council Meeting Agenda |
| 24 May 2022 Council Meeting | Council considered under item 8.2 of the agenda:
Council resolved that: 1. Item 8.2 be deferred to a future Council meeting of the current Council. 2. The Mayor and CEO be authorised to meet with state government representatives / relevant ministers to clarify cost recovery process and legal protection for councils. 24 May 2022 Council Meeting Agenda |
| 23 August 2022 Council Meeting | Council considered under item 10.1 of the agenda:
Council resolved to proceed to the Stage 3 Inquiry by funding the investigation, noting that If the outcome of the tender process is of a higher value than the cost estimate provided by the Commission, Council will be provided capacity to make a final decision to proceed or not with funding an Inquiry/Investigation. 23 August 2022 Council Meeting Agenda 23 August 2022 Council Meeting Agenda - relevant attachments |
Following the presentation of the Boundary Change Proposal report at a Special Council meeting held on 10 September 2019, Council voted to progress investigations into boundary reform. The report looks at the way alterations to local government borders could affect planning based on the projected tripling of population in the next 20 years
Town of Gawler Boundary Reform Update
Gawler To Investigate Boundary Reform To Future Proof Population Expansion
Council to Investigate it's Boundary
Boundary Change Proposal Stage 1
Gawler is one of the fastest growing local government areas in South Australia and the major service centre for the lower mid-north, with rapid population growth placing extra pressure on our town infrastructure and services.
With new legislation around local government boundaries passed in January 2019, now is the perfect time for us to pursue, in earnest, the conversation with our neighboring Council areas, and indeed to start looking at ways we can work together so our community remains vibrant, viable and relevant with a thriving, sustainable future.
Frequently Asked Questions
At the Tuesday 10 September 2019 Special Council Meeting, Council Members resolved to undertake further analysis on potential boundary adjustments for the Town of Gawler.
A key focus of considerations to date include:
- Planning for future growth and ensuring Gawler continues to function as a Regional Service Centre.
- Formalising Gawler’s community of interest which currently extends past existing council boundaries.
- Ensuring the people who consider themselves as part of Gawler, have a say and are appropriately represented in the decision making process.
- Removing current administrative anomalies such as properties and suburbs being located in multiple council areas.
Council still needs to undertake further analysis before it makes a decision on whether to proceed further.
Consulting with the community is an important aspect of boundary reform and if Council decides to pursue this further, community consultation will be undertaken at a number of stages in the boundary reform process. Council decided to proceed with the first step in potential boundary adjustments, the submission of an initial high level proposal to the SA Boundaries Commission for consideration and initial feedback.
The Commission reviewed Council's Stage 1 Proposal in January 2020 and provided Council with approval to proceed with the development and submission of a Stage 2 Proposal noting:
- The significant work that Council has undertaken to develop its potential proposal, including the details of the Community of Interest and consideration of the section 26 principles and how these relate to the identified areas.
- The Important role that the Council plays in providing services to a developing and expanding region and noted the potential significance of this proposal for the region
Boundary reform could mean that the footprint of Gawler will realign to include adjacent areas we already see as part of the Gawler community and already utilise our services and infrastructure. It will formalise communities where there is already a natural association with our town.
Gawler will be able to plan and grow in a logical and managed way so that infrastructure and services will be delivered more effectively and efficiently and keep up with the demands of the community. Over the next 20 years Gawler is forecasted to almost triple in population and surrounding areas are anticipated to grow and be developed as urban infill occurs. We want to be ready to accommodate the extra pressures this will place on our services and infrastructure.
A boundary realignment would enable us to provide more services to more people as we realise economies of scale. In addition, those residents now living adjacent the Gawler boundaries who enjoy our services and infrastructure will become part of Gawler and be able to have their say in how the services and infrastructure are formally developed and shaped into the future as our population grows over the next 20 years and beyond.
Some people say boundary reform is long overdue and things haven’t been working well. The town of Gawler has provided services and infrastructure to our neighbours for many years.
Boundary reform would enable consolidation of finances for Council, with a larger rates base, the benefits of more efficient services, policies and procedures would be enjoyed by everyone. The ease with which people go about their business with the Council in relation to anything from waste collection to caring for the elderly in their own homes, to enjoying parks and open spaces would be noticed almost immediately.
The SA Boundaries Commission was formed on 1 January this year (2019). It is an independent body to assess council boundary change proposals which can be submitted from a range of stakeholders including councils and the public.
The new legislation provides Council with a huge opportunity to be leaders in this space and put forward a case on behalf of our community so we can continue to provide services and infrastructure to our residents, businesses, visitors and community into the future. We can see strong economic, social and environmental reasons for presenting a submission to the SA Boundaries Commission which is why we are commencing our investigations in this regard. The time is right and the time is now for us to plan for the best Gawler for the future.
At this stage we are unsure of the cost of completing the boundary reform process. This information will become clearer as we progress through the boundary reform process and Council will evaluate the financial viability of each stage of the process (once costs are known) and will make decisions accordingly. The formal investigations to be undertaken if Council decides to proceed will be undertaken by the SA Boundaries Commission at Council’s cost
The impact of boundary adjustments on rate payers is unknown at this early stage. Cost is an important consideration and will be examined in detail as the stages progress. The community will have opportunities to provide input during the community consultation process.
Boundary Reform is unlikely to affect the value of your property. Council adopts property valuations (capital values) derived from an independent State Government assessment undertaken by the Valuer-General of South Australia.
This is a new process for the State Government and timeframes are unknown. However, this is a significant matter to consider and is expected to take some time, possibly one to two years.
Yes.
Council has recently completed its community consultation in regard to this matter, however if the Council decides to progress with pursuing boundary adjustments, current and potential future rate payers will have an opportunity to provide input as part of the community consultation process undertaken as part of the investigations that will be undertaken by the SA Boundaries Commission.
You can also register your interest for email updates on this matter just email: council@gawler.sa.gov.au
We will keep up to date information on this webpage and will be regularly updating you via social media also.
You can also register your interest here for email updates. Email: council@gawler.sa.gov.au
The Town of Gawler’s focus has been to ensure that none of the surrounding Councils involved are materially affected by the potential for boundary change. We are all equally focused on ensuring the long term financial sustainability of all Councils involved.