Category:Councils

Although they are all essentially identical in function, Australian local governments have a variety of titles. Local Government Areas (LGAs) are the official unit of local government, but mostly they are referred to as "councils" referring to both the geographical area of a local government, and as well as the elected board that governs local affairs. Unlike some other countries such as the United States and United Kingdom, there is only one tier of local government in Australia. In contrast to the UK, where a Shire is a County, in Australia a 'shire' is a rural council, but a 'county' is a non-functional administrative unit used solely for the purposes of registration of land titles (see Cadastral divisions of Australia) and few people are even aware the counties exist.

In rural areas the councils are called Shires, and Cities in urban and suburban areas. Municipalities are typically older city areas in New South Wales, but resemble standard shires in rural Tasmania, and several rural towns in South Australia are also called municipalities. Other rural areas in South Australia are known as District Councils. Queensland and Western Australia both use the moniker Town for smaller rural towns. New South Wales has introduced a new term, Regional Council, for LGAs formed by the amalgamation of smaller shires and rural cities.