Ballina Shire
Local government area
Location inNew South Wales
Coordinates:28°50′S153°32′E / 28.833°S 153.533°E /-28.833; 153.533
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
Region	Northern Rivers
Established	1 January 1977 (1977-01-01)[1]
Council seat	Ballina[4]
Government
• Mayor	Sharon Cadwallader
• State electorate	Ballina
• Federal divisions	Richmond Page
Area [3]
• Total	485 km2 (187 sq mi)
Population
• Total	46,850 (2022)[3]
• Density	96.60/km2 (250.19/sq mi)
Website	Ballina Shire
LGAs around Ballina Shire Lismore Byron Tasman Sea Lismore Ballina Shire Tasman Sea Richmond Valley Richmond Valley Tasman Sea

Ballina Shire is alocal government area in theNorthern Rivers region ofNew South Wales,Australia. The Shire was formed on 1 January 1977 by the amalgamation of the Municipality of Ballina andTintenbar Shire.^[1] The Shire is located adjacent to theTasman Sea and thePacific Highway. The council seat is located in the town ofBallina. The population of the Ballina Shire area was 46,850^[3] in 2022.

Themayor of Ballina Shire Council is Sharon Cadwallader.^[5]

The Ballina Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• High Conservation Value Old Growth forest^[6]

At the2016 census, there were 41,790 people in the Ballina local government area; of these 48.2 per cent were male and 51.8 per cent were female.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.3 per cent of the population, which was higher than the national (2.9%) and state averages (2.8%). Themedian age of people in the Ballina Shire area was 48 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 16.7 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 25.0 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 48.9 per cent were married and 14.4 per cent were either divorced or separated.^[7]

Population growth in the Ballina Shire area between the 2001 census and the2006 census was 3.89 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 2.11 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the Ballina local government area was significantly lower than the national average.^[8][9] Growth increased to a 9.2% increase between 2011 and 2016, compared to a national average of 8.8%.The medianweekly income for residents within the Ballina Shire area was significantly lower than the national average.^[7]

At the 2016 census, the proportion of residents in the Ballina local government area who stated theirancestry asAustralian orEnglish exceeded 60 per cent of all residents (national average was 48.3 per cent). Nearly 60% of all residents in the Ballina nominated areligious affiliation withChristianity at the 2011 census. Ballina Shire had a significantly higher proportion of households (89.1 per cent) whereEnglish only was spoken at home (national average was 72.7 per cent).^[7]

Selected historical census data for the Ballina Shire local government area
Census year		2001[8]	2006[9]	2011[10]	2016[11]
Population	Estimated residents oncensus night	37,017	38,461	39,274	41,790
	LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			50th	50th
	% of New South Wales population			0.56%
	% of Australian population	0.20%	0.19%	0.18%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	English			32.0%	31.5%
	Australian			31.2%	28.8%
	Irish			10.5%	10.5%
	Scottish			8.1%	8.7%
	German			3.1%	3.2%
Language, top responses (other thanEnglish)	Italian	0.3%	0.4%	0.4%	0.3%
	German	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
	Dutch	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
	Spanish	n/c	n/c	0.2%	0.2%
	Japanese	n/c	n/c	0.2%	n/c
	French				0.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	Catholic	25.1%	25.5%	25.1%	21.9%
	Anglican	28.4%	26.1%	24.2%	19.1%
	No Religion	13.4%	17.4%	21.4%	30.2%
	Uniting Church	7.4%	6.3%	5.6%	4.3%
	Presbyterian and Reformed	6.4%	5.6%	5.2%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income		A$397	A$496	A$601
	% of Australian median income		85.2%	86.0%	90.8%
Family income	Median weekly family income		A$1,017	A$1,153	A$1426
	% of Australian median income		86.8%	77.9%	82.2%
Household income	Median weekly household income		A$779	A$930	A$1156
	% of Australian median income		75.9%	75.4%	80.4%

Ballina Shire Council is composed of tencouncillors, including themayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor isdirectly elected while the nine other councillors are electedproportionally as three separatewards, each electing three councillors. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows:^{[12][13][14][15]}

The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election by ward, is:

This section is an excerpt fromResults of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Northern Rivers § Ballina results.[edit]

2024 New South Wales local elections: Ballina^[18][19][20]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Sharon Cadwallader Team		10,369	40.28	+11.68	3	1
	Greens		6,706	26.05	+9.55	3	2
	Independents		5,307	20.61	−19.79	2	3
	Labor		1,950	7.57	−6.93	0
	Independent Labor		1,410	5.47	+5.47	1
Formal votes			25,742	88.49
Informal votes			3,349	11.51
Total			29,091			9
Registered voters / turnout

This section is an excerpt fromResults of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Northern Rivers § Ballina.[edit]

2021 New South Wales local elections: Ballina^[21][22]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Independent		1,0195	40.4		4	1
	Sharon Cadwallader Team		7,227	28.6		3
	Greens		4,173	16.5	+16.5	2	2
	Labor		3,676	14.5	+14.5	0
Formal votes			25,271	90.94
Informal votes			2,517	9.06
Total			27,788	100.00		9
Registered voters / turnout			32,830	84.64

• Ballina Shire Council

• Ballina Shire
• Local government areas of New South Wales
• 1977 establishments in Australia
• Ballina, New South Wales

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