This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "City of Gold Coast" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

City of Gold Coast
Local government area
Coat of arms Council logo
Map of the City of Gold Coast in Queensland
Interactive map of City of Gold Coast
Country	Australia
State	Queensland
Region	South East Queensland
Established	9 December 1948; 77 years ago (1948-12-09)
City status	16 May 1959; 66 years ago (1959-05-16)
Council seat	Surfers Paradise
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
• Body	Gold Coast City Council
• Mayor	Tom Tate (Independent LNP)
Area [1]
• Total	1,334 km2 (515 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	625,087
• Density	468.6/km2 (1,214/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+10:00 (AEST)
Website	www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au

TheCity of Gold Coast is thelocal government area spanning theGold Coast, Queensland, Australia, and surrounding areas. It is on the central eastern coast of Australia facing the Pacific Ocean. With a population of 606,774,^[1] it is the second most populous local government area in the State of Queensland (City of Brisbane being the largest).^[1] Its council maintains a staff of over 2,500. It was established in 1948, but has existed in its present form since 2008. It is on theborder with New South Wales with theTweed Shire to the south inNew South Wales.^[3]

By the late 1870s, theGovernment of Queensland had become preoccupied with the idea of getting local residents to pay through rates for local services, which had become a massive cost to the colony and were undermaintained in many areas. TheMcIlwraith government initiated theDivisional Boards Act 1879 which created a system of elected divisional boards covering most of Queensland. It was assented by the Governor on 2 October 1879, and on 11 November 1879, the Governor gazetted a list of 74 divisions which would come into existence. Four of these —Nerang,Coomera,Beenleigh andWaterford — were in the Gold Coast region.Southport was developed as both an administrative centre as well as a holiday destination with hotels and guesthouses to cater for visitors. Town dwellers had different needs to the rural landholders so Southport ratepayers lobbied the colonial government to create a separate Divisional Board so that rates monies raised by Southport landholders could be spent on town improvements. This resulted in the establishment of theSouthport Division on 14 July 1883 by an amalgamation of part of Nerang Division and part of Coomera Division.

On 31 March 1903, following the enactment of theLocal Authorities Act 1902, the divisions became shires. On 12 June 1914, theTown of Coolangatta was created from part of theShire of Nerang, and on 12 April 1918,Southport became a town.^[4]

On 9 December 1948, as part of a major reorganisation of local government inSouth East Queensland, an Order in Council created theTown of South Coast by amalgamatingTown of Southport,Town of Coolangatta and coastal sections (aroundBurleigh Heads) of theShire of Nerang, creating a narrow coastal strip. The same Order abolished all of the earlier Shires and amalgamated most of their area into the newShire of Albert, with the rest becoming part of theShire of Beaudesert. The Order came into effect on 10 June 1949, when the first elections were held for the new councils.

On 23 October 1958, the Town of the South Coast adopted the name ofTown of Gold Coast, and on 16 May 1959, the Town was proclaimed as the City of Gold Coast by theGovernor of Queensland, having met the requirements for city status. Most of what is now regarded as the Gold Coast urban area was at that time located within theShire of Albert, which had its administrative offices in Nerang-Southport Road,Nerang.

On 19 March 1992, theElectoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its reportExternal Boundaries of Local Authorities, and recommended a number of changes to local government boundaries and the amalgamation of some local governments.^[5] Although their recommendations only included boundary adjustments between the Gold Coast City andAlbert Shire, the outcome following much public debate was a decision by theQueensland Government to absorb Albert Shire into Gold Coast City. TheLocal Government (Albert, Beaudesert and Gold Coast) Regulation 1994 was gazetted on 16 December 1994, resulting in the amalgamation of theShire of Albert into Gold Coast City at the 1995 local government elections.

In 2007, as part of a report recommending massive amalgamation of local government in Queensland, theLocal Government Reform Commission recommended that theBeenleigh-Eagleby region on the Gold Coast's northern border be transferred toLogan City, on the basis that a common community of interest existed and that planning of the South East Queensland urban footprint would be made more efficient by the change. The area to be excised was estimated by the Commission to have an area of 49 km² (18.9 sq mi) and a population of 40,148. The change took effect at thelocal government elections on 15 March 2008.

The Gold Coast has manyheritage-listed sites, including those at:

• Currumbin
• Main Beach
• Pimpama
• Numinbah Valley
• South Stradbroke Island
• Southport
• Springbrook
• Surfers Paradise
• Tallebudgera
• Willow Vale

Gold Coast City Council
Leadership
Mayor	Tom Tate, Independent LNP
Deputy Mayor	Mark Hammel, Independent
Structure
Seats	15 elected representatives, including a mayor and 14 councillors
Political groups	Independent LNP (8)  Independent (7)
Elections
Last election	16 March 2024

Gold Coast City Council is divided into 14 wards (known as divisions), each electing one councillor at elections held every four years. The presentmayor isTom Tate who was first elected on 28 April 2012 and re-elected in 2016, 2020 and 2024.^[6][7][8]

The current council, elected in2024, is:

This section is an excerpt fromResults of the 2024 Queensland local elections § Gold Coast.[edit]

2024 Queensland local elections: Gold Coast

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Independent		202,972	66.98		7
	Independent LNP		89,919	29.67		7
	Animal Justice		7,942	2.62		0
	Independent UAP		2,222	0.73		0

Populations are provided below for the Gold Coast (Southport/Coolangatta, South Coast, Gold Coast) and Albert entities. As Albert included the entireLogan City area prior to 1978, figures are only provided from the 1976 census.

Selected historical census data for City of Gold Coast local government area
Census year			2001[9]	2006[10]	2011[11]	2016[12]
Population		Estimated residents oncensus night	426,661	472,279	494,501	555,721
		LGA rank in terms of size within Queensland		2nd	2nd	2nd
		% of Queensland population	11.9%	12.1%	11.41%	11.82%
		% of Australian population	2.27%	2.38%	2.3%	2.38%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling type		Separate house	58.5%	58.9%	60.4%	58.3%
		Semi-detached,terrace ortownhouse	16.0%	16.6%	18.8%	20.6%
		Flat or apartment	22.1%	22.6%	19.6%	19.9%

The first municipal library on the Gold Coast opened in theSouthport Town Hall on 30 April 1958. Prior to this, a series ofSchool of arts and privatecirculating libraries had supported the communities' and visitors' recreational and educational reading needs.^[13]

The City of Gold Coast has 12 libraries atBroadbeach,Burleigh Heads,Burleigh Waters,Coolangatta,Elanora,Helensvale,Mermaid Waters,Nerang,Palm Beach,Robina,Runaway Bay,Southport andUpper Coomera.^[14] There is a special needs library within Nerang Library^[15] and a Local Studies Library (on the first floor of Southport Library).^[16] The council also operate a mobile library service.^[14]

In 2018, the mobile library provides a fortnight service toAlberton,Ashmore,Benowa,Bonogin,Cedar Creek,Coomera,Currumbin Valley,Gilston,Jacobs Well,Mudgeeraba,Ormeau (4 visits),Paradise Point,Pimpama (3 visits),Tugun,Steiglitz,Tallebudgera Valley, andWoongoolba.^[17] The Gold Coast City Library is a member of theQueensland Public Libraries Association.^[18]

• Gold Coast University Hospital
• Tugun Desalination Plant
• Raising ofHinze Dam
• Southport Broadwater Parklands
• Gold Coast Rapid Transit System
• Gold Coast Ferry Service
• Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens
• Evandale Cultural Precinct including theHome of The Arts cultural centre and agreenbridge from Evandale Parklands toChevron Island^[19]
• Mermaid Waters Library
• Gold Coast Shoreline Management Plan

Notable people who work for or who have worked for the City of Gold Coast include:

• Guillermo CapatiPSM, (1994–2017), managed the city's water and wastewater needs, long-term water planning and recycled water.^[20][21] Capati was awarded aPublic Service Medal (PSM) during the2013 Australia Day Honours for outstanding public service to the sustainable water future of the Gold Coast and broaderSouth East Queensland region.^[22]
• Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden, (born 23 September 1992), was elected as Division 7 Councillor in the2020 Gold Coast City Council election at the age of 27, making him the youngest person elected to the role in the city's history. Before entering politics, Bayldon-Lumsden was awarded a Queensland Young Volunteer Award for 2009, for his involvement in community programs run through Family Support Group Australia and was also a secondary school teacher atThe Southport School.^[23] On 23 August 2023, Bayldon-Lumsden was charged byQueensland Police with the murder of his stepfather, 58-year-old Robert Lumsden, following the charge he was suspended as Councillor pending the verdict of the charge and unsuccessfully ran for re-election in the2024 Gold Coast City Council election.^[24][25]

The City of Gold Coast has relationships with the following cities and regions:^[26]

• Gold Coast Art Centre
• Gold Coast City Art Gallery
• List of Gold Coast suburbs

• City of Gold Coast
• History of Gold Coast Council
• Gold Coast Internet Exchange - OOL-IX

28°00′04″S153°25′42″E / 28.00111°S 153.42833°E /-28.00111; 153.42833

• City of Gold Coast
• 1948 establishments in Australia
• Populated places established in 1948

• Australian Statistical Geography Standard 2001 ID different from Wikidata
• Australian Statistical Geography Standard 2011 ID same as Wikidata
• Australian Statistical Geography Standard 2016 ID same as Wikidata
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Use Australian English from August 2014
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
• Use dmy dates from March 2020
• Articles needing additional references from July 2020
• All articles needing additional references
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Pages using infobox settlement with no coordinates
• Articles with excerpts
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Pages using the Kartographer extension