Gunnedah Shire
Local government area
Location inNew South Wales
Coordinates:30°58′S150°15′E / 30.967°S 150.250°E /-30.967; 150.250
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
Region	North West Slopes
Established	1 January 1980 (1980-01-01)
Council seat	Gunnedah[2]
Government
• Mayor	Colleen Fuller
• State electorate	Tamworth
• Federal division	Parkes
Area
• Total	4,994 km2 (1,928 sq mi)
Population
• Total	12,929 (2021 census)[1]
• Density	2.5889/km2 (6.7052/sq mi)
Website	Gunnedah Shire
LGAs around Gunnedah Shire Narrabri Narrabri Tamworth Warrumbungle Gunnedah Shire Tamworth Warrumbungle Liverpool Plains Liverpool Plains

Gunnedah Shire is alocal government area in theNorth West Slopes region ofNew South Wales,Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to theLiverpool Plains in theNamoi River valley and is traversed by theOxley Highway and theKamilaroi Highway.

The Shire was established in 1980 from the amalgamation of theMunicipality of Gunnedah andLiverpool Plains Shire.^[3] It includes the town ofGunnedah and surrounding villages ofCurlewis,Breeza,Carroll,Mullaley,Emerald Hill,Tambar Springs andKelvin.

Themayor of Gunnedah is councillor Colleen Fuller, anIndependent.^[4]

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The Gunnedah Shire is situated on the Liverpool Plains between the Nandewar and Great Dividing Ranges, with the tallest hills being 400 to 500 metres (1,300 to 1,600 ft) above sea level.^[5] The climate is hot in summer, mild in winter and dry, although heavy rain in catchment areas occasionally cause flooding of the Namoi River. Major floods cut transport links to Gunnedah, briefly isolating it from the outside world. The Gunnedah area is noted for its abundance of native wildlife, includingkangaroos,echidnas andkoalas. Koalas can often be found in trees within the town, as well as in the surrounding countryside with the help of signs placed by the local tourist centre.

At the2016 census, there were 12,215 people in the Gunnedah local government area, of which there was an equal number of males and females.Gamilaroi Nation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 12.8% of the population which is over four times higher than both the national and state averages. Themedian age of people in the Gunnedah Shire was 40 years; slightly higher than the national median of 38. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 20.6% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 19% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, almost half were married (48.1%) and 11.6% were either divorced or separated.^[6]

Population growth in the Gunnedah Shire between the 2001 census and the 2011 census was nominal. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Gunnedah local government area was significantly lower than the national average.^[7] The medianweekly income for residents within the Gunnedah Shire was significantly below the national average.^[8][9]

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Gunnedah local government area who stated theirancestry asAustralian orAnglo-Saxon exceeded 87% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 72% of all residents in the Gunnedah Shire nominated areligious affiliation withChristianity at the 2011 census, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Gunnedah local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (2.3%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a significantly higher proportion (92.9%) whereEnglish only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).^[8]

Selected historical census data for Gunnedah Shire local government area
Census year		2001[7]	2006[9]	2011[8]	2016[10]
Population	Estimated residents on Census night	11,976	11,525	12,066	12,215
	LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
	% of New South Wales population			0.17%	0.16%
	% of Australian population	0.06%	0.06%	0.06%	0.05%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	Australian			37.6%	38.8
	English			30.5%	28.5%
	Irish			8.8%	8.4%
	Scottish			7.6%	7.2%
	German			3.2%	3.5%
Language, top responses (other thanEnglish)	Mandarin	n/c	n/c	0.2%	0.3%
	Afrikaans				0.3%
	Tagalog				0.2%
	German	0.1%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
	Portuguese	n/c	n/c	0.1%
	Cantonese	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
	Italian	0.2%	n/c	0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	Anglican	39.3%	38.0%	34.7%	29.7%
	Catholic	27.5%	27.2%	26.9%	26.2%
	No Religion	6.7%	9.3%	12.8%	20.1%
	Presbyterian and Reformed	6.9%	6.1%	5.4%	4.9%
	Uniting Church	6.5%	5.6%	5.0%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income		A$366	A$485	A$618
	% of Australian median income		78.5%	84.1%	93.3%
Family income	Median weekly family income		A$915	A$1,200	A$1,586
	% of Australian median income		78.1%	81.0%	91.5%
Household income	Median weekly household income		A$714	A$937	A$1,253
	% of Australian median income		69.5%	75.9%	87.1%

Gunnedah Shire Council is composed of ninecouncillors electedproportionally as a singleward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. Themayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on14 September 2024.

• Gunnedah Shire
• Local government areas of New South Wales
• New England (New South Wales)
• 1980 establishments in Australia

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