The council has an area of 3,981 square kilometres (1,537 sq mi) and occupies the slopes of the western side of the Great Dividing Range between Yass and Tumut and to the north the beginning of the northern part of the Riverina plains.

Around the same time as the state government was announcing the mergers of shires and councils in a 2015 review to amalgamate 44 local government areas to form 19 new local government areas, the mayor of the former Gundagai Shire, Abb McAlister, lodged papers with the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales to prevent it.

[5] Signs protesting the amalgamation were prominently displayed throughout Gundagai for several years.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the councillors served a slightly longer term as the elections were postponed to 4 December 2021.

These councillors was sworn in at an extraordinary meeting held on 10 January 2022 and will serve for 2 years and 3/4 to realign the election calendar to the original plan.