[1] The Act, which the Victorian Government described as the "most ambitious and comprehensive reform of local government in Victoria for 30 years," will see a large number of multi-member wards replaced with single-member wards.
[2] The Act was introduced on 17 June 2019 by the then-Minister for Local Government, Adem Somyurek.
[1][4] The Act has been criticised for its removal of proportional representation for most councils, and the consequential likely negative impact on the ability for women and minority groups to be elected.
Rural councils have the options of being unsubdivided, or having equal-sized multi-member wards.
[2] Although most changes are set to come into effect before the 2024 local elections, eight councils moved to single-member wards ahead of the 2020 local elections:[6] Additionally, Swan Hill and Mansfield moved to an unsubdivided structure.