Mayor & councillors
Ararat Rural City has no wards: all 7 councillors represent the whole municipality and were elected together in October 2024 for the 2024–2028 term. All 7 seats are filled. Voters don't elect the Mayor directly: the councillors choose one of themselves at a Statutory Meeting each November, for a one-year term.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- How the mayor is chosen
- Either elected directly by voters, or chosen by the councillors.
- Ward
- A subdivision of a council area that elects its own councillors.
- Local Government Area (LGA)
- The official area a council governs.
Who represents you
- Mayor
- Cr Bob SandersElected unopposed, 7 votes to 0, at the Statutory Meeting on 11 November 2025, after councillors adopted a one-year mayoral term. He was Deputy Mayor for the year before; Cr Jo Armstrong was Mayor from 12 November 2024.Statutory Meeting, 11 Nov 2025 →
- Deputy Mayor
- Cr Teli KaurElected unopposed, 7 votes to 0, at the same meeting, for a one-year term.
- Councillors
- 7 in office, no vacanciesAs listed by the council and by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), checked Sep 2026. The VEC lists no countback since the 2024 election.
- Next mayoral election
- Statutory Meeting, Tuesday 10 November 2026, 6pmFrom the council's 2026 meeting schedule. Council meetings are on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 6pm, in the Council Chamber, Shire Hall, 239 Barkly Street, and are streamed on the council's Facebook page.Council meetings →
Your representatives
Bob Sanders
Mayor / Councillor · Unsubdivided (whole municipality)
Teli Kaur
Deputy Mayor / Councillor · Unsubdivided (whole municipality)
Jo Armstrong
Councillor · Unsubdivided (whole municipality)
Rob Armstrong
Councillor · Unsubdivided (whole municipality)
Peter Joyce
Councillor · Unsubdivided (whole municipality)
Luke Preston
Councillor · Unsubdivided (whole municipality)
Bill Waterston
Councillor · Unsubdivided (whole municipality)
Want to raise something? Contacting your ward councillor or the mayor is one of the most direct ways to be heard between elections.
Victorian council ballot papers and results don't show party affiliation, so we don't label councillors. We list who holds office, with their council email addresses, and link to the council's councillor profiles and the election results. The council's page and the VEC's current-councillor list name the same seven people. Because the council has no wards, a vacancy is normally filled by a countback of the 2024 votes rather than a by-election. For the latest list, see the council's page or the VEC.
Sources — check it yourself
- Ararat Rural City Council — Meet the Councillors · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Ararat Rural City Council (current councillors) · Sep 2026
- Ararat Rural City Council — Statutory Council Meeting minutes, 11 November 2025 (Mayor, Deputy Mayor, one-year terms) (PDF) · Nov 2025
- Ararat Rural City Council — New Council elect Mayor and Deputy Mayor (13 Nov 2024) · Nov 2024
- Ararat Rural City Council — Council Meetings (2026 schedule) · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — 2024 Ararat Rural City Council election results · Nov 2024
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.