Mayor & councillors
Banyule has 9 wards, each with one councillor, elected in October 2024 for the 2024–2028 term. One seat, Beale Ward, is vacant: Councillor Elizabeth Nealy resigned with effect from 3 July 2026, and the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) is running a by-election for the seat. Voters don't elect the Mayor directly: the councillors choose one of themselves.
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 Alison Champion (Sherbourne Ward)Elected Mayor by the councillors for 12 months at a Special Council Meeting in November 2025 (council announcement of 18 November 2025). She was previously Mayor in 2019/20.
- Deputy Mayor
- Cr Rick Garotti (Grimshaw Ward)Appointed Deputy Mayor at the same meeting in November 2025.
- Councillors
- 8 in office, 1 vacancy (Beale Ward)Matches the VEC's list of current councillors and the council's councillors page (checked Sep 2026).
- Beale Ward by-election
- Voting closes 6pm Friday 2 October 2026; the VEC lists earliest results as Wednesday 14 October 2026Seven candidates are listed by the VEC, in ballot-paper order: Kevan Hill, Fleur Taylor, Kate Landers, Nicola Rooks, Renato Barra, Logan Farrell and Lauren Sandars. A further nominee retired before the ballot and is not on the ballot paper. The VEC will declare the result. This page will be updated when it does.VEC by-election page →
- Next mayoral election
- 10 November 2026Listed as 'Mayoral election' in the council's 2026 meeting schedule.Meeting schedule →
Your representatives
Alison Champion
Mayor / Councillor · Sherbourne Ward
Rick Garotti
Deputy Mayor / Councillor · Grimshaw Ward
Mark Di Pasquale
Councillor · Bakewell Ward
Alida McKern
Councillor · Chelsworth Ward
Peter Castaldo
Councillor · Griffin Ward
Matt Wood
Councillor · Hawdon Ward
Alicia Curry
Councillor · Ibbott Ward
Mary O'Kane
Councillor · Olympia Ward
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 official profiles, and link to the election results. Until the Beale Ward result is declared, the council asks Beale Ward residents to contact the Mayor or any other councillor, or the council on 9490 4222. In a single-councillor ward, a vacancy with more than 6 months of the term left is filled by a by-election, not a countback. For the latest list, see the council's page or the VEC.
Sources — check it yourself
- Banyule City Council — Councillors and their role · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Banyule City Council (current councillors) · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Beale Ward by-election · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Beale Ward by-election candidates (ballot-paper order) · Sep 2026
- Banyule City Council — Resignation of Councillor Elizabeth Nealy (3 Jul 2026) · Jul 2026
- Banyule City Council — A Champion to lead Banyule (18 Nov 2025) · Nov 2025
- Banyule City Council — Council meeting annual schedule · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — 2024 Banyule 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.