Mayor & councillors
Bass Coast has 9 councillors: three for each of its three wards — Bunurong, Island and Western Port. They were elected in October 2024 for the 2024–2028 term. Voters don't elect the Mayor directly: the councillors choose one of themselves. Cr Brett Tessari was elected Mayor at a council meeting on 29 April 2026, after Cr Rochelle Halstead resigned from the office of Mayor; she remains a Western Port Ward councillor. The next mayoral election is scheduled for Wednesday 18 November 2026.
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 Brett Tessari (Bunurong Ward)Elected unopposed at the council meeting of 29 April 2026. The council's report for that meeting said the new Mayor would serve until the next election of the Mayor, on Wednesday 18 November 2026.
- Deputy Mayor
- Cr Ron Bauer (Island Ward)Elected at the same meeting, 29 April 2026.
- Councillors
- 9 — three per wardMatches the Victorian Electoral Commission's list of current councillors (checked September 2026).
- Changes since the 2024 election
- NoneThe VEC lists no countback for Bass Coast since October 2024. Its most recent Bass Coast entry is a Western Port Ward countback on 11 August 2023, in the previous term.
Your representatives
Brett Tessari
Mayor / Councillor · Bunurong Ward
Meg Edwards
Councillor · Bunurong Ward
Mat Morgan
Councillor · Bunurong Ward
Ron Bauer
Deputy Mayor / Councillor · Island Ward
Tracey Bell
Councillor · Island Ward
Tim O'Brien
Councillor · Island Ward
Rochelle Halstead
Councillor · Western Port Ward
Jon Temby
Councillor · Western Port Ward
Jan Thompson
Councillor · Western Port 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 the council email addresses from the council's councillors page (September 2026), and link to the election results. For Cr Tim O'Brien, use the email link on his council profile page or the council's general address, basscoast@basscoast.vic.gov.au. In a multi-councillor ward like Bass Coast's, a vacancy is filled by a VEC countback of the 2024 votes, not a by-election. For the latest list, see the council's page or the VEC.
Sources — check it yourself
- Bass Coast Shire Council — Councillors and Elections · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Bass Coast Shire Council (current councillors) · Sep 2026
- Bass Coast Shire Council — Bass Coast Shire Council elects new Mayor and Deputy Mayor (29 Apr 2026) (read from an archived copy) · Apr 2026
- Bass Coast Shire Council — Council Meeting agenda, 29 April 2026, item 4.5.1 Election of Mayor (PDF) (read from an archived copy) · Apr 2026
- Bass Coast Shire Council — Council Meeting minutes, 29 April 2026 (PDF) (read from an archived copy) · Apr 2026
- Victorian Government — Local government contacts and information (council contacts list) · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — By-elections and countbacks timeline · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — 2024 Bass Coast Shire 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.