NSW · North West NSW · Local council, made simple
Bourke Shire Council
A far north-western NSW shire on the Darling River (Baaka) — about 2,350 people spread across more than 41,000 square kilometres, from Bourke and North Bourke out to Byrock, Enngonia, Fords Bridge, Louth, Wanaaring and Yantabulla. The council says the shire's prosperity is built around pastoral, irrigation, tourism and service industries, and most of its roads are unsealed. The council runs the services you use every week — one kerbside garbage bin, town and village water, sewerage, roads, the pool, the library, the airport, the Back O' Bourke Exhibition Centre — and sets your rates. Here's the snapshot, then the stuff that affects your week.
Everyday essentials
The things people actually need from the council — fast.
Get to know your council
The basics, in one tap — open any card for key facts and a link to the official source.
This year's peg, when instalments fall due, and what else is on the notice.
2026-27 rate peg: 4.1%
Open →Budget & financesHow the council measures up against the official benchmarks.
4 of 9 OLG benchmarks met (2023-24)
Open →Crime & safetyWhat BOCSAR publishes for Bourke — recorded incident counts.
574 recorded incidents, April 2025 to March 2026
Open →Mayor & councillorsWho represents you — and where to read the official record.
Mayor: Cr Lachlan Ford — elected by the councillors
Open →Elections & votingWhen the next council election is, and how voting works here.
Next election: Sat 9 Sep 2028
Open →Contact & servicesHow to reach the council, and the other numbers worth having.
Customer service: (02) 6830 8000
Open →Area profileThe basics: how many people live here, and how much country the council covers.
Population: ~2,349 across 41,598 km²
Open →What's happening
4 updatesRecent items from Bourke Shire Council's public channels, in plain language.
- Have your say
Species Impact Statement exhibited for the Louth Weir fishway
The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water exhibited a Species Impact Statement for a proposed fishway at Louth Downstream Weir (No 21) on the Darling River, part of the Fish Passage: Reconnecting the Northern Basin project. The statement assesses impacts on the critically endangered Darling River Snail and the Darling River endangered ecological community. Exhibition ran for 30 days and closed on 1 July 2026.
What this means for you: The proponent is the NSW Government, not the council, but the council carried the notice for Louth residents. Submissions closed on 1 July 2026; the department's assessment continues, with concurrence required from NSW DPIRD - Fisheries.
Source: Bourke Shire Council / NSW DCCEEW — Public Notice: Louth Weir Fishway Species Impact Statement
- Election
Victor Bartley elected to council through a countback
The NSW Electoral Commission filled the casual vacancy left by the resignation of Cr Maxime Nina by redistributing preferences from the September 2024 election. Victor Bartley, a candidate at that election and a former Bourke councillor, was declared elected on 24 March 2026 and sworn in at the council's 20 April 2026 meeting.
What this means for you: The seat was filled without residents returning to the polls — that is how casual vacancies work under a countback. Cr Bartley serves the remainder of the current term, which ends in September 2028.
Source: Bourke Shire Council — Media Release: New Councillor Elected Following Countback Process
- Policy
Council starts carting water to Byrock village
From 17 November 2025 the council began carting water for domestic use to Byrock after the village's storage approached the level below which it cannot be pumped effectively. Carting runs three days a week and continues until storage recovers; the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water funded the work.
What this means for you: For Byrock residents the supply is non-potable and the council has asked that it be used only for internal household purposes such as bathing, washing up and laundry, and that leaking pipes on private property be fixed so the carted water lasts.
Source: Bourke Shire Council — Media Release: Council to Commence Water Carting to the Village of Byrock
- Policy
$2.82 million to seal the final stretch of the Wanaaring Road
The council received a $2,818,400 Australian Government grant to seal the last 9.4 km of the Bourke-Milparinka (Wanaaring) Road, completing a 190 km sealing project it has pursued since 2017. Total project cost is $3.2523 million, with the council contributing $704,600; works were anticipated to begin in November 2025.
What this means for you: For residents and businesses in the west of the shire, the road has been the main route to Bourke and was often impassable in wet and dry conditions. Sealing it is intended to give year-round access.
Source: Bourke Shire Council — Media Release: Wanaaring Road Sealing Funding
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We haven't started sending email, so we're not taking addresses for now. New items from Bourke Shire Councilshow up under “What's happening” above as we find them, each linked to its official source.