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Mayor & councillors

Mayor & councillors

Melton has 10 councillors, one for each ward: Bullum Bullum, Cambrian, Coolibah, Hilltop, Jackwood, Lake Caroline, Mount Atkinson, Stringybark, Sugar Gum and Watts. They were elected in October 2024 for the 2024–2028 term. This single-councillor ward structure replaced three multi-member wards (9 councillors) at the 2024 election. Voters don't elect the Mayor directly. The councillors choose one of themselves each year; the next vote is at the council meeting on Thursday 5 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.
See the full explainer, with formulas →

Who represents you

Mayor
Cr Lara Carli (Sugar Gum Ward)Elected Mayor for 2025–26 by the councillors on Thursday 6 November 2025. The council says it is her fourth term on the council and that she was previously Mayor in 2022–23 and 2019–20.
Deputy Mayor
Cr Dr Phillip Zada (Mount Atkinson Ward)Elected Deputy Mayor at the same meeting, 6 November 2025.
Councillors
10 — one per wardMatches the Victorian Electoral Commission's list of current councillors (checked Sep 2026).
Next mayoral election
Council meeting, Thursday 5 November 2026From the council's published 2026 meeting schedule. This page will be updated after that meeting.
Changes since the 2024 election
NoneThe VEC lists no Melton by-election or countback since October 2024. Its most recent Melton entry is a January 2023 countback in the former Watts Ward.

Your representatives

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. If a councillor's seat falls vacant, Melton's single-councillor wards fill it by a by-election, not a countback, as long as more than 6 months of the term remain. For the latest list, see the council's page or the VEC.

Sources — check it yourself

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.