← South Gippsland Shire Council
Mayor & councillors

Mayor & councillors

South Gippsland has three wards — Coastal Promontory, Strzelecki and Tarwin Valley — and each elects three councillors, nine in all, for the 2024–2028 term. Voters don't elect the Mayor directly: the councillors choose one of themselves each year. Because each ward's three councillors are elected by proportional representation, a seat that falls vacant is filled by a countback of the 2024 votes, not a by-election.

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 Nathan Hersey (Strzelecki Ward)Elected Mayor by the councillors at the council meeting of 19 November 2025, for a one-year term; there were three nominations (Crs Hersey, Rae and Gilligan). Cr John Schelling was Mayor for 2024–25.Minutes, 19 Nov 2025 (PDF) →
Deputy Mayor
Cr Brad Snell (Tarwin Valley Ward)Elected unopposed at the same meeting, for a one-year term.
Councillors
9 in office — 3 per wardAs listed by the council and by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), checked September 2026. The VEC lists no countback for South Gippsland since the October 2024 election.
Next mayoral election
Wednesday 18 November 2026, 2pmListed as '(Mayoral Election)' in the council's 2026 meeting dates, at the Council Chambers, Leongatha.2026 meeting dates →

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 the council's councillors page, and link to the election results. In a multi-councillor ward like South Gippsland's, a vacancy is filled by a VEC countback: the votes from the 2024 election are recounted among the candidates who weren't elected and are still eligible. A by-election is held only if no eligible candidate remains. For general questions, contact the council on 5662 9200 or council@southgippsland.vic.gov.au. 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.