Mayor & councillors
Yarra Ranges has 9 wards, each with one councillor, elected in October 2024 for the 2024–2028 term. 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 Richard Higgins (Chirnside Ward)The council's page lists him as the current Mayor; he was Deputy Mayor in 2024–25 and Mayor in 2019–20. Local press (Star Mail) reported that the councillors elected him, unopposed, at the Council meeting on Tuesday 11 November 2025, for a one-year term.Mayor's profile →
- Deputy Mayor
- Cr Gareth Ward (Chandler Ward)Elected at the same meeting (Star Mail, 12 Nov 2025).
- Councillors
- 9 in office, no vacanciesMatches the VEC's list of current councillors and the council's councillors page (checked Sep 2026).
- Next mayoral election
- Not yet publishedThe council's 2026 meeting schedule doesn't list the meeting at which the next Mayor will be chosen. In 2025 it was on 11 November.Meeting schedule →
Your representatives
Richard Higgins
Mayor / Councillor · Chirnside Ward
Gareth Ward
Deputy Mayor / Councillor · Chandler Ward
Tim Heenan
Councillor · Billanook Ward
Peter Mcilwain
Councillor · Lyster Ward
Mitch Mazzarella
Councillor · Melba Ward
Jim Child OAM
Councillor · O'Shannassy Ward
Fiona McAllister
Councillor · Ryrie Ward
Jeff Marriott
Councillor · Streeton Ward
Len Cox OAM
Councillor · Walling 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. The date of the 2025 mayoral election comes from a local newspaper report; we found no council announcement of it. In a single-councillor ward, a vacancy with more than 6 months of the term left is filled by a by-election. For the latest list, see the council's page or the VEC.
Sources — check it yourself
- Yarra Ranges Council — Councillors · Sep 2026
- Yarra Ranges Council — Mayor Richard Higgins (profile) · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Yarra Ranges Shire Council (current councillors) · Sep 2026
- Lilydale Star Mail — Richard Higgins the new Mayor of Yarra Ranges, Gareth Ward elected deputy (12 Nov 2025) · Nov 2025
- Yarra Ranges Council — Council meeting schedule · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — 2024 Yarra Ranges 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.