City of Port Phillip

City of Port Phillip
Victoria
City of Port Phillip; Victoria
Population	109,515 (2023)
• Density	4,871.1/km2 (12,616/sq mi)
Established	1994
Area	20.7 km2 (8.0 sq mi)
Mayor	Cr. Louise Crawford
Council seat	St Kilda
Region	Greater Melbourne
State electorate(s)	Albert Park; Brighton; Caulfield; Prahran;
Federal division(s)	Macnamara
	LGAs around City of Port Phillip:

The City of Port Phillip is a local government area of Victoria, Australia on the northern shores of Port Phillip, south of Melbourne's central business district. It has an area of 20.7 km² and had a population of 109,515 in 2023.^[1]

Port Phillip contains a number of varied and substantial retail, entertainment and leisure precincts. These include Bay Street (Port Melbourne), Victoria Avenue (Albert Park), Clarendon Street (South Melbourne), Armstrong Street (Middle Park), Fitzroy Street (St Kilda), Acland Street (St Kilda), Carlisle Street (Balaclava) and Ormond Road (Elwood). A number of significant employment areas lie within Port Phillip, including part of the St Kilda Road business district and industrial, warehousing and manufacturing districts in South Melbourne and Port Melbourne.^{[citation needed]} The city has experienced a significant amount of residential development in the 1990s, particularly in areas close to the foreshore.^{[citation needed]} Port Phillip is well served by public transport with a substantial tram network, the St Kilda and Port Melbourne tram lines and two stations on the Sandringham railway line, in addition to bus services.

Comprising nine single member wards, it is predominantly an amalgamation of three former cities – St Kilda, parts of South Melbourne, most of Port Melbourne, as well as a small portion of Windsor from the former City of Prahran^[3]

The city was created with its present borders in June 1994 under the municipal restructure by the state government.^{[citation needed]} It is bounded by White Reserve and Todd Road to the west, the West Gate Freeway, Kings Way and Dorcas Street to the north, St Kilda Road, High Street, Punt Road, Queens Way, Dandenong Road, Orrong Road, Inkerman Street, Hotham Street, Glen Huntly Road, St Kilda Street and Head Street generally to the east and the foreshore of Port Phillip to the south. Adjacent councils include the City of Melbourne, City of Bayside, City of Glen Eira and the City of Stonnington. When first created, the city was administered by three appointed commissioners, headed by Des Clarke. The first council elections were held in March 1996.

Council offices are currently located in the St Kilda Town Hall, Port Melbourne Town Hall and the South Melbourne Town Hall (currently closed for restoration). The council operates several other facilities including local libraries, childcare centres, parks, playgrounds and community centres. In 2020 ANAM was given a long lease to South Melbourne Town Hall and council staff there and a few community groups vacated the building.

Schools

Albert Park Primary School (Government)
Elwood Primary School (Government)
Galilee Regional Primary School (Roman Catholic)
Middle Park Primary School (Government)
Port Melbourne Primary School (Government)
St Kilda Park Primary School (Government)
St Kilda Primary School (Government)
Albert Park College (Government)
Elwood Secondary College (Government)
Mac.Robertson Girls' High School (High performance government secondary college for girls)
St Michael's Grammar School (Church of England/Anglican)
South Melbourne Primary School (Government)
South Melbourne Park Primary School (Government)
Port Melbourne Secondary College (Government)

Offices

St Kilda Town Hall
South Melbourne Town Hall (currently closed for restoration)
Port Melbourne Town Hall

Libraries

Albert Park
Emerald Hill (South Melbourne)
Middle Park
Port Melbourne
St Kilda

Notable institutions

2/10 Medium Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (Army Reserve, Chapel Street, St Kilda East)
Australian National Music Academy (South Melbourne, in former City of South Melbourne Town Hall)
City of Port Phillip Town Hall, St Kilda (Former City of St Kilda Town Hall, Council meetings usually on Wednesday with about 3 meetings per month. Port Phillip Meeting Agenda.)
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Victoria (South Melbourne)
Hare Krishna Temple (Albert Park)
South Melbourne Football Club
Victorian Pride Centre
1st Victorian Sea Scout Group regarded as being the first Scout Group in Australia, founded in 1907, and is still currently active hosting Cubs, Scouts and a Venturer Unit based in the Albert Park Reserve

Notable events

Gay Pride March (Fitzroy Street and Catani Gardens, St Kilda, dykes on bikes, boot scooting, marching groups, music and political activism)
Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix (Albert Park Circuit), 4-day international motor racing event held in March or April. Includes a Supercars race.
St Kilda Festival (300,000 people attend this annual music event, Fitzroy Street and Upper Esplanade closed, tram services to the event). This free event now cost ratepayers close to $1.5 million annually.
St Kilda Film Festival (Australia's Top 100 short films, SoundKILDA: Australia Music Video Competition, international films, forums, Industry Open Day and much more)
St Kilda Writers Festival (local and international writers compare their skills)
Admiral Napier Cup, held in the last weekend of August and hosted by the 1st Victorian Sea Scout Group on Albert Park lake, is where Scouts and Venturers gather to participate in rowing, paddling and sailing competitions and recent addition of Iron Person events

Townships and localities

The 2021 census, the city had a population of 101,942 up from 100,863 in the 2016 census^[4]

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Albert Park	6,215	6,044
Balaclava	5,396	5,392
Elwood	15,543	15,153
Melbourne CBD^	47,285	54,941
Middle Park	4,143	4,000
Port Melbourne^	16,175	17,633
Ripponlea	1,576	1,532
South Melbourne	10,920	11,548
Southbank^	18,709	22,631
St Kilda	20,230	19,490
St Kilda East^	13,101	12,571
St Kilda West	3,162	2,951
Windsor^	7,281	7,273

^ – Territory divided with another LGA

Current council composition

Since 2024 Port Phillip City Council is composed of nine councillors elected from nine single-member wards, up from seven in 2012.^[5]^[6] Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held in October 2024.

The current council, elected in 2024, in order of election by ward, is as follows:^[7]

Ward		Councillor
Albert Park Ward	Residents of Port Phillip	Rod Hardy
Alma Ward	Independent	Justin Halliday
Balaclava Ward	Labor	Libby Buckingham
Elwood Ward	Labor	Louise Crawford
Lakeside Ward	Residents of Port Phillip	Bryan Mears
Montague Ward	Independent	Alex Makin
Port Melbourne Ward	Independent	Heather Cunsolo
South Melbourne Ward	Residents of Port Phillip	Beti Jay
St Kilda Ward	People Empowering Port Phillip	Serge Thomann

Election results

2024

2024 Victorian local elections: Port Phillip^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]
Party		Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Independent	19,090	36.21	+21.74	1
	Labor	9,213	17.48	−6.24	2
	Greens	9,171	17.40	−3.83	0	2
	Residents of Port Phillip	7,279	13.81	−1.04	3	1
	People Empowering Port Phillip	5,465	10.37	+10.37	1	1
	Independent Liberal	2,038	3.87	−16.49	0	2
	Victorian Socialists	461	0.87	+0.87	0
Formal votes		52,717	97.66	+1.57
Informal votes		1,262	2.34	−1.57
Total		53,979	100.0		9
Registered voters / turnout		74,095	72.85	+7.12

2020

2020 Victorian local elections: Port Phillip^[15]^[16]
Party		Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor	13,228	23.72		2
	Greens	11,881	21.31		2
	Independent Liberal	11,353	20.36		2
	Ratepayers of Port Phillip	8,279	14.85	+14.85	2	2
	Independent	8,068	14.47		1
	Sustainable Australia	1,559	2.79		0
	Ind. Ratepayers of Port Phillip	482	0.86	+0.86	0
Formal votes		55,752	96.09	+4.12
Informal votes		2,269	3.91	−4.12
Total		58,021	100.0
Registered voters / turnout		88,268	65.73	+17.13