About ALGA

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The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) is the national voice of local government, representing 537 councils across the country. In structure, we are a federation of state and territory local government associations.

ALGA was founded in 1947 and, in 1976, established a secretariat in Canberra reflecting growing links with the Australian Government and an awareness of local government’s emerging national role.

ALGA is led by our President and two Vice Presidents. The secretariat in Canberra is managed by the Chief Executive.

Our members

ALGA’s members include:

What we do

We provide a range of services to our member associations and, through them, local councils throughout Australia. These include:

  • Representing local government on national bodies and ministerial councils, including representation by our president on the National Federation Reform Council
  • Policy development to provide a local government perspective on national affairs, as well as providing submissions to government and parliamentary inquiries
  • Raising the profile and concerns of local government at the national level by lobbying the Australian Government and Parliament on specific issues and running campaigns to secure agreed policy objectives
  • Providing information on national issues, policies and trends affecting local government, and
  • Providing forums for local government to guide the development of national local government policies.

Our strategic priorities

ALGA’s policies and strategic priorities are determined by the ALGA Board, consisting of two representatives from each of the member associations and an independent chair. Our strategic priorities are to champion a strong local government sector focusing on:

  • financial sustainability;
  • roads and infrastructure funding;
  • waste and recycling;
  • stronger community resilience; and
  • addressing the risk of climate change.