Subdivision Review
Yarra Ranges Shire Council
Subdivision Review Report
20
26 April 2012
Summary of Recommendations
The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) recommends that
the boundaries of the following wards be slightly modified:
 Billanook Ward
 Chandler Ward
 Melba Ward
 Walling Ward
The recommended ward boundaries can be seen in the map at
the back of this report.
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Background
Legislative basis
Subdivision reviews are allowed for by the Local Government Act 1989 (the Act). Their
purpose is to consider the location of the ward boundaries to ensure the number of
electors represented by each councillor in the municipality is within 10 per cent of the
average number of electors represented by all councillors (compliance may be
determined by reference to the number of electors at the time of the review or the
projected number electors as at the entitlement date for the next general election).
Subdivision review provisions only apply to councils:
1. That are not scheduled to conduct an electoral representation review before the next
general election
2. Where two years before the council is to hold a general election, the VEC considers
that the boundaries for the wards of the Council are unlikely to meet the equality
requirements of the legislation as at the time of their next general election.
A subdivision review is only required where the Minister for Local Government writes to
a Council and directs them to undertake a review pursuant to section 219K of the Act.
Yarra Ranges Shire Council received notice in April 2010, from the Minister of Local
Government, that the Council must appoint the VEC to conduct an independent
subdivision review. At the time, there were concerns that Melba Ward could deviate
beyond the 10 per cent average number of electors required by legislation.
Scope of the review
Subdivision reviews can only examine the location of ward boundaries. They cannot
look at the total number of councillors, the number of councillors in a ward, ward names,
the external boundaries of a municipality or whether a municipality should be divided
into two municipalities or amalgamated.
Electoral representation reviews (as opposed to subdivision reviews) consider a broader
range of topics, including the number of councillors, whether or not there should be
wards, how many councillors there should be in a ward and how many wards there
should be (if any). Yarra Ranges Shire Council is scheduled to undergo an electoral
representation review considering these matters in 2020.
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The VEC and subdivision reviews
The VEC has conducted subdivision reviews since 2008 on appointment by local
councils. The Act was changed in 2010 to define the VEC as the only agency
authorised to undertake the reviews.
The legislation provides that the VEC may conduct the subdivision review in any manner
that it considers appropriate.
The process for the Yarra Ranges Shire Council subdivision review is outlined in this
report.
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Subdivision review process

Changes are modelled to the location of ward boundaries to achieve the equality
requirements. The VEC uses both the current number of electors and the electors
projected to be on the roll for the next general election, in addition to data from the
Department of Planning and Community Development and Forecast.id.

Where possible, a “minimal change” approach is used when moving the location of
ward boundaries, to ensure that changes affect as few electors as possible. (It should
be noted that changes to the boundaries of wards that do not conform to the equal
voter number requirements often have a flow-on effect and changes may need to be
made to the boundaries of other wards, even through they may currently conform to the
voter number requirements).

When modelling changes to ward boundaries, due consideration is given to the
following factors:


relevant issues that were considered as part of the representation review;

area and physical features of the terrain;

means of travel, traffic arteries, and any special difficulties in connection;

clear boundary delineators;

communities of interest and;

the likelihood of changes in the number of electors before the next election.
A map of the proposed boundaries was published in the Lilydale Yarra Valley Leader,
Yarra Ranges Weekly, Mountain Views Mail, Upper Yarra Mail, Ranges Trader Mail,
Ferntree Gully/Belgrave Mail and The Age on Tuesday, 7 February 2012. It also
featured in the Free Press Leader on Wednesday, 8 February 2012. The advertisement
informed the community of the subdivision review and invited written comments or
objections to the proposed change.

A proposed boundaries report containing a detailed map of the proposed boundaries
together with the rationale for the boundary changes and information about the process
was made available for inspection at the offices of the VEC and the Council.
Alternatively, the Report could be downloaded from the VEC's website – vec.vic.gov.au
- or hard copies could be requested by contacting the VEC’s dedicated helpline –
131 832.
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
Three written submissions were considered by the panel and a public hearing was held
at the Yarra Ranges Shire Council Offices on Thursday, 15 March 2012. One speaker
chose to speak to his submission.

An Addendum Report was published on 26 March 2012 and made available from the
VEC and Council Offices. Notifications of the release of the Addendum Report were
published in the Lilydale Yarra Valley Leader, Yarra Ranges Weekly, Mountain Views
Mail, Upper Yarra Mail, Ranges Trader Mail, Mount Evelyn Mail, Ferntree Gully
Belgrave Mail and The Age on Tuesday, 3 April 2012. An advertisement was also
placed in the Free Press Leader on Wednesday, 4 April 2012.

The Addendum Report could also be downloaded from the VEC's website –
vec.vic.gov.au - or hard copies could be requested by contacting the VEC’s dedicated
helpline – 131 832.

This final report containing the VEC’s recommendation was submitted to the Minister
for Local Government on 26 April 2012.

Any changes accepted by the Minister will apply at the next general election in October
2012.
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Current Electoral Structure
The electoral representation review for Yarra Ranges Shire Council took place in 2007.
Following the review, the Minister for Local Government determined that the structure of
Yarra Ranges Shire Council should be:
Nine councillors elected from nine wards.
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Profile of Yarra Ranges Shire Council
Yarra Ranges Shire is located on the fringe of metropolitan Melbourne and is
geographically the largest of all the metropolitan councils.1 The western section of the
Council area includes the urban fringe of Melbourne; the central section of the Council
area comprises the foothills of the Yarra Ranges and is home to numerous townships;
and the eastern half of Yarra Ranges contains mostly rural land and native forest while
smaller townships are scattered throughout.2
Around 70 per cent of the Shire’s population live in the ‘urban’ areas of the Shire which
represents just 3 per cent of its landmass. The remaining population is distributed
throughout the rural areas.3
Yarra Ranges is projected to experience a slow but steady population increase over the
next decade.4
Number of electors
The table below shows the number of current electors in each ward and their deviation
from the average number of councillors to voters per ward.
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Ward Name
Electors
Deviation
Billanook
12,769
+5.88%
Chandler
11,043
-8.43%
Chirnside
12,316
+2.12%
Lyster
11,416
-5.34%
Melba
13,475
+11.73%
O’Shannassy
12,304
+2.02%
Ryrie
12,097
0.31%
Streeton
11,484
-4.78%
Walling
11,633
-3.54%
1
Yarra Ranges Shire Council website – yarraranges.vic.gov.au
Forecast.id
3
Department of Planning and Community Development website – dpcd.vic.gov.au
4
Victoria in Future 2008, Department of Planning and Community Development
2
The table shows that Melba Ward is recording a deviation beyond the ten per cent
tolerance allowed by legislation and the VEC’s projected enrolment data shows that this
deviation will further increase in the period leading up to the local council election this
year. In addition, the enrolment trends show that Billanook Ward is also set to deviate
beyond the 10 per cent tolerance by October 2016.
The boundaries of Melba and Billanook Wards need to be changed to bring them into
line with the average number of electors for all wards.
Proposed boundary changes
The VEC always prefers to make minimal adjustments in subdivision reviews in order to
affect the least possible number of electors while at the same time ensuring that the
structure will provide fair and equitable representation for electors until the next
scheduled electoral representation review.
In its Subdivision Review Report, the VEC recommended two changes. The first change
addressed the growth of electors in Melba Ward. With 13,475 electors, Melba Ward has
more electors than any other ward in the municipality and the VEC’s projected
enrolment data shows that this number would further increase in the period leading up
to the local Council election this year. To correct this imbalance, the VEC proposed
altering the boundary with Walling Ward, because it has the lowest number of electors
of all the adjacent wards.
The boundary between these two wards currently runs along Cambridge Road to
Holmes Road and Dryden Concourse, then along Cardigan Road to Taylor Road. It was
proposed to change the boundary to run along Hull Road to join Taylor Road, including
more of the suburb of Mooroolbark in Walling Ward. This boundary uses roads that are
easy to identify and affects 1056 electors in total.
Under the Local Government Act 1989, it is not possible to undertake two subdivision
reviews in a row, without prompting a full electoral representation review. To protect the
municipality from an early electoral representation review, the VEC recommended a
second minor boundary change to pre-emptively correct an imbalance in Billanook
Ward which, according to the VEC’s projected data, would also grow beyond the 10 per
cent average by October 2016.
Billanook Ward is adjacent to Chandler Ward which has the least amount of electors in
the Shire. Therefore, it seemed logical to change the boundary to increase the number
of electors in Chandler Ward. The current boundary runs along McKillop Road to Hunter
Road and it was proposed to transfer the semi-rural area between Monbulk Road and
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Clegg Road into Chandler Ward. This change inevitably split the foothills township of
Mount Evelyn and affected 523 electors.
Response submissions to the Proposed Boundaries
Report
Three submissions were received in response to the Proposed Boundaries Report.
Mr Bailey, a resident of Mount Evelyn for the past 45 years and previous councillor for
the Shire of Lillydale, wrote in support of the proposed boundaries, stating ‘there could
be no better way to meet the equality requirements.’
Yarra Ranges Shire Council also put forward a submission which stated that:
The VEC’s proposed changes to the Billanook, Chandler, Melba and Walling
Wards addresses the equality of representation issues faced both now and in
2016, whilst affecting a minimal number of voters and delivering clean boundary
lines.
The Yarra Ranges Shire Council submission also queried whether there would be
issues of equality of representation for Chirnside Ward in the near future considering the
large redevelopment sites within the suburb of Chirnside Park, which are expected to be
in place by 2016. The VEC can confirm that these developments were factored into the
VEC’s original proposals. The VEC combines data from the Department of Planning and
Community Development and Forecast.id to inform its decisions and complement its
enrolment data projections. The VEC is confident that Chirnside Ward will remain within
the 10 per cent tolerance until the next scheduled electoral representation review in
2020.
The third submission was received from the Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and
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Progress Association (MEEPPA) and outlined strong objections to the proposed
boundary change in Billanook Ward. Mr Smith, President of MEEPPA, spoke to the
submission at the public hearing which was held on Thursday, 15 March 2012 at the
Yarra Ranges Shire Council Offices.
Public Hearing
Mr Smith expressed concerns about the timing of the review, querying the decision to
hold the review six months from a general election and questioning the level of
community consultation.
Mr Smith explained that the Mount Evelyn community was already being ‘fractured’ in
terms of physical planning with a new intersection physically dividing the town and
described the change to the ward boundary as ‘an artificial quick fix which could only
have a further detrimental effect on the future of the town.’
Mr Smith calculated that 25 per cent of the township’s area would be separated under
the proposed boundary change and spent time detailing the special attributes of Mount
Evelyn, including the unique environmental characteristics and the strong sense of
community that had been built up over the past 100 years including the shared links
with the Mount Evelyn Primary School which would not be included in the same ward
under the proposed boundary change for Billanook Ward.
Mr Smith also questioned the data used by the VEC and the fact that an advertisement
was not placed in the Mount Evelyn Mail.
MEEPPA’s preliminary submissions included a suggestion to adjust the northern or
north eastern boundaries of Billanook Ward towards Lilydale or towards the Wandin
North/Warburton Highway as an acceptable alternative and Mr Smith put forward the
case for these alternatives to be re-examined.
Following Mr Smith’s presentation, the panel clarified that the subdivision review was
delayed to ensure that the most up-to-date information would be available to inform its
decision to alter the boundaries.
The panel questioned Mr Smith about MEEPPA’s proposed boundary changes in the
north of Billanook Ward and asked whether he thought they could potentially divide any
communities of interest. Mr Smith agreed they would, but believed it was still a
preferable option to placing 25 per cent of the Mount Evelyn locality into a different
ward.
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The Addendum Report
The VEC would like to thank Mr Smith for giving up his time at the public hearing and
was pleased to be able to gain further insight from his presentation on behalf of
MEEPPA.
The VEC considered all submissions and, following the public hearing, re-examined the
boundaries in the north of Billanook Ward. The main benefit to moving the ward
boundary between Billanook and Chandler Wards is to add electors into Chandler
Ward, which currently has the lowest amount of electors in the Shire. The addition of
electors into Chandler Ward goes some way to correcting this imbalance.
It is always difficult to contain growth in a single-councillor ward structure while retaining
localities within wards and the VEC notes that there are already a number of localities
within the Yarra Ranges Shire Council that are split between wards.
It is important to stress that ward boundaries are drawn primarily to ensure that the
number of electors represented by each councillor is roughly similar (within 10 per cent
of the average number of electors represented by all councillors).
The VEC was persuaded by MEEPPA’s submission, and Mr Smith’s presentation, that
Mount Evelyn was a unique community of interest with a shared history that includes
the Joy Avenue Kindergarten, Melba Centre and Mount Evelyn Primary School. In
recognition of this strong sense of community identity, the VEC tried again to find a
solution that would minimise the impact on this community.
Taking on board MEEPPA’s concerns as much as possible within the constraints of the
legislation, the VEC proposed a more minimal change that would use McKillop Road
and Monbulk Road as a boundary. This enables the Melba Centre and the Mount
Evelyn Primary School to remain in Billanook Ward and minimises the division of Mount
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Evelyn. The boundary affects 291 electors who would be represented by the councillor
for Chandler Ward from the next election.
The VEC notes MEEPPA’s concern that an advertisement was not placed in the Mount
Evelyn Mail. Yarra Ranges Shire Council did advise the VEC that advertisements
should be placed in this publication. The VEC notes that advertisements were included
in The Age and seven other newspapers that circulate within the Shire, including the
Lilydale Yarra Valley Leader, Ranges Trader Mail and Yarra Ranges Weekly which
cover the Mount Evelyn locality. A news item about the review did appear in the Mount
Evelyn Mail on 14 February 2012 and details about the process and how to make
submissions and by when were included. Nevertheless, to help ensure that all affected
voters were aware of the review and had the opportunity to comment on the proposed
boundaries, the VEC decided to publish an Addendum Report before making its
recommendation to the Minister. The Addendum Report included the VEC’s proposed
adjustment to the Billanook Ward and Chandler Ward boundary as outlined above.
Response to the Addendum Report
The VEC received four submissions by the close of the submission period at 5.00pm on
Wednesday, 18 April 2012.
Two of the submissions supported the changes. One of these submissions suggested a
minor change to include all the properties in Bailey Road, Mount Evelyn in Billanook
Ward. One of the aims of a subdivision review is to bring wards that have moved
beyond the legislated tolerance back into compliance, with minimal disruption to other
areas within the municipality. The area referred to by this submitter is outside the area
that is the subject of the subdivision review, and the VEC is reluctant to make unrelated
changes at this point in the cycle. The VEC invites submitters to raise this issue during
the next representation review.
Submissions were also received from MEEPPA and the Friends of the Mount Evelyn
Aqueduct. These submissions reiterated community concerns that the Mount Evelyn
Township should not be divided into two wards and both submissions raised concerns
about whether the timing of the advertising and the final report complied with legislation.
All VEC activities are carried out in accordance with legislation. In relation to subdivision
reviews, the VEC is bound by the requirements of the Local Government Act 1989 (the
Act). Section 219N (below) prescribes the conduct of a subdivision review.
S219N Conduct of subdivision review
(1)
Subject to this section, the reviewer may conduct the subdivision review in any
manner that the reviewer considers appropriate.
(2)
The reviewer may engage in community consultation in conducting the
subdivision review.
(3)
The reviewer must, not later than 6 months before the general election in respect
of which the subdivision review is to be implemented, submit a copy of the
subdivision review report to the Council and the Minister.
There is no obligation under the Act for the VEC to engage in community consultation or
even to advertise that a subdivision review is being conducted. However, when
conducting any review, the VEC makes every effort to engage in community
consultation. For example, the VEC advertises representation reviews more widely than
is legislatively required, and even though there is no legislative requirement to advertise
subdivision reviews, a similar advertising process is followed whenever possible.
The Yarra Ranges Shire Council subdivision review was advertised in The Age (a
newspaper widely circulated in the area), and seven other newspapers with more
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localised distribution. The VEC considers that the Mount Evelyn community was not
significantly disadvantaged by the lack of advertising in the Mount Evelyn Mail, but out
of an abundance of caution, the VEC did advertise the release of the Addendum Report
widely. This included placing an advertisement in the Mount Evelyn Mail, to provide
more opportunity for the entire community to comment on the proposed boundaries.
The release of the Addendum Report impacted on the subdivision review time schedule.
Under s.219N (3) of the Act a subdivision review report must be submitted to the
Minister at least six months prior to the next general elections, that is by April 26 2012.
In normal circumstances, the VEC would allow 28 days for responses to be received.
This timing is guided by the legislated timing for a representation review, but is at the
Electoral Commissioner’s discretion. However, in order to comply with the legislation,
provide sufficient time for the panel to makes its decision, and for a Subdivision Report
to be prepared, the VEC allowed 15 days for the community to provide responses.
The review was carried out in accordance with legislation and the VEC believes it was
carried out following the intent of the legislation.
Findings and Recommendation
Having reviewed the submissions received in response to the Addendum Report, the
VEC concluded that a second public hearing was not necessary. This is consistent with
the process for all Addendum Reports that have been released by the VEC in past
reviews.
The VEC has made every effort to take into account local concerns and minimise the
impact of this boundary change, taking care to ensure that all the main facilities of
Mount Evelyn remain in Billanook Ward. It is always difficult to retain localities within the
constraints of a single-councillor ward structure and the VEC remains of the opinion that
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this change is the most minimal change option.
The VEC is recommending, therefore, that the boundaries are redrawn as proposed in
the Addendum Report.
Recommendation
The Victorian Electoral Commission recommends that the boundaries of the following
wards be slightly modified:
 Billanook Ward
 Chandler Ward
 Melba Ward
 Walling Ward
The recommended ward boundaries can be seen in the map at the back of this
report.
S. H. Tully
Electoral Commissioner
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Liz Williams
Deputy Electoral Commissioner
List of submitters to Addendum Report
Brown, G.
Doig, R & B
Friends of Mount Evelyn Aqueduct
MEEPPA: Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association
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Map of electoral structure
17
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Victorian Electoral Commission
Level 11, 530 Collins Street
Melbourne, Vic 3000
131 VEC (131 832)
yarraranges.review@vec.vic.gov.au
vec.vic.gov.au