City of Launceston

This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill (documentation) and Citation bot (documentation). (August 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Launceston City Council Tasmania
Map showing the Launceston local government area
Coordinates	41°21′38″S 147°18′16″E / 41.3605°S 147.3044°E / -41.3605; 147.3044
Population	70,055 (2021)[1]
• Density	49.544/km2 (128.32/sq mi)
Established	1 January 1853[2]
Area	1,414 km2 (545.9 sq mi)[1]
Mayor	Matthew Garwood
Council seat	Launceston
Region	Launceston and surrounds
State electorate(s)	Bass Lyons
Federal division(s)	Bass Lyons
Website	Launceston City Council
LGAs around Launceston City Council: West Tamar George Town Dorset West Tamar Launceston City Council Break O'Day Meander Valley Northern Midlands Northern Midlands

Launceston City Council (or City of Launceston) is a local government body in Tasmania, located in the city and surrounds of Launceston in the north of the state. The Launceston local government area is classified as urban and has a population of 77,363,^[1] which also encompasses localities including Lilydale, Targa and through to Swan Bay on the eastern side of the Tamar River.

The current mayor is Matthew Garwood, elected in 2023.

Launceston is classified as urban, regional and medium (URM) under the Australian Classification of Local Governments.^[4] The population at the 2016 Census was over 65,000, making Launceston the most populous of the 29 local government areas in Tasmania.

The municipality logo features the now extinct Tasmanian tiger, an indigenous marsupial that used to be prevalent in the Launceston district.

Launceston was first declared as a municipality in 1853 and declared a city in 1888.^[5] Its original boundaries have long since been redefined and the area now known as the City of Launceston includes parts of the former Lilydale, St Leonard's, Evandale and Westbury Municipalities.^[6] In the 1890s, the municipality grew to include Galvin Town (South Launceston) and in 1906 to include the northern suburbs of Invermay, Mowbray and Trevallyn.^[7] This has produced a local government area that overlaps its similarly named city, rather than either being contained by or encompassing it.

Women were ineligible to stand for election to the Launceston City Council until 1945,^[8] despite being granted the same rights at federal and state level in 1902 and 1921, respectively.

• Dilston • East Launceston • Invermay • Kings Meadows • Launceston • Mayfield • Mowbray • Newnham • Newstead • Norwood • Prospect • Punchbowl • Ravenswood • Rocherlea • South Launceston • St Leonards • Summerhill • Trevallyn • Waverley • West Launceston • Youngtown

• Bangor • Blessington • Burns Creek • Golconda • Karoola • Lalla • Lebrina • Lilydale • Lower Turners Marsh • Mount Direction • Myrtle Bank • North Lilydale • Nunamara • Patersonia • Pipers Brook • Pipers River • Prospect Vale • Relbia • Retreat • Springfield • Swan Bay • Targa • Tayene • Tunnel • Turners Marsh • Underwood • Upper Blessington • White Hills • Windermere • Wyena

• – Napa, California, USA

Homelessness in Launceston has been a growing problem.^[9][10] Launceston City Council does not hold or track statistics on homelessness but relies on Homes Tasmania to do so.^[11]

Charity Strike it Out, Inc operating in Launceston was forced remove sleeping trailers during the middle of winter with recorded overnight minimum temperatures of -3°,^[12] which the charity acquired to alleviate the situation of rough sleepers sleeping in freezing conditions in Launceston City during the winter periods^[13] after a long running tussle between the council and the charity.^[14] The Launceston City Council rejected any blame, releasing a press release on 1 July 2024 after media scrutiny following the removal of the pods.^[15]

The charity has been attempting to get permits from the council for the infrastructure but the council had imposed ad-hoc arbitrary conditions, including compliance with a privacy act it has no enforcement jurisdiction on.^[13][16] The council does not have any general policy of approving homeless accommodation providers' proposals or requests.^[17]

• List of local government areas of Tasmania

• Launceston City Council official website
• Local Government Association Tasmania Archived 22 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine
• Tasmanian Electoral Commission - local government