City of Parramatta

City of Parramatta New South Wales
Located in Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates	33°49′S 151°00′E / 33.817°S 151.000°E / -33.817; 151.000
Population	256,729 (2021 census)[1] (12th)
• Density	3,056/km2 (7,920/sq mi)
Established	27 November 1861 (Municipality) 27 October 1938 (City)
Postcode(s)	2153, 2152, 2151, 2150, 2147, 2146, 2145, 2142, 2141, 2128, 2127, 2122, 2121, 2119, 2118, 2117, 2116, 2115, 2114
Area	84 km2 (32.4 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Lord Mayor	Martin Zaiter
Council seat	Parramatta Town Hall
Region	Greater Western Sydney
State electorate(s)	Epping Parramatta Ryde Winston Hills
Federal division(s)	Bennelong Greenway Mitchell Parramatta Reid
Website	City of Parramatta
LGAs around City of Parramatta: Blacktown The Hills Hornsby Cumberland City of Parramatta Ryde Cumberland Cumberland Canada Bay & Strathfield

The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a local government area located to the west and north-west of Sydney CBD in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between the City of Ryde and Cumberland, where the Cumberland Plain meets the Hornsby Plateau, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in New South Wales, Australia. The city occupies an area of 84 square kilometres (32 sq mi) spanning across suburbs in Greater Western Sydney including the Hills District, and a small section of Northern Sydney to the far north east of its area. According to the 2021 census, City of Parramatta had an estimated population of 256,729.^[2] The city houses the Parramatta central business district which is one of the key suburban employment destinations for the region of Greater Western Sydney.

First incorporated on 27 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Parramatta",^[3] the first mayor was emancipated convict John Williams who arrived in the colony in 1835. The council became known as the "Borough of Parramatta" on 23 December 1867 following the enactment of the Municipalities Act, 1867, and became a Municipality again following the 1906 Local Government Act. On 27 October 1938, the Local Government (City of Parramatta) Act was passed by the Parliament of New South Wales and proclaimed by the governor, Lord Wakehurst, making the town the "City of Parramatta".^[4][5]

From 1 January 1949 the "City of Parramatta" was re-formed following the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, when the councils of Ermington and Rydalmere (incorporated 1891), Dundas (incorporated 1889) and Granville (incorporated 1885) were merged into the council area. The Parramatta local government area was further expanded through the transfer of 10.7 km² from the Municipality of Blacktown in 1972 taking in Winston Hills which has not serviced since this time.^[6] In recognition of Parramatta's role Bi-centennial (coinciding with the Australian Bi-centennial), the title of 'Lord Mayor' was granted on 12 December 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of Premier Nick Greiner. This made Parramatta the third Australian city that was not a capital to receive such an honour, after Newcastle and Wollongong.

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the City of Parramatta be reformed, adding areas from several adjoining councils. The NSW Government subsequently proposed a merger of parts of Parramatta (Woodville Ward), Auburn and Holroyd and a second merger of parts of the rest of Parramatta and parts of Auburn, The Hills, Hornsby, and Holroyd to form a new council.^[7][8]

On 12 May 2016, Parramatta City Council was abolished by the NSW Government. Parts of Auburn City Council (south of the M4 Western Motorway) and Parramatta City Council (Woodville Ward), and Holroyd City Council merged to form the Cumberland Council as a new local government area and the remainder of the Parramatta City Council, Auburn City Council north of the M4 Western Motorway (including Sydney Olympic Park), and small parts of Hornsby Shire, Holroyd and The Hills Shire were merged into the reformed "City of Parramatta".^[9][10]

Suburbs in the City of Parramatta are:^[10]

The City of Parramatta Council operates a central library, heritage centre and six branch libraries at Carlingford, Constitution Hill, Dundas Valley, Epping, Ermington and Wentworth Point. It also provides a public swimming pool at Epping, five childcare centres and over ten community centres.^[11][12] The heritage-listed Parramatta Town Hall was completed in 1883 and houses the original council chamber meeting rooms as well as other function rooms.^[13]

At the 2016 census, there were 226,149 people in the City of Parramatta local government area that comprised 84 square kilometres (32 sq mi), of these 50% were male and 50% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.7% of the population. The median age of people in the City of Parramatta was 34 years; notably below the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.2% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 55.4% were married and 9% were either divorced or separated.^[14] At the 2016 Census, the Parramatta local government area was linguistically diverse, with a significantly higher than average proportion (54.2%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 22.2%); and a significantly lower proportion (41.47) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 72.7%). The most commonly reported religious affiliation was "No Religion", at 24.5%. The proportion of residents who stated a religious affiliation with Hinduism was approximately six times the national average, with the median weekly income for residents slightly above the national average.^[14]

Selected historical census data for Parramatta local government area
Census year			2001[15]	2006[16]	2011[17]	2016[14]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	143,143	148,323	166,858	226,149
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales		11th	11th	5th
		% of New South Wales population			2.41%	3.02%
		% of Australian population	0.76%	0.75%	0.78%	0.97%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian	23.9%	22.9%	18.1%	13.1%
		English	21.8%	17.8%	16.8%	13.7%
		Chinese	9.4%	11.2%	13.0%	16.4%
		Lebanese	9.5%	9.7%	9.5%
		Indian	3.4%	5.9%	9.1%	10.1%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Arabic	10.1%	10.7%	10.3%	3.2%
		Mandarin	3.0%	4.7%	5.9%	10.5%
		Cantonese	4.6%	5.0%	5.0%	6.5%
		Korean	2.0%	2.1%	2.7%	5.0%
		Hindi	1.3%	2.0%	2.6%	3.6%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	27.1%	26.0%	23.4%	20.8%
		No religion	10.7%	12.8%	15.0%	24.5%
		Anglican	15.8%	12.9%	10.3%	8.3%
		Islam	7.0%	8.2%	9.7%
		Hinduism	2.8%	5.3%	8.8%	11.3%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$443	A$544	A$722
		% of Australian median income		95.1%	94.3%	109.1%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,043	A$1,451	A$1,933
		% of Australian median income		101.6%	98.0%	111.5%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,172	A$1,288	A$1,759
		% of Australian median income		100.0%	104.4%	122.3%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling type		Separate house	61.2%	56.2%	52.8%	45.7%
		Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse	10.7	12.4%	13.4%	15.2%
		Flat or apartment	26.8%	30.7%	33.5%	38.4%

Between May 2016 and September 2017, the council was managed by an administrator appointed by the Government of New South Wales, Amanda Chadwick, until the first election for councillors took place on 9 September 2017.^[10] The City of Parramatta Council comprises fifteen councillors elected proportionally, with three councillors in each ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Lord Mayor is elected for a two-year term, with the Deputy Lord Mayor for one year, by the councillors at the first meeting of the council.

The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council, in order of election by ward, is as follows:

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Outer Sydney § Parramatta results.[edit]

2024 New South Wales local elections: Parramatta^[33][34][35]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Liberal		41,777	35.7	+30.0	6	5
	Labor		36,344	31.1	−10.4	6	1
	Community Champions		12,735	10.9	−6.7	1
	Our Local Community		11,902	10.2	−9.2	0	4
	Greens		7,499	6.4	−3.7	1
	Lorraine Wearne Independents		3,772	3.2	−5.3	1
	Paul Noack Independents		1,471	1.3		0
	Libertarian		1,355	1.2	−0.8	0
	Independents		27	0.0		0
Formal votes			116,882	95.3
Informal votes			5,809	4.7
Total			122,691			15	0

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Outer Sydney § Parramatta.[edit]

The Liberal Party did not endorse any candidates, including its six councillors elected in 2017.^[36]

2021 New South Wales local elections: Parramatta^[36]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		46,022	41.5	+10.3	7	2
	Our Local Community		21,476	19.4	+12.3	4	2
	Greens		11,233	10.1	+2.7	1
	Lorraine Wearne Independents		9,423	8.5	+4.4	1
	Independent Liberal		6,310	5.7	−30.8[a]	1	5[a]
	Kellie Darley Independents		4,637	4.2	+4.2	1	1
	Lee Malkoun Independents		3,489	3.1	−5.9[b]	0	[b]
	Small Business		3,126	2.8	+2.8	0
	Liberal Democrats		2,161	2.0	+2.0	0
	Independent		1,882	1.7		0
	Community Need Not Corporate Greed		1,026	0.9	+0.9	0
Formal votes			110,785	95.23
Informal votes			5,547	4.77
Total			116,332	100.0

• Beersheba, Israel
• Cebu City, Philippines^[39]
• Jung District, Seoul, South Korea
• Phetchaburi, Thailand
• Putian, China
• Vũng Tàu, Vietnam^[40][41]

• Local government areas of New South Wales

• City of Parramatta Council website
• Discover Parramatta
• Riverside Theatre Parramatta