Councils across NSW are taking centre stage from Monday 4 August to Sunday 10 August as part of Local Government Week 2025.
The annual event celebrates the range and diversity of essential infrastructure and services councils provide for their communities including libraries, waste services, sports fields, parks, cemeteries, building and development services, pet registration and much more.
Throughout the week, councils across the state will be celebrating with a variety of special events and activities including tours and demonstrations, educational events, community engagement forums, competitions and award presentations.
The celebrations are being led by Local Government NSW (LGNSW), the peak body for councils in NSW.
LGNSW President Mayor Phyllis Miller said councils were the backbone of their communities and provided essential services and infrastructure under increasing financial pressures.
“Local Government Week is a wonderful opportunity for councils to showcase the unique and essential role they play in their communities” says Mayor Miller.
“In day-to-day life but more importantly in times of crisis, councils aren’t just delivering services – they’re helping their communities both survive and thrive,” Mayor Miller said.
“As the closest sphere of government to the community, councils are uniquely positioned to respond, to lead, and to care in ways that make a genuine difference to their towns and cities,” Mayor Miller said.
“All our councils are responsible for so much more than just roads, rates and rubbish. They deal with emergency management and rebuilding after natural disaster and, in many cases, water infrastructure and health and aged care services,” she said.
“Literally from the cradle to the grave, your local council is striving to support and serve you in so many different ways.”
“Local Government Week is also about celebrating the people who make it all happen – our hardworking councillors and staff – and reinforcing the importance of strong partnerships across all levels of government,” Mayor Miller said.
The week’s celebrations include LGNSW’s Local Government Week Awards in Sydney on Thursday 7 August, recognising outstanding achievement across the sector.
Councils across NSW:
Employ almost 50,000 people
Maintain more than 168,000km of roads and bridges
Recycle 1.75 million tonnes of waste
Manage an estimated four million tonnes of waste each year
Make kerbside waste collections for more than 3.1 million households
Operate more than 380 libraries that attract tens of millions of visits each year
Manage more than 1,800 community and public centres
Manage more than $220 billion of community assets
Spend more than $2.5 billion each year on caring for the environment
Spend more than $2.4 billion on culture and recreation
