Yass Valley Council is a local government area in the

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by high, flat country which has generally been extensively cleared and ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Hume and

Barton Highway Barton Highway is a highway in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It connects Canberra to Hume Highway at Yass, and it is part of the route from Melbourne to Canberra. It is named in honour of Sir Edmund Barton, the first Pri ...

s and the

Main Southern railway line The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs from Sydney to Albury, near the Victorian border. The line passes through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and Riverina regions. ...

. The Shire includes the towns, and extensive rural and residential areas of: It also includes the localities of: The

Yass Shire Yass may refer to: People * Catherine Yass (born 1963), painter * Yazz, a British pop singer from the 1980s and 1990s * Jeff Yass (born 1956), options trader, managing director and one of the five founders of the Philadelphia-based Susquehanna ...

was proclaimed on 1 January 1980 following the amalgamation of

Goodradigbee Shire Goodradigbee Shire was a local government area in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , su ...

and the

Municipality of Yass Yass Municipality was a Local Government Area of New South Wales from 1873 until 1980, when it was merged with Goodradigbee Shire Goodradigbee Shire was a local government area in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales ) , n ...

. Yass Shire in turn was dissolved and merged into the Yass Valley Council on 11 February 2004, following a further amalgamation of Yass Shire and parts of Gunning and

Yarrowlumla Shire Yarrowlumla Shire was a local government area in New South Wales, which surrounded the Australian Capital Territory until February 2004, when it was divided between Palerang Council, Yass Valley Council, Queanbeyan City Council, Tumut Shire and ...

s. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Yass Valley Council is Cr. Allan McGrath.

Demographics

At the , Yass Valley had a population of , 7,931 males and 8,209 females. It had grown from 15,020 at the , an increase of 7.5%. In the previous five years it grew by 14.4% from 13,135 at the . There were 400 people (2.5%) who identified as being of Indigenous origin in the 2016 census. The median age was 42 years. 82.8% of the population was born in Australia. 3.6% were born in England, 1.2% in New Zealand and 0.4% in each of Germany, the United States and Netherlands. English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 14,550 people (90.2%). The three most common languages spoken at home other than English were Croatian (0.4%), German (0.4%) and Dutch (0.2%). 84.3% of households had at least one resident who accessed the internet by any type of electronic device. The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over at the 2016 census was $869 (Australian average: $662). The median weekly family was $2,214 (Australian average: $1,734) and the median household family was $1,879 (Australian average: $1,438). In the 2016 census, there were 5,185 separate houses (94.0%), 216 semi detached, row or terrace houses and townhouses (3.9%), 27 flats, units or apartments (0.5%) and 37 other dwellings (0.7%). Of all occupied private dwellings, 4,343 were either fully owned or being purchased, which represents (78.6%) of all occupied private dwellings, while 1,011 (18.3%) were being rented.

Council

Current composition and election method

Yass Valley Council is composed of nine

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s elected proportionally as one entire

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The

is elected 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 is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2016, in order of election, is:

Transport facilities

Yass Valley is serviced by the following transport facilities: * Hume Highway (National Highway 31) * Barton Highway (National Highway 25) * Lachlan Valley Way (State Route 81) * Main Southern Railway ( NSW TrainLink) *

Transborder Express Transborder Express is an Australian bus and coach company based in Yass. Since September 2012, Transborder Express has been owned by ComfortDelGro Australia. History Transborder Express was established in July 1954 by Jack Williams operating ...

(A local bus & coach firm)

References

{{Authority control Local government areas of New South Wales