# City of Coffs Harbour

The City of Coffs Harbour (also known as the Coffs Harbour City Council) is a local government area in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is 1,175 square kilometres (454 sq mi), expanded in 2004 to take in parts of the former Pristine Waters local government area.
The administrative seat is located in Coffs Harbour; and the area is adjacent to the Pacific Highway, and the North Coast railway line.
The mayor of the City of Coffs Harbour is Nikki Williams, who is an Independent National politician.

## Towns and localities

Towns and localities in the City of Coffs Harbour are listed below.

### Coffs Harbour suburbs

* Coffs Harbour
* Boambee
* Boambee East
* Bonville
* Brooklana
* Bucca
* Coramba
* Corindi Beach
* Crossmaglen
* Emerald Beach
* Karangi
* Korora
* Lowanna
* Nana Glen
* Timmsvale
* Toormina
* Upper Orara

### Other

* Arrawarra
* Corindi
* Emerald Beach
* Moonee Beach
* Mullaway Beach
* Red Rock
* Sandy Beach
* Sapphire Beach
* Sawtell
* Toormina
* Ulong
* Upper Corindi
* Woolgoolga

## Heritage listings

The City of Coffs Harbour has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* High Conservation Value Old Growth forest
* Coffs Harbour Regional Museum

## Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 68,413 people in the Coffs Harbour local government area, of these 48.5% were male and 51.5% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.1% of the population, nearly double the national average. The median age of people in the City of Coffs Harbour was 42 years; some five years higher than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.2% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.0% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 48.4% were married and 14.8% were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Coffs Harbour between the 2001 Census and the 2006 census was 11.94%; and in the subsequent five years was 5.40%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Coffs Harbour local government area was higher than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Coffs Harbour was slightly below the national average.
At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Coffs Harbour local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 82% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 55.4% of all residents in the City of Coffs Harbour nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was slightly above the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Coffs Harbour local government area had a lower than average proportion (6.6%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a significantly higher proportion (90.3%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%). A significant exception was that households in the Coffs Harbour local government area where Punjabi was spoken was three times the national average.
Selected historical census data for Coffs Harbour local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on census night | 61,186 | 64,910 | 68,413 | 72,944 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | | 30th |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | | | 0.99% |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | 0.33% | 0.33% | 0.32% |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | | | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | | | 31.5% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | | | 31.2% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | | | 9.0% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | | | 7.7% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | German | | | 3.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Punjabi | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.3% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | German | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Italian | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Dinka | n/c | n/c | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | French | n/c | n/c | 0.2% |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 28.9% | 27.1% | 24.5% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No Religion | 14.5% | 18.5% | 23.1% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 23.2% | 23.0% | 22.2% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Uniting Church | 6.2% | 5.0% | 4.4% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Presbyterian and Reformed | 5.1% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | | | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | | A$364 | A$469 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | | 78.1% | 81.3% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | | A$706 | A$1,097 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | | 68.7% | 74.1% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | | | A$902 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | | 77.7% | 73.1% |

## Council
### Current composition and election method

Coffs Harbour City Council is composed of nine councillors, including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the eight other councillors are elected proportionally as one entire ward. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:
| Party | Councillors |
| Team Nikki Williams | 4 |
| Team Moose Group | 2 |
| Better Coffs Coast Group | 1 |
| Labor | 1 |
| Greens | 1 |
| Total | 9 |
The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election, is:
| Councillor | Party | Notes |
| Nikki Willams | Independent | Mayor Team Nikki Williams |
| Cath Fowler | Independent | Team Nikki Group |
| Paul Amos | Independent | Team Moose Group |
| Les Oxford | Independent | Team Nikki Group |
| Julie Sechi | Independent | Team Moose Group |
| Gurminder Saro | Independent | Team Nikki Group |
| Jonathan Cassell | Greens |
| George Cecato | Independent | Better Coffs Coast Group |
| Tony Judge | Labor | |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Coffs Harbour :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Team Nikki | 1. Nikki Williams (elected mayor) 2. Cath Fowler (elected 1) 3. Les Oxford (elected 3) 4. Gurminder Saro (elected 5) 5. Matt Gosling 6. Falak Othman 7. Clinton Hayes 8. Barbara Haigh 9. Neil Manson | 15,428 | 34.1 | |
| | Team Moose | 1. Paul Amos (elected 2) 2. Julie Sechi (elected 4) 3. Scott Wolgamot 4. Sally Townley | 10,361 | 22.9 | +0.4 |
| | Labor | 1. Tony Judge (elected 6) 2. Htun Htun Oo 3. Lealah Durow 4. Glenis Hunter 5. Danny Wilson | 4,356 | 9.6 | −1.0 |
| | Greens | 1. Jonathan Cassell (elected 7) 2. Tim Nott 3. Eugenie Gerlach 4. Elaine Sherwood 5. Olivier La Mer-Adair | 3,956 | 8.6 | −0.3 |
| | Better Coffs Coast | 1. George Cecato (elected 8) 2. Jesse Young 3. Jeffrey (Jack) Dix 4. Tiga Cross 5. Matthew Culgan 6. Katherine Listkow | 3,798 | 8.4 | −5.8 |
| | Together We Thrive | 1. Tegan Swan 2. Marcus Blackwell 3. Lucas Craig 4. Lisa Nichols 5. Mel Browne | 3,677 | 8.1 | −2.5 |
| | Independent | 1. Rodney Fox 2. Nicole Bourne 3. Michael Thompson-Blair 4. Dudley Mitchell-Adams | 2,992 | 6.6 | |
| | Independent | 1. John O'Brien 2. Jasmine Braun 3. Dorothea Skoludek 4. Kristel O'Brien | 626 | 1.4 | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 45,194 | 91.5 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 4,206 | 8.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,400 | 83.8 | |

### 2021

| Elected councillor | Party |
| Scott Wolgamot | Team Moose |
| George Cecato | Coffs Coast First |
| Rodger Pryce | TWFI |
| Tegan Swan | Ind. National |
| Tony Judge | Labor |
| Julie Sechi | Team Moose |
| Jonathan Cassell | Greens |
| Sally Townley | Independent (Group F) |
2021 New South Wales local elections: Coffs Harbour :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Team Moose | Team Moose | 9,838 | 22.6 |
| | Together We'll Fix It | Together We'll Fix It | 6,316 | 14.5 |
| | Coffs Coast First | Coffs Coast First | 6,192 | 14.2 |
| | Independent National | Independent National | 4,638 | 10.6 |
| | Labor | Labor | 4,623 | 10.6 |
| | Independent (Group F) | Independent (Group F) | 4,047 | 9.3 |
| | Greens | Greens | 3,933 | 9.0 |
| | Independent (Group E) | Independent (Group E) | 1,743 | 4.0 |
| | Independent (Group A) | Independent (Group A) | 1,704 | 3.9 |
| | Independent | Donna Pike | 413 | 0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | 140 | 0.3 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 43,587 | 92.7 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 3,410 | 7.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,997 | 82.9 |

## Sister city

The city of Coffs Harbour has one sister city:
* Sasebo, Japan