# Armidale Regional Council

The Armidale Region is a local government area in the New England and Northern Tablelands regions of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2016 from the merger of the Armidale Dumaresq Shire with the surrounding Guyra Shire.
The combined area covered the urban area of Armidale and the surrounding region, extending primarily eastward from the city through farming districts to the gorges and escarpments that mark the edge of the Northern Tablelands.
The Armidale Region is administered by the Armidale Regional Council.
The mayor of the Armidale Region is Cr. Sam Coupland, an independent politician.

## History

On 1 July 2019, Tingha was transferred from Armidale Region to Inverell Shire.

## Towns, villages and other locations

In addition to the main centre of Armidale and the town of Guyra, the villages located in the area include Ben Lomond, Black Mountain, Dangarsleigh, Ebor, Hillgrove, Kellys Plains, Llangothlin, and Wollomombi.
Oban is a rural location covering 72.607 km$^2$ (28.034 sq mi) within the Armidale Regional LGA, with 7 residents.

## Heritage listings

The Armidale Region has a number of heritage-listed sites, including the following sites in Armidale:
* 158 Beardy Street: Armidale Post Office
* 164 Beardy Street: Commercial Bank of Australia Building
* 216 Brown Street: Armidale railway station turntable
* 234 Brown Street: Armidale railway station
* 125 Dangar Street: Central Park, Armidale
* 132 Dangar Street: Saints Mary and Joseph Catholic Cathedral
* 108 Faulkner Street: Lands Board Office
* 60 Madgwick Drive: Booloominbah
* 122-132 Mossman Street: Old Teachers' College
* 36 Roseneath Lane: Roseneath
* 122 Rusden Street: St Peter's Cathedral
* 230 Saumarez Road: Saumarez Homestead
* High Conservation Value Old Growth forest

## Demographics

Selected historical census data for the Armidale Region :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2016 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on census night | 29,449 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 60th |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | 0.39% |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | 0.13% |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 30.4% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | 28.8% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | 9.8% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | 8.4% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | German | 3.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Mandarin | 1.1% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Arabic | 1.0% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Nepali | 0.5% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | German | 0.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | French | 0.2% |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No religion | 27.4% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 22.8% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 20.2% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Presbyterian | 4.5% |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$561 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | 84.7% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | A$1465 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | 84.5% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | A$1173 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | 81.6% |

## Council

Armidale Regional Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:
| Party | Councillors |
| Team Coupland Group | 4 |
| Independents | 2 |
| Independent Liberal | 1 |
| Greens | 1 |
| Labor | 1 |
| Total | 9 |
The current council, in order of election, is:
| Councillor | Party | Notes |
| Susan McMichael | Labor | |
| Sam Coupland | Independent | Team Coupland Group |
| Todd Redwood | Independent | Team Coupland Group |
| Paul Gaddes | Independent | Team Coupland Group |
| Kay Endres | Independent | Team Coupland Group |
| Dorothy Robinson | Greens | |
| Eli Imad | Independent Liberal | |
| Rod Taber | Independent | |
| Bradley Widders | Independent | |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Armidale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Vote 1 Growth | 1. Sam Coupland (elected) 2. Todd Redwood (elected) 3. Paul Gaddes (elected) 4. Kay Endres (elected) 5. Jane Mactier 6. Jane Schmude 7. Melanie Fillios 8. Jon Galletly | 7,528 | 48.27 | +48.27 |
| | Labor | 1. Susan McMichael (elected) 2. Caroline Chapman 3. Debra O'Brien 4. Yvonne Langenberg 5. Lisa Ward | 1,904 | 12.21 | −3.29 |
| | Independent Regional Alliance | 1. Eli Imad (elected) 2. Rob Lenehan 3. Peter Heagney 4. Robert Jackson 5. Jypsi Hooper | 1,543 | 9.89 | +9.89 |
| | Greens | 1. Dorothy Robinson (elected) 2. Elizabeth O'Hara 3. Pat Schulz 4. Gayle Davies 5. Gay (Alice) Cairns | 1,504 | 9.64 | −1.26 |
| | Community First Independents | 1. Rob Taber (elected) 2. Rob Richardson 3. Siri Gamage 4. Josephine Newberry 5. Andy Berriman | 1,042 | 6.68 | +6.68 |
| | Independent | Bradley Widders (elected) | 589 | 3.78 | −0.32 |
| | Margaret O'Connor's Team | 1. Margaret O'Connor 2. Brian Flint 3. Kerry Moran 4. Bruce Newberry 5. Deni McKenzie 6. Janet Edmonds | 540 | 3.46 | −10.94 |
| | Independent | Jenny Wild | 450 | 2.89 | +2.89 |
| | Independent | Joshua Fittler | 230 | 1.47 | +1.47 |
| | Independent | Madank Narayanamurthy | 180 | 1.15 | +1.15 |
| | Independent | Natasha Ledger | 85 | 0.55 | +0.55 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 15,595 | 94.36 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 933 | 5.64 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,528 | | |

### 2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Armidale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | 1. Debra O'Brien (elected) 2. Susan McMichael (elected) 3. Caroline Chapman 4. Yvonne Langenberg 5. April Youngberry 6. Margaret Finley | 2,352 | 15.5 | +4.5 |
| | Team Margaret and Gordon | 1. Margaret O'Connor (Ind. Lib) (elected) 2. Gordon Cope 3. Bruce Newberry 4. Janet Edmonds 5. Ju Denton 6. Trevor Esplin | 2,196 | 14.4 | +3.1 |
| | Independent | Sam Coupland (elected) | 1,897 | 12.5 | |
| | Greens | 1. Dorothy Robinson (elected) 2. Elizabeth O'Hara 3. Gaynor McGrath 4. Richard Sheridan 5. Pat Schultz 6. Dora Koops | 1,664 | 10.9 | +3.4 |
| | Independent | Jon Galletly (elected) | 1,139 | 7.5 | |
| | Independent | Steven Mepham (elected) | 930 | 6.1 | |
| | Independent | Todd Redwood (elected) | 852 | 5.6 | |
| | Independent | Paul Packham (elected) | 728 | 4.8 | |
| | Independent | Bradley Widders (elected) | 627 | 4.1 | |
| | Independent | Paul Gaddes (elected) | 621 | 4.1 | |
| | Independent | Richard Robinson | 598 | 3.9 | |
| | Independent | Callan Schaefer | 466 | 3.1 | |
| | Independent | Kathleen Clare | 416 | 2.7 | |
| | Independent | Peter Bailey | 239 | 1.6 | |
| | Independent | Margaret Sims | 224 | 1.5 | |
| | Independent | Phillip Blackmore | 158 | 1.0 | |
| | Independent | Craig Pevitt | 116 | 0.8 | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 28,374 | 94.2 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,745 | 5.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 80.0 | |
| Party total seats | Party total seats | Party total seats | Party total seats | Seats | ± |
| | Independent | Independent | Independent | 7 | 1 |
| | Labor | Labor | Labor | 2 | 1 |
| | Independent Liberal | Independent Liberal | Independent Liberal | 1 | |
| | Greens | Greens | Greens | 1 | |

### 2017

| Elected councillor | Party |
| Ian Tiley | Independent |
| Debra O'Brien | Labor |
| Margaret O'Connor | Ind. Liberal |
| Dorothy Robinson | Greens |
| Simon Murray | Independent |
| Jon Galletly | Independent |
| Libby Martin | Independent |
| Diane Gray | Independent |
| Andrew Murat | Independent |
| Bradley Widders | Independent |
| Paul Gaddes | Independent |
The Liberal Party did not endorse any candidates, including its councillor elected to Armidale Dumaresq Shire in 2012.
2017 New South Wales local elections: Armidale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Ian Tiley | 1,726 | 11.2 | |
| | Labor | Labor | 1,706 | 11.0 | +11.0 |
| | Independent Liberal | Independent Liberal | 1,588 | 10.3 | |
| | Independent | Simon Murray | 1,502 | 9.7 | |
| | Independent | Jon Galletly | 1,405 | 9.1 | |
| | Greens | Greens | 1,163 | 7.5 | −5.7 |
| | New England Futures Group | New England Futures Group | 675 | 4.4 | +4.4 |
| | Independent | Libby Martin | 665 | 4.3 | |
| | Independent | Diane Gray | 481 | 3.1 | |
| | Independent | Bradley Widders | 476 | 3.1 | |
| | Independent | Jim Maher | 445 | 2.9 | |
| | Independent | Andrew Murat | 432 | 2.8 | |
| | Independent | Peter Bailey | 415 | 2.7 | |
| | Independent | Kevin Dupe | 368 | 2.4 | |
| | Independent Liberal | Aileen MacDonald | 296 | 1.9 | |
| | Independent | Maria Hitchcock | 241 | 1.6 | |
| | Independent | Michelle Wheatley | 234 | 1.5 | |
| | Independent | Les Davis | 205 | 1.3 | |
| | Independent | Gordon Cope | 202 | 1.3 | |
| | Independent | Joshua Fittler | 179 | 1.2 | |
| | Independent | Jack Hobbs | 167 | 1.1 | |
| | Independent | Herman Beyersdorf | 161 | 1.0 | |
| | Independent | Colin Gadd | 158 | 1.0 | |
| | Independent | Jack Rapely | 137 | 0.9 | |
| | Independent | Martha Saw | 108 | 0.7 | |
| | Independent | Trev Smith | 102 | 0.7 | |
| | Independent | Tom Walsh | 99 | 0.6 | |
| | Independent | Aziz Winrow | 65 | 0.4 | |
| | Independent | Dale Curtis | 59 | 0.4 | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 15,460 | 94.09 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 971 | 5.91 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,431 | 80.64 | |
| Party total votes ||||||
| | Independent | Independent | 10,032 | 64.9 | |
| | Independent Liberal | Independent Liberal | 1,884 | 12.2 | |
| | Labor | Labor | 1,706 | 11.0 | +11.0 |
| | Greens | Greens | 1,163 | 7.5 | −5.7 |
| | New England Futures Group | New England Futures Group | 675 | 4.4 | +4.4 |