Tamworth Regional Council

Tamworth Regional Council New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	31°05′S 150°55′E / 31.083°S 150.917°E / -31.083; 150.917
Population	63,070 (2021 census)[1]
• Density	6.3746/km2 (16.5101/sq mi)
Established	March 2004[2]
Area	9,894 km2 (3,820.1 sq mi)[3]
Mayor	Russell Webb
Council seat	Tamworth
Region	New England
State electorate(s)	Tamworth
Federal division(s)	New England
Website	Tamworth Regional Council
LGAs around Tamworth Regional Council: Narrabri Gwydir Uralla Gunnedah Tamworth Regional Council Walcha Liverpool Plains Liverpool Plains Upper Hunter

Tamworth Regional Council is a local government area in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is located adjacent to the New England Highway and the Main North railway line. It was established in March 2004 through the amalgamation of the former City of Tamworth with surrounding shires of Barraba, Manilla, Nundle and Parry.^[4]

The mayor of Tamworth Regional Council is Cr. Russell Webb, an independent politician.

The current Member for the state electoral district of Tamworth is Kevin Anderson, a member of the National Party.^[5]

The area includes the city of Tamworth and the towns and villages of Attunga, Barraba, Bendemeer, Dungowan, Duri, Kootingal, Limbri, Manilla, Moonbi, Niangala, Nundle, Ogunbil, Somerton, Upper Manilla and Woolbrook.

• Calala
• Coledale
• Daruka Estate
• East Tamworth
• Forest Hills
• Hillvue
• Kingswood
• Nemingha
• North Tamworth
• Oxley Vale
• South Tamworth
• Taminda
• Tamworth
• Tamworth Central Business District
• Westdale
• West Tamworth

Tamworth Region has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Kootingal, New England Highway: Moonby House^[6]
• Manilla, Tamworth-Barraba railway: Manilla railway underbridges^[7]
• Tamworth, Fitzroy Street: Tamworth Post Office^[8]
• Tamworth, King George V Memorial Avenue (East): King George V Avenue of Memorial English Oaks^[9]
• Tamworth, Main Northern railway: Tamworth railway station^[10]
• Tamworth, Main Northern railway: Peel River railway bridge^[11]
• Tamworth, Marius Street (East): Dominican Roman Catholic Convent^[12]
• Tamworth, Peel Street (cnr): Tamworth Peel Barracks^[13]

At the 2021 census, there were 63,070 people in the Tamworth Regional Local Government Area, of these 49.0 per cent identified as male and 51.0 per cent identified as female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 12.7 per cent of the population, which was greater than three times higher than the national average of 3.2 per cent. The median age of people in the Tamworth Regional Council was 39 years, which was marginally higher than the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 20.2 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 19.8 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 44.6 per cent were married and 11.8 per cent were either divorced or separated.^[1]

Population growth in the Tamworth Regional Local Government Area between the 2011 Census and the 2016 Census was 6.0 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same period, being 8.8 per cent, population growth in the Tamworth Regional Local Government Area was slightly lower than the national average.^[14]

The median weekly income for residents within the Tamworth Regional Council was lower than the national average, this downwards trend compared to the national average was also seen with personal and family incomes.^[1]

At the 2021 Census, the proportion of residents in the Tamworth Regional local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon was about 83.3 per cent of all residents (the national average was around 62.9 per cent). About 49.2% of all residents in the Tamworth Regional Local Government Area nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2021 Census, which was higher than the national average of approximately 32.4 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the 2021 Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Tamworth Regional Local Government Area had a significantly lower than average proportion (6.8 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (the national average was 24.8 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (87.2 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (the national average was 72.0 per cent).^[1]

Selected historical Census data for the Tamworth Regional Local Government Area
Census year			2001	2006[15]	2011[16]	2016[14]	2021[1]
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	n/a	53,590	56,292	59,663	63,070
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			43rd	40th
		% of New South Wales population		0.80%	0.81%	0.80%	0.78%
		% of Australian population	n/a	0.27%	0.26%	0.26%	0.24%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			37.5%	35.9%	43.6%
		English			31.0%	30.1%	39.7%
		Irish			8.5%	8.6%	10.7%
		Scottish			7.3%	7.4%	9.7%
		German			3.2%	3.2%	-
Language, top responses (other than English)		Tagalog		n/c	0.1%	0.4%	0.5%
		Cantonese		0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	-
		Mandarin		0.1%	0.1%	0.4%	0.7%
		Filipino				0.2%	-
		German		0.1%	0.1%	-	-
		Italian		0.1%	0.1%	-	-
		Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Anglican		38.4%	36.2%	30.0%	24.0%
		Catholic		26.5%	25.9%	24.4%	21.8%
		No Religion		9.5%	12.6%	19.3%	31.1%
		Uniting Church		6.3%	5.5%	4.4%	3.4%
		Presbyterian and Reformed		5.3%	5.0%	-	-
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		$405	$515	$633	$755
		% of Australian median income		86.9%	89.3%	95.3%	93.7%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,041	A$1,181	A$1,446	$1,821
		% of Australian median income		88.9%	79.7%	81.2%	85.8%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$818	A$958	A$1,180	$1,416
		% of Australian median income		79.6%	77.6%	79.4%	81.0%

Tamworth 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 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:^[17]

The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:^[17]