50-640: The Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital often shortened to Shoalhaven Hospital (abbreviated SDMH ) is a public hospital serving the City of Shoalhaven in New South Wales , Australia. It is located on the banks of the Shoalhaven River 1 km (0.62 mi) from the Nowra CBD. The secondary health care facility is the main acute care hospital for the region, serving a population of over 100,000. The hospital
100-577: A unitary authority , but the Australian Bureau of Statistics refers to the whole of the ACT as an unincorporated area. The ACT Government directorate Transport Canberra & City Services handles responsibilities that are under the purview of local government in other parts of Australia, such as local road maintenance, libraries and waste collection. Many Canberra districts have community organisations called "community councils", but these are not part of
150-620: A Rehabilitation ward, a 12-bed children's ward and a 6-bed 23-hour ward for day surgeries. A major upgrade for oncology services was completed with the opening of the Shoalhaven Cancer Care Centre, equipped with a linear accelerator to administer radiation therapy and onsite carer's accommodation. Other specialist services can be accessed at SDMH such as obstetrics and a maternity ward as well as clinics including physiotherapy , acute pain management, dietetics , occupational therapy and speech pathology . Adjacent to
200-432: A city, is a dispersed region spread over 125 kilometres (78 mi) of coastline, with the vast majority of its population located in the north-east around Nowra , Jervis Bay and Sussex Inlet . It includes the following towns, suburbs and localities: Localities with no population in 2016 included: Shoalhaven City Council is composed of thirteen councillors , including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term. The mayor
250-634: A city. The Shire was converted and constituted on 1 August 1979 simultaneously as a municipality and city. Modern-day groupings of the Illawarra and South Coast Aboriginal peoples are based on information compiled by white anthropologists from the late 1870s. Two divisions were initially presented (refer Ridley, 1878), using geographical location and language, though these criteria are now expanded into five divisions and given Aboriginal names, as follows (after C.Sefton, 1983): The Jerrinja people record their traditional lands as stretching from Crooked River in
300-586: A geographic or historical interpretation. The council board members are generally known as councillors , and the head councillor is called the mayor . As of August 2016, there were 547 local councils in Australia. Despite the single tier of local governance in Australia, there are a number of extensive regions with relatively low populations that are not a part of any established LGA. Powers of local governments in these unincorporated areas may be exercised by special-purpose governing bodies established outside of
350-535: A larger workload. The growth of the Regional Organisations of Councils has also been a factor in local government reform in Australia. In 1995, there were 50 such agreements across the country. A 2002 study identified 55 ROCs with the largest involving 18 councils. Local government powers are determined by state governments, and states have primary responsibility for funding and exclusive responsibility for supervision of local councils. Local government
400-403: A shift from 'services to property' towards 'services to people'. Community expectations of local government in Australia have risen in the 21st century partly as a result of wider participation in decision-making and transparent management practices. Recent years have seen some State governments devolving additional powers onto LGAs. In Queensland and Western Australia LGAs have been granted
450-618: Is directly elected while the twelve other councillors are elected proportionally as three separate wards , each electing four councillors. The Shoalhaven can be reached from Sydney by car via the Princes Highway and by rail via the South Coast railway line which terminates just north of Nowra at Bomaderry . The Shoalhaven is adjacent to the Jervis Bay Territory . The area is approximately 160 kilometres (99 mi) long along
500-403: Is generally run by a council , and its territory of public administration is referred to generically by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the local government area or LGA , each of which encompasses multiple suburbs or localities (roughly equivalent to neighborhoods) often of different postcodes ; however, stylised terms such as "city", " borough ", " region " and " shire " also have
550-517: Is mentioned in the annotated Australian constitution, as a department of the State Governments, and they are mentioned in the constitutions of each of the six states. Under the Constitution, the federal government cannot provide funding directly to local governments; a 1974 referendum sought to amend the Constitution to authorise the federal government to directly fund local governments, but it
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#1732851736544600-574: Is operated by the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District In the 2009–2010 financial year, SDMH handled 21,193 hospitalisations. It is also affiliated with the University of Wollongong and University of New South Wales as a teaching hospital . A 16-bed Emergency department operates 24 hours. The hospital is equipped with an Intensive Care Unit , focusing on high dependency and coronary patients. It also operates
650-447: Is part of a local government area. Unincorporated areas are often in remote locations, cover vast areas, or have very small populations. Queensland and Tasmania are entirely partitioned into LGAs and have no unincorporated areas. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has no municipalities. The ACT government is responsible for both state-level and local-level matters. In some countries, such an arrangement would be referred to as
700-504: Is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state/territory it belongs to. The functions and practices of local councils are mostly centered around managing public services and land uses at the community level, and are similar throughout Australia, but can vary to some degree between jurisdictions. State departments oversee the activities of local councils and may intervene in their affairs when needed, subject to relevant legislation. For more details in each state and territory, see
750-585: Is the City of Brisbane , the most populous LGA in the country, which administers a significant part of the Brisbane metropolitan area . In most cases, when a city's population statistics are used, it is the statistical division population rather than the local government area. The following table provides a summary of local government areas by states and territories by local government area types as of December 2023: The Australian Classification of Local Governments (ACLG) categorises local governing authorities using
800-629: The EscapeArtfest festival and Blessing of the Fleet in the Ulladulla area. Tourists to Shoalhaven can enjoy a wealth of cultural and nature-based activities and experiences, including whale-watching, kayaking, visiting beaches and tastings at wineries. Some of the most famous establishments for visitors in Shoalhaven are Rick Stein at Bannisters, Cupitt's Estate and Coolangatta Estate. Heritage listings for
850-639: The Local Government Act does not mandate adopting a designation, some local government areas are legally known simply as "council", such as Port Macquarie-Hastings Council , Inner West Council and Federation Council . Some rural areas in South Australia are known as "district council", and all the LGAs in Tasmania that were previously municipalities have been renamed "council". Almost all local councils have
900-703: The Pastoral Unincorporated Area in South Australia . Local governments are subdivisions of the six federated states as well as the Northern Territory . The Australian Capital Territory has no separate local government, and municipal functions in Canberra and the surrounding regions (normally performed by local governments in other states) are performed by the ACT territorial government. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), however, considers
950-759: The Top End region, the Northern Territory Rates Act Area and Darwin Waterfront Precinct within Darwin , Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula , Alyangula on Groote Eylandt , and Yulara in Central Australia . In South Australia , 63% of the state's area is unincorporated. Residents in this area – less than 0.2% of the state's population – receive municipal services provided by a state agency,
1000-484: The Australian Government's My Hospital website 86% of patients were treated within clinically recommended timeframes, compared to an average of 87% at comparable hospitals. City of Shoalhaven The City of Shoalhaven is a local government area in the South Coast region of New South Wales , Australia. The area is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south of Sydney. The Princes Highway passes through
1050-572: The City of Shoalhaven include: Local government in Australia [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Local government is the third level of government in Australia , administered with limited autonomy under the states and territories , and in turn beneath the federal government . Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia , and two referendums in 1974 and 1988 to alter
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#17328517365441100-516: The Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful. Every state/territory government recognises local government in its own respective constitution . Unlike the two-tier local government system in Canada or the United States , there is only one tier of local government in each Australian state/territory, with no distinction between counties and cities . The Australian local government
1150-688: The David Berry and Milton Ulladulla Hospital as well as other support services operating in the district. A chapel and cafeteria are also located within the hospital complex. The hospital was established following the closure of two private hospitals which had previously supported the town of Nowra in the early 1950s. Prior to its establishment, the nearest public hospital had been the David Berry Hospital in Berry , 20 km (12 mi) away. It initially opened with 20 beds, but soon after opening took over
1200-563: The area, and the South Coast railway line traverses the northern section, terminating at Bomaderry . At the 2021 census , the population was 108,531. The City was established on 1 July 1948 as the Shoalhaven Shire, following the amalgamation of the Municipalities of Nowra , Berry, Broughton's Vale , Ulladulla , South Shoalhaven, and the shires of Cambewarra and Clyde . The Governor of NSW on 13 July 1979 proclaimed Shoalhaven as
1250-528: The coastline, including 109 beaches, which allegedly possesses the whitest sand in the world, as well as pristine natural Australian bushland. The Shoalhaven area is home to numerous species of native Australian flora and fauna. The area is well known for its strong commitment to the arts and music, featuring the See Change and See Celebrations festivals in the Jervis Bay and St Georges Basin areas, as well as
1300-450: The entire ACT as an " unincorporated " local government area, even though it is technically a state-level administrative region . Although all essentially identical in functions and jurisdictions, Australian local governments have a variety of different titles. The term "local government area" (LGA) is used by the ABS to collectively refer to all local government administrative zones regardless of
1350-456: The facilities ability to supervise the graduates. In the 2011–2012 financial year, Shoalhaven Hospital conducted 2,962 elective surgeries and handled 34,206 Emergency Department presentations. Waiting times in the emergency department were typically shorter than the national average. Elective surgery waiting times were mostly comparable to national averages and similar hospitals in all measures except for urgent elective surgeries where according to
1400-504: The first half of the 20th century was the provision of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewerage. From the 1970s the emphasis changed to community facilities such as libraries and parks, maintenance of local roads, town planning and development approvals, and local services such as waste disposal. Child care, tourism and urban renewal were also beginning to be part of local governments' role. These are financed by collection of local land taxes known as "rates", and grants from
1450-448: The first time. Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics and efficiency analysis developed within the private sector in the local government arena. Each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s. In the early 1990s, Victoria saw the number of local councils reduced from 210 to 78. South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland saw some reductions in
1500-415: The following: The Australian Capital Territory is not divided into local government areas, so it is regarded as a single "unincorporated" local government area during censusing . Unlike many other countries, Australia has only one level of local government immediately beneath state and territorial governments. Aside from very sparsely populated areas and a few other special cases, almost all of Australia
1550-496: The government (though they generally receive government funding). They do not have the power to change laws or policies, and their role is limited to advising government. They are effectively residents' associations . New South Wales has three unincorporated areas: In the Northern Territory , 1.47% of the total area and 3.0% of the population are in unincorporated areas. These include the Cox-Daly and Marrakai-Douglas Daly areas in
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1600-543: The hospital campus. The University of Wollongong displayed an interest in extending its educational opportunities as part of the development. In 2013 the $ 34.8 million Shoalhaven Cancer Care Centre was completed and was officially opened by Jillian Skinner, the state's Health Minister. An announcement from the minister also came in October of that year that the hospital would close 12 beds in Medical Ward B for six months over
1650-414: The hospital is a helipad , facilitating evacuation flights and patient transfers. In 2010, the helipad catered to over 100 mercy flights. trauma patients are generally referred to Wollongong Hospital . The hospital operates a library for research and education and supports patient care and training of medical students. The library was established in 1995 and its services are also accessible to staff from
1700-608: The local legislation, as with Victoria 's alpine resorts ; or directly administered by state/territory governments, such as the entirety of the Australian Capital Territory . The administrative area covered by local government councils in Australia ranges from as small as 1.5 km (0.58 sq mi) for the Shire of Peppermint Grove in the Perth metropolitan region , to as big as 624,339 km (241,059 sq mi) for
1750-540: The mayor is elected by the board of fellow councillors . The powers of mayors vary as well; for example, mayors in Queensland have broad executive functions, whereas mayors in New South Wales are essentially ceremonial figureheads who can only exercise power at the discretion of the council. Most of the capital city LGAs administer only the central business districts and nearby central suburbs . A notable exception
1800-561: The names of LGAs, and today the stylised titles of " town ", " borough ", " municipality ", " district ", " region ", "community government", " Aboriginal council/shire" and "island" are used in addition. The word "municipality" occurs in some states with differing meanings: in New South Wales it is typically used for older urban areas, and the word is used for some rural towns in South Australia . Larger towns and small metropolitan exurban centres in Queensland and Western Australia simply use
1850-489: The north to Clyde River in the south, from the mountains to the sea at Roseby Park . George Bass explored the area in 1797, following Seven Mile Beach . He crossed the shoals at the entrance to the river, calling it "Shoals Haven" due to the shallowness of the river mouth. This river is now known as the Crookhaven, but the name was adopted for the Shoalhaven area and the Shoalhaven River . Shoalhaven, although designated
1900-649: The number of local governments while Western Australia and New South Wales rejected compulsory mergers. New South Wales eventually forced the merging of some councils. The main purpose of amalgamating councils was for greater efficiency and to improve operations, but forced amalgamation of councils is sometimes seen as a dilution of representative democracy . An increase in the range of services offered by councils, but only minor cost savings of less than 10% have been noted by academics as outcomes after mergers. The council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced
1950-597: The part of local governments. There is no mention of local government in the Constitution of Australia , though it is mentioned several times in the Annotated Constitution of Australia. "Municipal institutions and local government" appears in Annotation 447, and "Power of the Parliament of a Colony" appears under "Residuary Legislative Powers" on pages 935 and 936. The first official local government in Australia
2000-812: The population, the population density and the proportion of the population that is classified as being urban for the council. The classification, at the two-digit level, is: All local governments are approximately equal in their theoretical powers, although LGAs that encompass large cities such as Brisbane and the Gold Coast command more resources due to their larger population base. Unlike local governments in many other countries, services such as police, fire protection and schools are provided by respective state or territory governments rather than by local councils. However, local governments still maintain some responsibility for fire service functions within Queensland and Western Australia. The councils' chief responsibility in
2050-414: The power to independently enact their own local subsidiary legislation , in contrast to the previous system of by-laws . Councils also have organised their own representative structures such as Local Government Associations and Regional Organisations of Councils . Doctrines of New Public Management have shaped state government legislation towards increased freedoms aiming to allow greater flexibility on
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2100-449: The privately operated Edman maternity hospital, continuing to operate the 16 bed annexe. By the late 1980s, the hospital had grown to 125 beds including an Intensive Care Unit and paediatric ward, however this number was reduced to 96 in 1991. SDMH opened a small renal unit in 1999 and in 2003 this was expanded to 13 dialysis chairs. Plans were announced in 2012 for the construction of a GP superclinic and Medicare Local facilities on
2150-526: The purpose of raising money to build roads in rural and outer-urban regions. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation , however local government was unquestionably regarded as outside the Constitutional realm. In the 1970s, the Whitlam government expanded the level of funding to local governments in Australia beyond grants for road construction. General purpose grants become available for
2200-408: The same administrative functions and similar political structures, regardless of their naming, and retain a particular designation ("shire", "borough", "town", "city") for historical reasons only. They will typically have an elected council and usually a mayor or shire president responsible for chairing meetings of the council. In some councils, the mayor is a directly elected figure, but in most cases
2250-493: The state and Commonwealth governments. They are caricatured as being concerned only with the "three Rs": Rates, Roads and Rubbish. However, the roles of local government areas in Australia have recently expanded as higher levels of government have devolved activities to the third tier. Examples include the provision of community health services, regional airports and pollution control as well as community safety and accessible transport. The changes in services has been described as
2300-511: The summer due to a lack demand. The community largely supported the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association 's view that the move was a cost-cutting exercise which would impact on the standard of care the hospital could provide to the Shoalhaven The state government was criticised in 2014 for allocating only 3 intern positions to SDMH, a number considerably less than other regional hospitals, citing
2350-606: The term "town", while in Victoria they are designated as "rural city". Historically, the word "borough" was common for small towns and suburban centers in Victoria, but nowadays only the Borough of Queenscliffe remains as the one and only borough in the entire country. New South Wales and Queensland have also introduced a new term "region" for outback LGAs formed by the amalgamation of smaller shires and rural cities. In New South Wales, where
2400-501: The varying designations, whilst the local governing legislature itself is generally known as a council . In general, an urban / suburban LGA is called a " city ", as in the City of Melbourne , City of Canada Bay and City of Bunbury ; while an exurban / rural LGA covering a larger agricultural / natural area is usually called a " shire ", as in Shire of Mornington Peninsula , Shire of Banana and Lachlan Shire . Sometimes designations other than "city" or "shire" are used in
2450-539: Was defeated. A 1988 referendum sought to explicitly insert mention of local government in the federal constitution but this was comprehensively defeated. A further referendum was proposed in 2013 , but was cancelled due to the change in the election date . Federal government interaction with local councils happens regularly through the provision of federal grants to help fund local government managed projects. Local government in Australia has very limited legislative powers and no judicial powers , and executive -wise
2500-550: Was the Perth Town Trust , established in 1838, only three years after British settlement. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840. The City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. All of these early forms failed; it was not until the 1860s and 1870s that the various colonies established widespread stable forms of local government, mainly for
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