What it does: Government Administration
Mission: The primary objectives of our organisation form the first set of underlying themes and are the three fundamental organisational objectives: Serving, Leading & Growing.
Size and presence: Around 500
Best known for: Large-scale infrastructure projects in Perth
The Swan River Colony was established in 1829. By 1838 it had become apparent that the spreading colony required some form of localised government and the system of British Local Government was introduced. In 1838 municipal administration was vested in a body of trustees consisting of the Justices of the Peace and the proprietors of allotments held in fee simple in the town. At the time, the town had a population of 1,000. An act of 1842 established a Chairman and a committee of six as the Perth Town Trust. (WB Andrews as Chairman and a Committee of George Leake, James Purkis (Treasurer) Peter Brown, WH Drake, Richard Jones).
The Trust met as a united body. It was not large enough to require splitting into committees. The Trust dealt with day to day problems such as provisions of roads, lighting, footpaths, drainage and keeping stock off private property and roads. The trust also had the right to levy rates, the first one being for the purpose of a footpath in Hay Street. The owners or occupants of allotments on the north side of Hay Street paid twenty shillings and all other owners or occupiers in the area paid ten shillings.
The Trust had a difficult beginning as it was always short of funds. There is ample evidence in the records of the Council to show that it was often on the border of bankruptcy and perhaps a classic example of the financial difficulties was the instance of the Trust's inability to raise £2,000 for public works.
The Perth Town Trust, however, progressed under able leaders such as George Shenton until 23 September 1856, when Perth was declared a Bishop's See by Queen Victoria. This automatically raised Perth to the status of a city, but it was two years before the Trust formally changed its name to the Perth City Council under its first chairman, Mr HC Cole. The first meeting of the Perth City Council was held on 10 December 1858 (HC Cole as Chairman, and Councillors B Smith, T Smith, T Farrelly, C King and J Farmaner). The Council was given legislative and administrative functions, which included town planning, control of water and lighting supplies, care of parks and reserves and supervision of the erection of buildings and in some cases their care also.
The new Council still retained its financial problems but due to the influx of convicts many public works were completed during the period from 1856-79, notably Perth Town Hall. Meetings of the Town Trust and later of the City Council were held each month, the Chairman being elected at the annual ratepayers' meeting. These meetings had to be held wherever opportunity offered. They were held in turn at the Court House, the Commercial Hotel and the United Services Tavern. From 2 December 1853, they were held at the Mechanics Institute on the corner of Howick Street, later to be named Hay Street, and Pier Street.
Only when Perth was granted a municipality under properly constituted local government on 2 January 1871, did the Perth City Council have a permanent home. On 6 January of that year the Perth City Council, with Mr Glyde as Chairman, held its first meeting in the Town Hall.
At this time, the population of the colony was 24,785 with the population of Perth being 5,244 (comprised of 3,007 males and 2,237 females). The population continued to increase very slowly until the gold discoveries of the 1890s. The population more than trebled between 1891 and 1902.
On 3 July 1925 the Council moved to the municipal offices in Murray Street and held its first meeting there 25 October. On 25 March 1963, there was a civic welcome for Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh during which Her Majesty officially opened Council House. The first council meeting was held at Council House on 20 May 1963 and it was not until 29 July that year that the Council's official staff moved into the building.
The title of Mayor was first conferred upon the Chairman of the Perth City Council on 8 September 1880, when Mr George Shenton was elected to take up this position.
On the Centenary of the Foundation on 12 August 1929 in the Town of Perth, it was announced that His Majesty the King had granted that the status of Mayor of the City be raised to that of Lord Mayor. The first Lord Mayor was the Hon. JT Franklin, CMG, MLC, JP.
In 1864, Perth was divided into three wards and in 1897, five wards. Three small local authorities on the border of Perth City Council amalgamated with the Council to establish the PCC area. North Perth and Leederville amalgamated on 22 December 1914 and Victoria Park on 1 November 1917, the city thus consisting of eight wards. In 1963 the Council redistributed the boundaries of the previous eight wards and held its first election of three Councillors for each of the nine wards on 29 May 1963.
In October 1993 the State Government announced the split of the City of Perth and three separate towns were created from the area previously known as the City of Perth. The City of Perth remains the capital city of Western Australia and the three towns created in the split are Town of Vincent, Town of Victoria Park and Town of Cambridge.
The City of Perth today is one of 24 local authorities in the Perth metropolitan region. Eight of these authorities are classified as cities, eight as towns and eight as shires.
Welcome to the City of Perth's professional opportunities. You may learn more about the fascinating and challenging job options available at our company by visiting this page. You are welcome to explore the remainder of the Work with us section to learn more about working for the City of Perth and the opportunities available to you.
Staff at the City of Perth have a unique chance to be a part of the changes that are taking place in our dynamic city. We are constantly growing and extending our services, facilities, and activities. As a City employee, you can assist us in realising our full potential. We're always searching for ways to improve, so your suggestions and innovations are always welcome, and your eagerness to contribute to the community and desire to make Perth a better city may make a significant impact.
The City of Perth aspires to be a place of work that recognises and values the contributions of its workers. By providing a variety of employee amenities and perks, we are devoted to supporting not just your professional development but also your personal endeavours. We are able to provide a varied selection of career pathways to fit all sorts of skills since we have a significant number of projects in several disciplines under progress. We are excited to provide you with the opportunity to change Perth, the heart of Western Australia, in a fulfilling and excellent work environment.
You may be contacted for further discussion on your application during the search and advertising phase that takes place.
After the search and advertising phase, a shortlist of candidates is produced based on application data and screening content. Screening may involve phone interviews, to clarify detail and compile a more comprehensive profile of your application. Applicants will be contacted if they have made it to the next stage of the recruitment process.
If selected for interview, you will be contacted in advance to arrange a suitable time to attend.
Candidates may be asked to complete an online Psychometric Assessment during this process.
At the appropriate time, information may be sought from your nominated referees. We will inform you if we wish to contact your referees so you have adequate time to advise them.
For some positions it may be necessary to verify information you have provided (eg Educational qualifications), or to undertake certain preemployment checks (eg criminal conviction check, pre-employment medical assessment). These checks will be conducted on the preferred applicant(s) only.
Working with the City provides the opportunity to engage with the community, influence the physical environment and contribute to the sustainability and growth of Perth as a global capital city.
The City has a diverse geographic, cultural and demographic energy.
Perth will see its urban and political landscape transform even more in the next few years with major infrastructure growth and capital city legislation pending.
The City of Perth is an exciting environment for economic development and activation. Major development projects include:
The City of Perth manages a range of major community events including:
The City of Perth has been taking great strides forward and is looking for people with talent and drive to build on recent successes and new initiatives coming forward such as:
City of Perth offers wages on par with its competitors in Australia. The average salary starts at approximately $76,841 per annum plus super