The City of Karratha is located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and covers an area of 15,882 km2 and a population of approximately 24,237 people.
The City of Karratha has undergone numerous changes. In 1871 the District of Nickol Bay was established. On 6 January 1887, the District of Nickol Bay was abolished and the Roebourne Roads Board District was established. By 1 December 1887 the Municipality of Roebourne and the Municipality of Cossack were formed. By 1910, the two municipalities merged to reform the Roebourne Roads Board District. On 1 July 1961 with the establishment of the new Local Government Act 1960, the Road Board was rebranded as the Shire of Roebourne and established ward systems. When the population exceeded 20,000 persons, it met the requirements of being designated a city. It was decided by the Council to change its designation to the City of Karratha on 1 July 2014.
As of 21 October 2023, the City of Karratha abolished the ward boundary system of representation by elected members and decided to have only one district. It essentially means that there is no longer a delineation of boundaries within the local government district where there are representatives for the Dampier Ward, Karratha Ward or to the Wickham/Point Samson/Roebourne/Cossack/Pastoral Ward. This was a proposal that was supported by the Local Government Advisory Board and the Minister for Local Government.
Under the Local Government Act 1995, local governments are to review their boundaries every 8 years with the next review by the City to be undertaken by 2031.
The district of the City of Karratha is bounded by the Shire of Ashburton to the south and the Town of Port Hedland to the east and the Indian Ocean to the north and west. The district includes the islands in and around the Dampier Archipelago, Montebello Islands Marine Park and Depuch Island and the town sites of Dampier, Karratha, Roebourne, Wickham, Point Samson, Cossack and the outlying pastoral areas.
In accordance with Governors Orders issued 30 June 2023, as part of the local government reforms associated with the abolition of the wards system is the requirement for Council representation to also be reduced for the district. For the October 2023 local government elections, the councillor numbers were to reduce by one resulting in the position of a popularly elected mayor and 9 councillors, and a further reduction by one councillor at the October 2025 elections, resulting in a final adjustment of a popularly elected mayor and 8 councillors.
Details about upcoming elections can be obtained from our Elections | City of Karratha page