Local government has a limited constitutional position in
Australia, being organised under state or territory legislation
upon broadly similar lines across Australia. There are no local
councils in the Australian Capital Territory, where the
Territory government has direct responsibility for local
services. Local government in Australia provides a relatively
narrow range of services compared with many other nations. Each
state and the Northern Territory has a number of local
government areas, known variously as cities, towns,
municipalities, boroughs, shires or districts. The main
variation is the existence of various councils in the Northern
Territory that are based on rural indigenous communities. The
generic local body is the council. In October 2009 there were
563 local councils. Councillors and aldermen are elected by
local residents, though councils may be dismissed by state
governments - and occasionally are. Within each local government
area various services are provided, though there are many
variati