The 2002 Victorian local elections were held on 16 March 2002 to elect the councils of 17 of the 78 local government areas in Victoria, Australia.
Until 2008, local elections in Victoria were conducted periodically, meaning 53 councils were not up for election in 2002. The City of Melbourne was initially scheduled to hold its election in 2002, but it was instead brought forward to 22 July 2001 following a change to its electoral structure.
All elections were conducted by the Victorian Electoral Commission with the exception of the City of Moreland, which conducted its own election.
27 candidates were elected unopposed across the state, 24 of which were independents.
Results Council votes Party Votes % Swing Seats Change Independents 455,160 81.76 124 7 Labor 56,771 10.20 19 4 Liberal 20,804 3.74 5 2 Greens 17,951 3.22 6 6 Independent Labor 4,328 0.77 1 1 Socialist 988 0.18 +0.18 0 Socialist Alliance 714 0.13 +0.13 0 Total 556,725 100.0 155 Informal votes Turnout
Council control Party Councils Number Change Independent 14 1 No overall control 1 1 Labor 2
Aftermath Labor retained control of the City of Darebin and gained control of the City of Moreland, but lost control of the City of Yarra as a result of Greens, Independent Labor and independent gains.
In addition to retaining two wards in Boroondara, the Liberal Party gained two seats in Greater Bendigo − Greg Williams (Eppalock) and Kevin Gibbins (Whipstick). A fifth Liberal councillor (Geoff White in Glenelg) was re-elected unopposed.
Following the elections, the amount of LGAs expanded from 78 to 79 when the Delatite Shire was split into the Rural City of Benalla and the Shire of Mansfield.
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