Community/local board 2018

Community boards are defined under the Local Government Act 2002 and Local Electoral Act 2001. Community board boundaries must coincide with meshblock boundaries under the Local Government Act 2001 and the Local Electoral Act 2001.

The purpose of community boards is to administer the affairs of communities with a population of 1,500 or more people within rural, urban, or metropolitan areas of a territorial authority. A community board’s functions, powers, and duties are at the discretion of its parent territorial authority, so these may differ between community boards.

Community boards are a link between the council and the community. Community boards can be established at any time but may only be abolished as part of a council’s regular representation review carried out before the triennial local government elections; this is provided for in the Local Electoral Act 2001.

More than 100 community boards operate in urban and rural areas of territorial authorities, excluding Auckland, which has local boards.

See the ‘Territorial authority’ and ‘Local boards’ definitions in Geographic definitions.

Variations of this classification are available for the following areas:

• Dwelling address
• Census night
• Usual residence
• Workplace address
• Educational institution address.