City of Newcastle Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal found that Newcastle City Council was not "fit for the future", it was recommended that the City of Newcastle merge with Lake Macquarie City Council. However, the Minister for Local Government subsequently proposed that Newcastle City Council instead merge with Port Stephens Council to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately 230,000. The outcome of an independent review was completed by mid–2016. On 14 February 2017, the NSW Government announced it would not be proceeding with further regional council mergers, including the Newcastle City Council and Port
City of Newcastle the national average, households in the City of Newcastle local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (10.1 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (87.3 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent). Newcastle City Council is composed of thirteen Councillors, including the Lord Mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The Lord Mayor is directly elected while the twelve other Councillors are elected proportionally as four separate wards, each electing three Councillors. The most recent