Cairns Regional Council

Cairns Region Queensland
Location within Queensland, 2013, prior to de-amalgamation of Shire of Douglas
Population	160,285 (2015)
• Density	38.763/km2 (100.396/sq mi)
Established	2008
Area	4,135 km2 (1,596.5 sq mi)
Mayor	Bob Manning
Council seat	Cairns City
Region	Far North Queensland
State electorate(s)	Barron River, Cairns, Cook, Mulgrave
Federal Division(s)	Leichhardt
Website	Cairns Region
LGAs around Cairns Region: Mareeba Wujal Wujal Coral Sea Mareeba Cairns Region Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Tablelands Cassowary Coast Coral Sea

The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional centre of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shire of Douglas. However, following public protest and a referendum in 2013, on 1 January 2014, the Shire of Douglas was separated from the Cairns Region and re-established as a local government authority.

The Cairns Regional Council has an estimated operating budget of A$300 million.

Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the new Cairns Region consisted the entire area of three previous local government areas:

The City, which for most of its existence covered only the central business district and inner suburbs of Cairns, had its beginning in the Borough of Cairns which was proclaimed on 28 May 1885 under the Local Government Act 1878. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, it became a Town on 31 March 1903 and was proclaimed a City on 12 October 1923.

The Shire of Mulgrave had its origins in the Cairns Division, one of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879. The Douglas Division was created on 3 June 1880. They became the Shire of Cairns and the Shire of Douglas on 31 March 1903. On 20 December 1919, it grew to include some territory from the abolished Shire of Barron, and on 16 November 1940, the shire was renamed Mulgrave.

On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in the Cairns area be rationalised, and that the Shire be dissolved and amalgamated with the City of Cairns. The Local Government (Cairns, Douglas, Mareeba and Mulgrave) Regulation 1994 was gazetted on 16 December 1994. On 22 March 1995, the Shire was abolished and became part of the new City of Cairns.