2012 New South Wales local elections

The 2012 New South Wales local elections were held on 8 September 2012 to elect the councils of 150 of the 152 local government areas (LGAs) of New South Wales. Several councils also held mayoral elections and/or referendums.

The elections were conducted by the New South Wales Electoral Commission, with the exception of 14 councils who chose to conduct their own elections or use the services of the private Australian Election Company.

No elections were held in Shellharbour or Wollongong as electors had voted a year prior in 2011, following the sackings of both councils in 2008.

The Liberal Party chose not to contest the elections in Fairfield and Penrith, leading to Liberal councillors running as Independent Liberals.

More than 16 wards across the state were uncontested.

Parties
The following registered parties contested this election. This does not include groups of independents:
 * Christian Democrats
 * Greens
 * Labor Party
 * Liberal Democrats
 * Liberal Party
 * Socialist Alliance
 * Unity Party

In addition, a number of local government-registered parties also contested the elections.

Aftermath
The Liberal Democrats had their first-ever electoral victories, with Jeff Pettett and Clinton Mead elected to Ku-ring-gai Council and Campbelltown City Council respectively.

The election of Tony Oldfield to Auburn City Council remains the only time the present-day Communist Party of Australia had had an electoral win.

Australia First councillor Maurice Girotto left the party in 2013 to sit as an independent, before joining the Christian Democrats in March 2016.

Following the elections, major changes occurred as a result of the enactment of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948 and as a result of a review by the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) that commenced in 2013. On 12 May 2016, following a further review by the Minister for Local Government and the independent Local Government Boundaries Commission, Premier Mike Baird announced Stage 1 starting with 19 new councils, through amalgamations and mergers, with immediate effect. The Minister indicated in principle support to create a further nine new councils, subject to the decision of the courts. On the same day, the Governor of New South Wales acted on the advice of the Minister, and proclaimed the 19 new local government areas. Another proclamation occurred a few months later with the amalgamation of City of Botany Bay and City of Rockdale.

This resulted in 79 councils being contested in 2016 and 46 in 2017, before the vast majority contested together again in 2021.

By-elections
The New South Wales Electoral Commission held a number of by-elections to fill vacancies on councils after the 2012 elections up until 2016.