Cr Karen Hyslop represents Central Ward on Northern Grampians Shire Council. She was first elected to the council in 2012 and returned to it at a by-election in 2022. She has represented Central Ward since October 2024, when she was re-elected with the most first-preference votes in the ward. She is a member of the Australian Democrats.
Karen was Mayor of Northern Grampians Shire from November 2024 to November 2026, elected unanimously in 2024 and returned for a second year in 2025. As mayor she sat on the Victorian Government’s 2025 Local Government Mayoral Advisory Panel, nine mayors who advise the Minister for Local Government, and after the Grampians fires of summer 2024–25 she pressed the State Government for support for Halls Gap businesses.
A lifelong Stawell local, Karen worked as a nurse and midwife before local government. She brings more than a decade of council experience and a practical understanding of what rural communities need.
In our words, from: Northern Grampians Shire Council’s profile of Cr Hyslop (her ward and background) and its announcements of her election as mayor in 2024 and 2025; the Victorian Electoral Commission’s results for the 2024 council election and the 2022 Kara Kara Ward by-election; the Victorian Government’s Mayoral Advisory Panel announcement; and West Vic News on her advocacy after the Grampians fires.