Olly Arkins elected Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney

The City's first openly trans councillor now holds the second-highest civic office.

Told by Claire Lawson · 23 September 2026

Olly Arkins is now Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney, and if you haven't been paying attention to local government, that sentence alone won't tell you why it matters.

Arkins was elected to the position by her fellow councillors — the City's official register now lists her as Deputy Lord Mayor. She was elected to the City of Sydney in 2024, and she is the first openly trans councillor to hold a seat there.

Before running for council, Arkins trained as a nurse at Notre Dame in Darlinghurst, working as a swim instructor at the City's Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre. She spent over a decade in cultural policy and advocacy across the music industry, festivals and government. She ran because housing was becoming less affordable, council services were being privatised, and the city's nightlife and creative sector were struggling.

Since her election, she's built a track record on exactly those issues. She's advocated for Special Entertainment Precincts, invested in affordable housing, supported the LGBTQIA+ community, extended library opening hours, and backed Yabun and Mardi Gras. She's Deputy Chair of the Cultural, Creative and Nightlife Committee and Co-Chair of the Creative and Nightlife Advisory Panel. She's also a board member of Local Government NSW.

The Deputy Lord Mayor is elected by councillors each year. It's the second-highest civic office in Sydney.

Arkins uses her experience in complex policy spaces to bring diverse stakeholders together for practical outcomes. That's the official line, and it's also what she's been doing — getting Special Entertainment Precincts through, in-housing council services, pushing for more affordable housing in a city where renters and young people are being priced out.

She's the first openly trans person to be elected to the City of Sydney, and now she's Deputy Lord Mayor. That's visibility, and it's also accountability — the work doesn't stop because the title changed.