Wollongong's political landscape is shaped by its history of support for the Labor Party at both the federal and state levels, with the city traditionally favoring center-left politics over the center-right Liberal Party. The federal divisions of Cunningham and Whitlam are predominantly or entirely located in the city, with a small portion of Gilmore in the far southern suburbs. At the state level, Wollongong is represented by four electoral districts: Heathcote, Keira, Shellharbour, and Wollongong. A minor portion of Kiama is also included in the southern suburbs of the city.

In federal elections, the Labor Party holds both of the Wollongong-based seats, and it maintains dominance in all four of the state seats within the region. However, the Liberal Party has managed to hold onto the Heathcote state seat multiple times, including for 12 consecutive years from the 2011 victory until Labor's return to power in 2023. The redistribution of the Heathcote seat in 2023 shifted its boundaries south to include more of Wollongong, making it a notional Labor seat.

Despite a historic defeat for Labor in 2011—when the state saw the worst loss of a sitting government—Labor won every seat in Wollongong except for Heathcote, marking the Illawarra region as the only area where Labor outperformed the Coalition in that election. The last time the Liberals won a Wollongong-based seat other than Heathcote was in 1968, when they took the Wollongong seat for a single term before Labor reclaimed it in 1971.

At the local government level, Wollongong is divided into two primary local government areas (LGAs): the City of Wollongong and the City of Shellharbour, with a small portion of the Municipality of Kiama in the southern suburbs. The City of Wollongong is led by a directly elected Lord Mayor, currently Tania Brown, and 12 councillors, with Labor holding eight seats, the Greens holding three, and independents Andrew Anthony and Ryan Morris holding the remaining seats.

The City of Shellharbour operates with an indirectly elected Mayor, Chris Homer (an independent), and has eight councillors, including four independents, three Labor councillors, and one councillor from the Kellie Marsh Independent Team.

This political structure reflects a blend of strong Labor representation at the federal and state levels, with increasing local government diversity in the city's council, illustrating a mix of independents, Labor, and Greens voices shaping the region’s future.