Ballina is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire local government area. It lies 740 km (460 mi) north of Sydney and 185 km (115 mi) south of Brisbane. Ballina’s urban population at the end of 2021 was 46,190. The town lies on the Richmond River and serves as a gateway to Byron Bay.

The population of Ballina township was 18,532 at the 2021 Census (representing 40 percent of the Ballina Shire population of 46,296). The urban area had a population of 46,190, which includes Lennox Head and other suburban areas.

The Ballina bypass project upgraded 12.4 km of dual carriageway road, extending from south of Ballina at the intersection of the Bruxner and Pacific highways to north of Ballina at the intersection with Ross Lane at Tintenbar. Twelve kilometres of local roads were also upgraded.