Ballarat City Council mayor John Burt said the council was working with the offices of both Ms Gillard and Ballarat MP Catherine King to find a suitable date for the bust’s unveiling.

“Our offer for her to come to Ballarat and unveil the sculpture remains open,” Cr Burt said. “The Prime Minister’s Avenue is the only one of its kind in Australia and we look forward to installing the sculpture in the near future.”

Ms Gillard was ousted as prime minister on Wednesday night after former leader Kevin Rudd won a leadership spill.

However, Cr Burt confirmed a second bust of Mr Rudd would not be added to the Botanical Garden’s avenue.

“Three other prime ministers have served multiple terms – Alfred Deakin, Andrew Fisher and Sir Robert Menzies – but each have the one bust in the Prime Minister’s Avenue,” he said.

Ms Gillard’s sculpture, created by artist and cartoonist Peter Nicholson, has been in storage at the Art Gallery of Ballarat for 12 months since her initial 2012 sitting in Melbourne.

Prime Minister’s Avenue is a collection of 27 busts of former prime ministers, with Ms Gillard’s to become the 28th.

Four sculptors were used to create the bronze portraits.

The avenue was created by a bequest from parliamentarian and arts patron Richard Armstrong Crouch.