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• New reforms passed by Parliament will see more local government information available online
• All candidates for the 2019 local government elections will be required to do an induction
• Third major piece of local government reform legislation for McGowan Government  
  

These reforms target key priority areas identified by the community and local government sector to better prepare council members for their challenging role, strengthen governance, empower councils to communicate with residents using modern technology and expand the amount of information available to the public online.

Commencing at the 2019 ordinary local government elections in October, all candidates will be required to have completed an online induction. This free, online module will be available on the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries' website in July.

Building the capacity of council members further, all council members will be required to complete a training program following their election covering key areas such as conflicts of interest, understanding financial reports and budgets, and serving on council.

Reforms will also:

• Improve standards of behaviour through a mandatory code of conduct for council members and candidates;
• Introduce new standards for CEO recruitment and performance management to help elected members select a CEO and assess their performance;
• Provide clarity for elected members to manage real and perceived conflicts of interest related to gifts; and
• Require local governments to publish information on their website such as local laws, approved council policies and all documents contained within a meeting agenda allowing instant access to council information for everyone 24/7.