Compliance and reporting

Good practice guidelines

Tranche 2

Status: Commenced

Commencement: 7 December 2024

What is proposed?

It is proposed that the Minister will be empowered under the Act to issue good practice guidelines which will set out good practices in exercising the functions of a local government. 

How these changes help

Adherence to a good practice guideline can be used as evidence of compliance with the law.

Online registers

Tranche 1

Status: Regulations being developed

Commencement: To be confirmed

What is proposed?

Local governments currently enter into many agreements that involve the expenditure of ratepayer funds or use of local government property.

To ensure good record keeping and public visibility of these decisions, it is proposed local governments keep public registers on matters such as leases, grants, and goods and services contracts.

How these changes help

This reform aims to make local governments more transparent and provides the public with easier access to public information.

Compliance exemptions

Tranche 1

Status: Commenced

Commencement: 19 May 2023

What has changed?

The Act now allows for local governments to make applications to the Minister to grant exemptions to not comply with provisions in the Act, under limited circumstances.

These limited circumstances include:

• enabling a local government to respond urgently to an emergency
• enabling a local government to respond, on a temporary basis, to unusual circumstances.
  

The term 'emergency' is defined by the Act to include: 

• the occurrence, or imminent occurrence, of an event, situation or condition that is a hazard under the definition of that term in the Emergency Management Act 2005 section 3
• a public health emergency as defined in the Public Health Act 2016 section 4(1). 

A local government cannot be granted an exemption to a provision of the Act or regulations related to the following:

• Part 2 or Schedules 2.1 to 2.5 regarding the constitution of the local government, the qualifications of council members and their terms of office
• Part 3 Division 2 — regarding the making of local laws
• Part 4 and Schedules 4.1A, 4.1B, 4.1 and 4.2 — regarding when elections occur and how council members are elected. 

To have an exemption considered, a local government may apply to the Minister. On receipt of an application, the Minister may grant the exemption, for a specified period only, if the Minister is satisfied that:

• it would not exempt a local government from an excluded provision
• it is reasonably necessary to respond to an emergency or unusual circumstances
• that the application was made as soon as was reasonably practicable, in the case of an emergency
• the exemption will not undermine the good governance of the local government
• it is in the public interest.
  

If granted, an exemption may only apply for specified activities, conditions or any other type of limitation.

What a local government needs to do to implement the change

Applications for exemption should be directed to the Minister and should detail:

• the provisions of the Act being requested for exemption
• how it meets the limited circumstances
• the reasons for the request
• the period that the exemption is being requested for.
  

If an exemption is granted, the local government must give local public notice of the exemption, unless specified by the Minister.