Communications agreements
Tranche 1
Status: Regulations and ministerial order being developed
Commencement: To be confirmed
What is proposed?
A communications agreement in the State Government is the agreement between a Minister and the agency assisting them with their responsibilities. This agreement sets out how the Minister and agency will communicate with each other, how requests for information
can be made and who a Minister and their staff may contact within an agency.
It is proposed that each council will be required to enter into a communications agreement with their CEO. If the council and CEO cannot agree they would be placed onto a default agreement determined by the Minister.
A communications agreement will need to address how council members may seek information and assistance from the local government administration in carrying out their role. This could include council members seeking a briefing about an ongoing community issue or assistance with their statutory obligations. This agreement would set out how this assistance would be provided and timelines for when the local government would respond.
How these changes help
Local governments currently have inconsistent approaches as to how information is to be sought. In some local governments this information may only be sought through a specific inbox. In other local governments council members can call staff directly
to seek information.
It is intended by having a default communications agreement will provide an example of an appropriate separation of the council and administration and promote processes to ensure local government administrations are responsive and professional in providing advice.