The department provides support and advisory services to 139 local governments, including 2 Indian Ocean Territories.
Our services aim to improve the capacity of local governments to respond to community demands and expectations, levels of accountability and legislative compliance.
There are 2 support services available to local government officers and council members — a general advisory line and a financial policy and accounting help desk. Members of the public with concerns involving their local government should attempt to resolve them directly with their local government.
Find out more about resolving a concern with your local government
Email lghotline@dlgsc.wa.gov.auTelephone 1300 762 5118:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday
To allow for an informed response, it is preferred that complex enquiries are made by email in the first instance.
Questions related to long service leave should be directed to the responsible area of the relevant local government, or if a member, to WALGA's Employee Relations service.
Financial and accounting support for WA’s local government sector.
Guidelines to help local governments work efficiently and effectively.
A guide to meetings for elected members to support their effective participation in council and committee meetings.
The first tranche of the local government reforms will focus on strengthening local democracy, providing greater transparency and accountability by:
A copy of the Bill, the Second Reading speech, Explanatory Memorandum and a blue bill showing the proposed amendments to the Local Government Act 1995 can be sourced from the WA Parliament website.
This Bill incorporates consultation feedback received from the local government sector, including changing the voting system to optional preferential voting from full preferential voting and adjusting the maximum number of councillors for smaller councils from 5 to 7.
The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries will be holding a webinar for the local government sector early March 2023 to provide a briefing on the bill and its implications for the local government sector. This will include an address by the Hon John Carey MLA, Minister for Local Government.
Attendance at this webinar is encouraged, particularly for local government CEOs and staff involved in governance and elections. Registration details to be confirmed.
The webinar will be for approximately 30 minutes and will include a briefing and an opportunity to ask questions. The session will be recorded.
Questions regarding the Bill and local government reforms can be directed to actreview@dlgsc.wa.gov.au