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.
This is good news because it will reduce the annual reporting burden for local governments, particularly smaller local governments.
The MFS incorporates the reporting requirements under the Australian Accounting Standards and Local Government (Financial Management) Regulations. However, the size of the local government will determine whether there is a requirement to report on all the activities; or whether sections that are not applicable are to be removed.
The MFS for 2022-23 have been published on the financial policy and accounting web page of the department’s website.
The MFS are based on proposed regulation changes that are currently being drafted, with gazettal anticipated by 30 June 2023, and provide a reduced version for smaller local governments. They are provided in pdf and excel versions.
The MFS are a guide to the common functions and activities of local government; therefore, all local governments will still need to review their version, and:
The guidance materials to support financial statement preparation have been published as a reference guide to the MFS.
Note: chief executive officers are requested to encourage staff who are involved in the preparation of financial statements and the budget, including governance staff, to register for LG Alerts at DLGSC’s website so they can receive timely updates on changes as they occur.