The LGNSW Conference is the annual policy-making event for NSW councils and associate members. It is well attended by mayors/deputy mayors, councillors, general managers and senior staff.

The purpose of this Circular is to inform councils and joint organisations of the recent decision by the Supreme Court in the matter of Cornish v Secretary, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment [2019] NSWSC 1134. The Court’s decision may be found here. The Supreme Court has held that, notwithstanding the penalties available to councils for code of conduct breaches by councillors under the Procedures for the Administration of the Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW (the Procedures), the only disciplinary power available to councils under the Local Government Act 1993 for code of conduct breaches by councillors, is the power to formally censure conferred under section 440G.

Councils must review their ward boundaries and notify the NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) of any finalised changes to ward boundaries and/or names before 9 December 2019. Under section 211 of the Local Government Act 1993 councils that are divided into wards must keep ward boundaries under review to ensure the difference in elector numbers between wards does not exceed 10%. For information on how the variation is to be calculated, please consult the attachment to this Circular.

Councils are reminded to inform the NSW Electoral Commissioner (NSWEC) if they have resolved for the NSWEC to administer a constitutional referendum or poll in conjunction with the 2020 local government elections.

The Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) has finalised and issued Guideline 1: For local councils on the disclosure of information contained in the returns disclosing the interests of councillors and designated persons (Guideline 1). Councils should review the positions they currently identify as designated persons in light of Guideline 1 by applying the principles set out in the attachment to this circular.

On 30 August 2019, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) provided its final report of its review of local government election costs to the Minister for Local Government. IPART’s final report is available here. On 18 September 2019, the Government released its response to IPART’s final report and announced that it intended to fund the NSW Electoral Commission’s (the Commission) core costs in relation to the administration of local government elections, thereby reducing councils’ election costs. The Government response to IPART’s final report is available here. Councils must make a decision on the administration of their elections by 1 October 2019, or soon thereafter, and must enter into any arrangement with the NSW Electoral Commissioner (the Commissioner) to administer their elections no later than 1 January 2020.

The Local Government Act 1993 was amended in August 2016 to require each council and joint organisation in NSW to appoint an audit, risk and improvement committee (ARIC). This requirement will take effect from March 2021 at the earliest. The Office of Local Government (OLG) has developed a draft internal audit and risk management framework to support and inform the operations of ARICs. The proposed framework is based on international standards and the experience of Australian and NSW Government public sector agencies who have already implemented risk management and internal audit but has been adapted to reflect the unique needs and structure of NSW councils and joint organisations.

Councils and joint organisations were required to adopt a code of conduct based on the Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW (the Model Code of Conduct) and associated Procedures based on the Procedures for the Administration of the Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW(Procedures) by 14 June 2019.

The Calendar of Compliance and Reporting Requirements has been updated for the 2019-20 financial year.

The purpose of this Circular is to remind councils of the requirements of the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act) relating to the appointment and dismissal of senior staff other than the general manager.