To assist councils in the delivery of councillor induction and refresher training, the Office of Local Government (OLG) will be holding a series of “Hit the Ground Running” webinars beginning in October 2024 and continuing into early 2025. These webinars will provide councillors with essential information to serve their community and fulfil their civic responsibilities. “Hit the Ground Running” webinars will be held online once a week on Thursdays from 4.00 – 6.00 pm. The webinar on the Governing Body and Financial Management will start at 4.30 pm. Recordings of the webinars will be made available on OLG’s website.

The Office of Local Government (OLG) has issued a 2024 edition of the Councillor Handbook to assist and inform new and returning councillors in the exercise of their functions. The Councillor Handbook is a “how to” guide to being a councillor and provides comprehensive guidance to councillors on all aspects of their role and responsibilities.

here are several key decisions and activities that need to occur at the first meetings of councils, county councils, and Joint Organisations following the upcoming local government elections and in the 12 months that follow. The Office of Local Government (OLG) has prepared a post-election guide for councils, county councils, and Joint Organisations (Post-Election Guide) to assist them to comply with these requirements.

The Office of Local Government (OLG) has issued a communication toolkit for use by councils ahead of the 2024 local government elections. The Toolkit can be found under ‘Community Resources’ on OLG’s Local Government Elections webpage.

Wednesday, 14 February 2024 has been chosen as the “relevant day” for councils to report on their labour statistics in their annual reports under section 217 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 (the Regulation).

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has issued Guidance for councillors on corruption risks associated with overseas travel (ICAC’s Guidance). This can be accessed on the Office of Local Government’s website here and on ICAC’s website. ICAC’s Guidance provides information to help councils understand the corruption, integrity and security risks posed by overseas travel by councillors and to mitigate those risks.

The Office of Local Government (OLG) has a new dedicated webpage on its website for candidates at the upcoming local government elections called ‘Become a Councillor’. The webpage contains a range of resources for potential candidates to assist them to understand what their role and responsibilities will be as a councillor if they are elected.

The Local Government Act 1993 (the Act) has been amended by the Local Government Amendment (Employment Arrangements) Act 2024 (the amending Act). The amending Act received assent on 31 May 2024. As a result of the amendments, as of 1 September 2024, councils will no longer have the option to determine positions within their organisation structure as “senior staff positions” and to employ the holders of those positions under the statutory contract approved by the “departmental chief executive” of the Office of Local Government (OLG).

The Local Government Remuneration Tribunal (the Tribunal) has determined an increase of 3.75% to mayoral and councillor fees for the 2024-25 financial year, with effect from 1 July 2024. The Tribunal is required to determine the remuneration categories of councils and mayoral offices at least once every 3 years under section 239 of the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act). The Tribunal last undertook a significant review of the categories as part of its 2023 determination and will next review these categories in 2026.

The Mandatory Notification of Data Breach Scheme (MNDB Scheme) commenced on 28 November 2023 following a 12-month transition period. The MNDB Scheme is a mandatory notification requirement under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 for NSW public sector agencies (including councils) in the event of an ‘eligible data breach’.