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.

The Local Government Amendment Act 2019 was assented to on 24 June 2019 and a number of provisions came into effect on 25 June 2019. Further changes have also come into effect, or will come into effect in future by proclamation.

In support of the prescription of the new Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW, the Office of Local Government (OLG) is developing template policies on social media use and councillor/staff interactions. The template policies will be designed to be policies that incorporate and reflect best practice in the sector using a “best of breed” approach to existing council policies.

The Government is releasing the final reports on three IPART reviews for feedback prior to developing final responses including: Review of the Local Government Rating System, Review of Reporting and Compliance Burdens on Local Government, and Review of Local Government Compliance and Enforcement. Councils are encouraged to provide feedback on the recommendations in each report by the relevant closing dates to further inform the Government’s response.

OLG is seeking to provide in its guidance a range of case studies of different webcasting practices. These will offer councils considering options for webcasting their meetings a broad range of examples to draw from. OLG is seeking submissions from councils that are willing to be included as a case study.

The Local Government Remuneration Tribunal (the Tribunal) has determined an increase of 2.5% to mayoral and councillor fees for the 2019/20 financial year, with effect from 1 July 2019. The Tribunal did not undertake a broad review of the categorisation of councils and considered only those requests where an individual submission was made. The Tribunal found that the current allocation of councils into the current categories is appropriate.

Under the proposed amendments, councils will have until 1 January 2020 to resolve to make a decision on the administration of their elections and enter into any arrangements with the NSWEC.

Commencing on 31 January 2019, councils are required to implement a regulated 10-minute grace period for certain paid parking offences of more than one hour. These changes relate to all parking fine issuing authorities, including NSW government agencies, councils and universities.

Amendments have been made to the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 (the Regulation) to give effect to the Government’s response to the recommendations of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) in relation to preference counting in local government elections.