Under the Model Code of Conduct Procedures, each council’s complaints coordinator must report annually on a range of complaint statistics to their council and to the Office of Local Government within 3 months of the end of September.

Councils are required to respond to this information request under section 429 of the Local Government Act 1993.Councils can use the Statistical Information Sheets that candidates completed prior to the elections to complete the survey. Councils are required to retain these sheets under clause 391(6) of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.

The Office of Local Government has issued an updated edition of the Councillor Handbook. The Councillor Handbook has been updated to reflect developments over the last four years and recent amendments to the Local Government Act 1993.

As a result of the recent amendments to the Local Government Act 1993, councillors (including mayors) are now required to take an oath or affirmation of office. The prescribed words of the oath and affirmation are contained in the attachment to this Circular. Oaths or affirmations of office must be taken by each councillor at or before the first meeting of the council after being elected.

The NSW Parliament has passed amendments to the Local Government Act 1993 (the LGA) known as the Phase 1 reforms, focussing mainly on improving council governance and strategic business planning. Some of the amendments are now in force. Other amendments will be put in place over time.

The formation of new councils will have implications for these councils’ management of their obligations under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act).

Ordinary local government elections in NSW are scheduled to occur on 10 September 2016 for councils that have not been merged and that are not subject to a merger proposal.

There have been several recent cases of section 355 committees failing to meet basic governance and accounting standards. This creates significant and ongoing risks for councils. Where councils delegate functions to section 355 committees, including the expenditure of council funds, it is important that the activities of these committees remain transparent and subject to critical oversight.

A guide for candidates, stand for your community, and other resources have been prepared by the Office of Local Government, in collaboration with Local Government NSW, to ensure candidates reflect the diverse communities they represent. The resources will also assist prospective candidates in making informed decisions about standing for local government elections in September 2016.

The NSW Parliament has passed amendments to the Local Government Act 1993 (the LGA) and the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981 (the Election Funding Act). The amendments are designed to promote confidence in the integrity of local government elections and the candidates who stand for election to councils, and to offer a more effective deterrent to misuse by councillors of their office for personal gain.