Council officials play a vital role in serving local communities. To do this effectively, you will want to uphold the highest standards of behaviour to
ensure communities have trust and confidence in local government.

 

What are the expected standards of behaviour?

The standards of behaviour are described in detail in the Model Code of Conduct. The Code is a legal document that all officials are obliged to understand and follow. The Model Code forms the basis of each council’s code of conduct.

Council officials are expected to:

  • conduct themselves in a manner that will not bring the council into disrepute
  • act lawfully, honestly and exercise due care
  • treat others with respect and not harass or discriminate against them, or support others who do so
  • consider issues consistently, promptly and fairly
  • ensure development decisions are properly made and deal fairly with all parties involved
  • disclose and appropriately manage conflicts of interests including, in the case of councillors, from reportable political donations
  • use and secure information appropriately and not disclose confidential information
  • use council resources ethically, effectively and efficiently.

At the end of each year, councils are required to report on the numbers of code of conduct complaints made about councillors and the general manager, how they were dealt with and how much it cost the council to deal with them. This will ensure that councillors are individually and collectively accountable to their communities for their conduct and performance.

 

Council code of conduct statistics