Circulars

What’s new or changing

• Under the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 (the Regulation), councils must ensure that induction training is delivered to councillors who have been elected for the first time and refresher training for councillors who are re-elected, within 6 months of their election. Councils are also required to provide supplementary training to mayors.
• To assist councils in the delivery of their councillor induction and refresher training, the Office of Local Government (OLG) will be holding a series of “Hit the Ground Running” webinars during early 2022.
• OLG will also soon be issuing an updated edition of the Councillor Handbook which will be published on OLG’s website here.
• These resources will provide councillors with essential information to serve their community and fulfil their civic responsibilities.
• Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and councillor work and family commitments, the “Hit the Ground Running” webinars will be held online once a week on Saturdays over 1-2 hours. Recordings of the webinars will be made available on OLG’s website.
• Councillors will receive a certificate of attendance to provide to councils for each of the webinars they attend.
• Session details and dates are provided in the attachment to this circular.

What this will mean for your council

• The “Hit the Ground Running” webinars will focus on the key elements of a councillor’s role and responsibilities.
• All councillors are strongly encouraged to participate in the “Hit the Ground Running” webinars. They will provide essential information to support councillors in serving their community and fulfilling their responsibilities.
• Councils are encouraged to incorporate the webinars into the councillor induction and refresher program they are required to deliver to elected members after the December 2021 council elections.
• General managers should widely promote the webinars and strongly encourage attendance by providing relevant session dates in the council calendar and assisting councillors with their registration.
• An online registration system will soon be made available for councillors to register their attendance and information provided about how to register.

Where to go for further information

• The Councillor Induction and Professional Development Guidelines are available on OLG’s website here.
• The 2021 Councillor Handbook will soon be available on OLG’s website here.
• An online registration system will soon be made available for councillors to register their attendance at the webinars and information provided about how to register.
• For further information, contact OLG’s Council Governance Team on (02) 4428 4100.