Circulars

What’s new or changing

• Section 217 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 (the Regulation) has been amended to require councils to report on their employment practices in their annual reports.

What this will mean for your council

• Councils will be required to publish information in their annual reports, starting with the 2021/22 annual report, on the total number of persons who performed paid work for them on a “relevant day” to be fixed by the Secretary of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (Secretary DPIE) each year.
• Councils will be required to publish the following information in their annual reports:
  • separate statements on the number of persons directly employed by the council:
    • on a permanent full-time basis,
    • on a permanent part-time basis
    • on a casual basis, and
    • under a fixed term contract
  • the number of staff members employed by the council who are “senior staff” for the purposes of the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act)
  • the number of persons engaged by the council, under a contract or other arrangement with the person’s employer, that is wholly or principally for the labour of the person, and
  • the number of persons supplied to the council, under a contract or other arrangement with the person’s employer, as an apprentice or trainee.
• The Secretary DPIE will fix the relevant day for reporting purposes after the end of each year. The date is required to be a date which is different from the date fixed for the previous year and must not fall on a weekend or public holiday.

Key points

• The requirement for councils to publish labour force data in their annual reports is designed to allow greater scrutiny of councils’ employment practices by their governing bodies, their communities, and key stakeholders such as the unions.

• Increased transparency around councils’ employment practices will promote better compliance with the Act and the Local Government (State) Award, encourage a more strategic approach to workforce planning and allow better-informed decision making by councils in relation to the management of their workforces.

Where to go for further information

• For further information please contact the Council Governance Team on 02 4428 4100 or by email at olg@olg.nsw.gov.au.