Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Act 2016

This Act is the Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Act 2016.

This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation, except as provided by subsection (2).

Schedule 1 [6], [8], [11], [12], [14], [17], [19]–[22], [88] and [89] commence on the date of assent to this Act.

A council may resolve to make an application to the Minister to approve a reduction in the number of times that a council is required to meet each year to a number specified in the resolution.

The council must give not less than 42 days’ public notice of its proposed resolution.

After passing the resolution the council must forward to the Minister a copy of the resolution, a summary of any submissions received by it and its comments concerning those submissions.

The Minister may approve the application or decline to approve it.

If the Minister approves the application, the council is required to meet at least as often as specified in the resolution.

An application may be made under this section only by the councils prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section.

The application may be made after the commencement of this section and not later than 12 months before the next ordinary election of councillors after that commencement.

Nothing in this section prevents a council from making more than one application under this section.

A council must establish and implement a strategy (called its community engagement strategy) for engagement with the local community when developing its plans, policies and programs and for the purpose of determining its activities (other than routine administrative matters).

A council must have a long-term strategy (called its resourcing strategy) for the provision of the resources required to perform its functions (including implementing the strategies set out in the community strategic plan).

A council must have a program (called its delivery program) detailing the principal activities to be undertaken by the council to perform its functions (including implementing the strategies set out in the community strategic plan) within the resources available under the resourcing strategy.

The council must establish a new delivery program after each ordinary election of councillors to cover the principal activities of the council for the 4-year period commencing on 1 July following the election.

A council must have a plan (called its operational plan) that is adopted before the beginning of each year and details the activities to be engaged in by the council during the year as part of the delivery program covering that year.

The regulations may make provision for or with respect to integrated planning and reporting guidelines (referred to in this Chapter as the guidelines) to be complied with by councils.

Without limiting subsection (1), the regulations may impose requirements in connection with the preparation, development, consultation on and review of, and the contents of, the community strategic plan, resourcing strategy, delivery program, operational plan, community engagement strategy, annual report and environment reporting of a council.

A council must appoint an Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee.

The Committee must keep under review the following aspects of the council’s operations:

compliance,

risk management,

fraud control,

financial management,

governance,

implementation of the strategic plan, delivery program and strategies,

service reviews,

collection of performance measurement data by the council,

any other matters prescribed by the regulations.

The Committee is also to provide information to the council for the purpose of improving the council’s performance of its functions.

A council may enter into an arrangement with another council, or a body prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section, to jointly appoint an Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee to exercise functions for more than one council or body.

[1]-[3] (Repealed)

Omit section 224A (7)–(9). Insert instead:

An application may be made under this section only by a council that is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section.

The application may be made after the commencement of this subsection (as substituted by the Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Act 2016) and not later than 12 months before the next ordinary election of councillors after that commencement.

Nothing in this section prevents a council from making more than one application under this section or from taking action under section 224 to change the number of its councillors.