Local Government Act 2020

The Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar has the following functions—

receive applications for the appointment of an arbiter;

appoint an arbiter from the panel list established under section 142 including the appointment of any replacement arbiter under section 144AB;

publish any guidelines in relation to processes and procedures relating to internal arbitration process applications that the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar has determined to be necessary;

publish any guidelines in relation to the interpretation and application of the Model Councillor Code of Conduct for the purposes of internal arbitration process applications that the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar has determined to be necessary;

provide general advice and assistance to arbiters in relation to the functions of an arbiter;

publish any decision made by an arbiter and the statement of reasons for that decision;

publish on an annual basis any prescribed information in relation to the operation and use of the internal arbitration process in relation to a prescribed period;

set and publish a schedule of fees specifying the fees to be paid to arbiters;

send a notice to a Council specifying the fees payable by the Council following any internal arbitration process conducted for, or on behalf of, the Council;

receive applications for the establishment of Councillor Conduct Panels;

form Councillor Conduct Panels by appointing members of the panel list to sit on Councillor Conduct Panels including appointing a replacement member to a Panel under section 156A;

provide general advice and assistance to members of the Councillor Conduct Panel in relation to their functions;

publish any determination made by a Councillor Conduct Panel and any reasons given for that determination;

keep copies of all documents requested by, and given to, a Councillor Conduct Panel;

publish on an annual basis any prescribed information in relation to the operation and use of Councillor Conduct panels in relation to a prescribed period;

comply with any request made by the Chief Municipal Inspector or VCAT for copies of any documents given to, or made by, a Councillor Conduct Panel;

set and publish a schedule of fees specifying the fees to be paid to members of a Councillor Conduct Panel;

send a notice to a Council specifying the fees payable by the Council following any Councillor Conduct Panel hearing conducted for, or on behalf of, the Council;

publish any guidelines in relation to Councillor Conduct Panel procedures and processes that the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar has determined to be necessary.

The Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar has the power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done for or in connection with the performance of the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar's functions under this Act.

Without limiting subsection (2), the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar may do any of the following—

request information from a Council that the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar considers necessary to make a determination under section 144(1)(c) or 155(1)(c);

request information from a Council or another person or body that the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar considers necessary to make a determination under section 144(1B) or 155(2);

disclose information in an application made under section 143 or 154 to a person or body that the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar is satisfied under section 144(1B) or 155(2) is dealing with or would more appropriately deal with the matter the subject of the application;

disclose information regarding a matter being considered by a Councillor Conduct Panel to a Municipal Monitor or a Commission of Inquiry for the purposes of section 181D(3) or 220A(4).