Local Government Act 2020

For the purposes of this Act, serious misconduct by a Councillor means any of the following—

the failure by a Councillor to comply with the Council's internal arbitration process;

the failure by a Councillor to comply with a direction given to the Councillor by an arbiter under section 147;

the failure of a Councillor to attend a Councillor Conduct Panel hearing in respect of that Councillor;

the failure of a Councillor to comply with a direction of a Councillor Conduct Panel;

continued or repeated misconduct by a Councillor after a finding of misconduct has already been made in respect of the Councillor by an arbiter or by a Councillor Conduct Panel under section 167(1)(b);

bullying by a Councillor of another Councillor or a member of Council staff;

conduct by a Councillor that is conduct of the type that is sexual harassment of a Councillor or a member of Council staff;

subject to subsections (2) and (3), the intentional or reckless disclosure by a Councillor of information the Councillor knows, or should reasonably know, is confidential information;

conduct by a Councillor that contravenes the requirement that a Councillor must not direct, or seek to direct, a member of Council staff;

the failure by a Councillor to disclose a conflict of interest and to exclude themselves from the decision making process when required to do so in accordance with this Act.

Subsection (1)(h) does not apply if the information disclosed by the Councillor is information the Council has determined should be publicly available.

The disclosure of information by a Councillor that the Councillor knows, or should reasonably know, is confidential information is not serious misconduct if the disclosure is—

for the purposes of any legal proceeding arising out of this Act; or

to a court or tribunal in the course of a legal proceeding; or

pursuant to an order of a court or tribunal; or

in the course of an internal arbitration, including an application for internal arbitration, and for the purposes of the internal arbitration process; or

in the course of a Councillor Conduct Panel hearing, and for the purposes of the hearing; or

to a Municipal Monitor to the extent required by the Municipal Monitor; or

to the Chief Municipal Inspector to the extent required by the Chief Municipal Inspector; or

to a Commission of Inquiry to the extent reasonably required by the Commission of Inquiry; or

to the extent reasonably required by a law enforcement agency.