2018-12-11 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                             11 DECEMBER 2018


As the new Code was not in place at the time this Council took office, it is recommended that
Council formally agree that all Councillors agree to sign a declaration that they will abide by, and
act in accordance with the new Code.

5.   Councillor Complaints-Local Government Investigations Policy

Previously, complaints about Councillor conduct or performance could be made to, and depending
on the nature of the complaint, assessed by the Department’s Chief Executive, the Mayor or the
Council CEO. The review identified that this scenario gave rise to clear conflicts of interest
particularly for Council CEO’s.

Accordingly, the review recommended, and the State Government has now established, a new
Independent Assessor, which will take effect from 3 December 2018.

The role of the new Independent Assessor is to:
 Investigate and deal with conduct of Councillors where it is alleged or suspected to be
   inappropriate conduct, misconduct or, when referred to the Independent Assessor by the CCC
   as corrupt conduct;
 Provide advice, training and information about alleged or suspected inappropriate conduct,
   misconduct or corrupt conduct;
 Prosecute misconduct offences via the newly established Council Conduct Tribunal; and
 Investigate other matters decided by the Minister.

The Councillor Complaints Management Process for the Independent Assessor involves:
 Receiving complaints from the public, government entities, Councils, and local government
   officials;
 Assessing the complaint and determining the conduct category, if it should be dismissed or if
   no further action should be taken;
 Initiating its own investigation if inappropriate or misconduct is suspected;
 Acting on the assessment by referring the inappropriate conduct back to local government,
   following through on prosecutions for misconduct with the new Councillor Conduct Tribunal,
   and dealing with frivolous and improper complaints; and
 Reviews or appeals of the Councillor Conduct Tribunal decisions through the Queensland Civil
   and Administrative Tribunal.

If the Independent Assessor reasonably suspects that a Councillor has engaged in inappropriate
conduct, the matter can be referred to the local government to be dealt with.

It is now a requirement for local governments to adopt an Investigation Policy to deal with
suspected inappropriate conduct referred by the Independent Assessor and publish the Policy on
its website.

The Investigation Policy provided at Attachment 5 is based on the Department’s example policy.

6.   Councillor Training and Implementation

This is undoubtedly the most significant reform of local government legislation in recent times.
Significant work has been undertaken and will continue to be undertaken by the Department of
Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs to assist local governments effectively
implement these changes.




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