LEGAL COUNSEL UPDATE · Report

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                       20 JANUARY 2025


    •    These areas are technical areas that require specialised legal support and are heavily
         litigated to protect Noosa’s planning scheme.
     • They make up the bulk of external legal spend for Council.
o   Procurement-related contracts;
o   Prosecutions on behalf of teams – Local Laws enforcement.
3. New Processes
o   Demand for assistance from the Legal Counsel has increased steadily over the year with an
    increasing awareness that it is a resource available.
o   This is likely because of:
        i.   Legal Counsel proactively meeting with all Council Directors and departments to explain
             what legal assistance is available, and to discuss any matters of concern to see if the
             legal counsel may assist; and
        ii. A Digital Legal Request Form has been implemented on Noosapedia (intranet) and has
            been operational since late March 2024. It has streamlined the process for Council staff
            to seek internal legal advice and this has resulted in an uplift in requests.
4. Cost Savings or Value Provided
o    Cost savings purely on a time basis at the conservative rate of $450 per hour are as follows:
        i.   Since the digital request form was implemented in March 2024, until 7 November 2024
             (date of Councillor Workshop), 104 legal requests had been lodged;
        ii. The time-based estimate of the cost savings from providing these legal services in-house
            is $228,285.00 (up to and including 7 November 2024);
        iii. Legal Counsel was on extended carer’s leave for 5 weeks July/ August;
        iv. Legal Counsel has handled requests from every departmental area across Council.
5. Reporting - Legal Requests by Department