2017-02-07 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

Page 34 of 141

COUNCIL POLICY - GIFTS AND BENEFITS

The following gifts are considered low risk and can generally be accepted:
e   Gifts of nominal value made in gratitude for specific tasks or performance e.g. a small personal
    gift to an employee or Councillor for speaking at an official function;
e   Low value corporate gifts made as a marketing/sponsor initiative e.g. mass produced
    mementoes at a professional development conference;
e   Ceremonial/symbolic gifts from visiting organisations provided to Council as an organisation (as
    opposed to an individual employee or Councillor) to be retained by the organisation e.g. plaque
    of appreciation or memento from place of origin.

Appropriate gifts offered to employees can only be accepted and utilised by the individual recipient
if it is not contrary to the public interest and further, if it is approved by the employee’s relevant
Director/Manager or the CEO. Other available options for recipients to consider include
surrendering the gift for disposal (donation to a charity) or for the use of the wider organisation.
Gifts made to the organisation remain the property of the organisation and not individual
Councillors or employees.
DECLARING AND REPORTING OF GIFTS AND BENEFITS ON COUNCIL’S GIFT REGISTER
Gifts and Benefits Register
Council's Gift and Benefits Register is centrally maintained by Council's Governance Team. The
Register will record the following details of all reportable gifts and benefits under this Policy:
e   The date the gift was offered;
e   The date the notification was made;
e   The recipient and donor;
e   Estimated fair market value;
e   Determination on how the gift was dealt with - e.g. disposal by donation to charity, use by the
    organisation, retention of the gift for personal use by the individual recipient, or non-
    acceptance, and who authorised that decision.

Recording threshold for employees and the organisation
Any appropriate gift or benefit received by employees or the organisation that has an estimated
value of $100 or more must be recorded on Council’s Gifts and Benefits Register via the
Governance Team within 30 days of acceptance.
In addition to the above, the CEO and Senior Executive Employees have obligations to disclose
gifts received exceeding $500 on their Register of Interests under Part 5, Chapter 8 of the Local
Government Regulation 2012.
Recording threshold for Councillors
Any gift received by a Councillor that is required to be recorded on a Councillor's individual
Register of Interests pursuant to section 291 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 (gifts
totalling more than $500), must also be noted on Council’s Gifts and Benefits Register. Upon
updating their Register of Interests, Councillors are requested to notify the Governance Team so
that the Council’s Gifts and Benefits Register can be updated.
Multiple gifts and cumulative value
If multiple gifts are accepted from the same provider or on behalf of the same organisation and the
cumulative value is more than $100 (for employees) or $500 (for Councillors), then each gift or
benefit must be reported on the register once the relevant threshold is reached or is considered
likely to be reached in the future.

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