Councils are required to adopt and maintain governance rules which outline the rules for Council meetings, as well as a number of other governance matters.
The Governance Rules, first adopted in 2020, are modeled on industry best practice and in compliance with the Local Government Act 2020.
In March 2022, the making of the Regulatory Legislation Amendment (Reform) Act 2022 resulted in changes to the Local Government Act 2020 to provide for attendance and participation in Council meetings and delegated committees by electronic means of communication.
These changes replace the existing temporary emergency provisions.
From 2 September 2022 onward, the amendment to the Local Government Act 2020 (the Act) will permanently enable Councils to conduct meetings by electronic means in accordance with relevant Governance Rules.
To comply with these measures, Council’s current Governance Rules will be updated to allow for hybrid meetings, and clarify requirements for virtual participation by the public.
A number of amendments have been proposed and do the following:
• widen the definition of being present at a meeting to include attendance by electronic means;
• outlining meeting preparation – types of council meetings, notice of meetings, how to attend by electronic means and process of approval of requests by electronic means;
• roles and conduct of participants by electronic means;
• make permanent the current temporary measures relating to the need to live stream any meeting that is held solely by electronic means;
• create a process for any technical issues that arise during the normal meeting process.
The proposed changes will also affect how the community can interact with Council at Council Meetings.
Next Steps
Council will consider the review and proposed changes of the Governance Rules at the Ordinary Council Meeting scheduled for August 2, 2022.
The meeting will be held at the Mortlake Chambers and members of the public are invited to observe proceedings from the public gallery. The meeting will also be live streamed on Council’s Facebook page from 2:00pm.