Procedures for the Administration of the Model Code of Conduct

At the 14 September 2020 Council meeting, Council adopted a new Procedures for the Administration for the Model Code of Conduct(PDF, 500KB)  to include the following changes:

• Consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision, councils have the following options when taking disciplinary action against Councillors for breaches of their codes of conduct under the new Procedures:
  • that a councillor be formally censured for the breach under section 440G of the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act)
  • that a councillor be formally censured for a breach under section 440G and the matter referred to OLG for further disciplinary action under the misconduct provisions of the Act.
• The process for censuring Councillors for breaches of the code of conduct has been significantly strengthened to ensure Councillors are made publicly accountable to their electors for their conduct. When censuring Councillors, councils are required to specify in their resolution the grounds on which the councillor is being censured by disclosing the investigator’s findings and determination and any other grounds that the Council considers may be relevant or appropriate.
• Councillors may seek to avoid public censure for breaches of the code of conduct by voluntarily agreeing to undergo training or counselling, to apologise for their conduct or to give undertakings not to repeat their conduct before the investigator finalises their report to the council. Investigators can finalise their investigations without a report to the council where they consider these to be an appropriate outcome to the matter they are investigating. However, it will remain open to investigators to finalise their report and to recommend censure where they consider this is appropriate and warranted.
• The process for referral by councils of code of conduct breaches by Councillors to OLG for further disciplinary action under the misconduct provisions of the Act has been streamlined. Investigators are required to consult with OLG before recommending the referral of matters to ensure the conduct in question is sufficiently serious to warrant disciplinary action for misconduct and that there is sufficient evidence of the breach to allow OLG to take further disciplinary action. Other amendments have been made to the procedures to:
  • allow panels of conduct reviewers to be appointed without a resolution of the council
  • allow the referral of investigators’ reports to OLG for action under the misconduct provisions of the Act where the council will not have a quorum to deal with the matter.

Council reaffirmed the Willoughby City Council Code of Conduct 2020 at its meeting on 28 November 2022.