CEO Standards for Recruitment, Performance Review and Termination
CEO Standards for Recruitment, Performance Review and Termination (CEO Standards) were introduced in Western Australia in February 2021.
They set out legislative requirements for recruitment and selection, performance review, and termination of employment for local government CEOs.
Local governments were required to prepare and adopt the CEO Standards by 3 May 2021.
Recruitment
The CEO is responsible for implementing council’s strategic vision and leading the local government administration. The CEO standards have considered the changing needs of a community, and the specific skills and experience required for a local government CEO.
The CEO Standards introduced the requirement for a recruitment process to be undertaken where a current CEO will have had 10 or more consecutive years of service on expiry of their contract.
The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) has developed a CEO recruitment checklist to help local governments assess whether their process meets requirements in the CEO Standards.
Performance review
CEO performance reviews should be based on the principles of fairness, integrity and impartiality. A performance review should facilitate a shared understanding between the council and CEO on achieving council priorities.
Performance reviews must be evidence-based and measured against agreed performance criteria. As an example, if performance criteria requires that a framework or strategy be reviewed, the performance review process should assess if the action has been completed or not completed. It is critical that the process is conducted objectively and is free from bias or conflicts of interest.
DLGSC has developed a CEO Performance Review checklist to help local governments assess whether their process meets requirements in the CEO Standards.
Termination
Termination of a local government CEO must be based on the principles of procedural fairness, be compliant with the CEO Standards and consistent with employment and contract law.
Any decision to terminate a CEO should be done through the performance review process. Performance issues must first be identified as part of a performance review. Where issues are identified, the CEO must be informed of the issues and be given reasonable opportunity to respond.
Further information
Further detail on how to meet the requirements of the CEO Standards is outlined in the Local Government Operational Guideline – CEO recruitment and selection, performance review and termination.
Questions about the standards can be directed to DLGSC on 1300 762 511 or lghotline@dlgsc.wa.gov.au