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Councillor obligations

Under the Local Government Act 1995, the council is responsible for the employment of a local government’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to manage its functions and operations. Schedule 2 of the Local Government (Administration) Regulations 1996 sets the minimum standards for CEO recruitment and selection.

As a council, there is an obligation to ensure that the process for the recruitment of a local government CEO has been carried out in accordance with those standards.

Check that process requirements have been met

A council must ensure that:

• the selection criteria have taken into consideration the knowledge, experience, qualifications, and skills necessary to effectively perform the role of CEO (clause 5(1))
• the job description form was approved by an absolute majority of the council (clause 5(2))
• advertising requirements have been met (clause 6)
• the selection panel comprises councillors and at least one independent person (clause 8(3))
• each applicant’s knowledge, experience, qualifications and skills have been assessed against the selection criteria (clause 9(1))
• the selection panel’s recommendation(s) in deciding which applicant to appoint have been considered (clause 9(2))
• a contract does not exceed a tenure of five years (Section 5.39(2)(b) of the Local Government Act 1995).

Check that the recommended candidate meets all the standards

A council must ensure that the:

• selection panel has assessed that the applicant has demonstrated that they meet the selection criteria (clause (9)(5)(a))
• applicant’s academic or other qualifications have been verified (clause 9(5)(b))
• character, work history, skills, previous performance, or any other claims of the applicant have been verified (clause 9(5)(c)).

Unless otherwise stated, the clauses listed above relate to the model standards for CEO recruitment, performance and termination as included in Schedule 2 of the Local Government (Administration) Regulations 1996.