Page title

February 2024

Contents

• Introduction
• Consultation process
• Part 1: General meeting process
  • 1. Calling meetings
  • 2. Agendas and order of business
  • 3. Urgent business
  • 4. Quorum
  • 5. Adjourning a meeting
• Part 2: Public participation
  • 6. Public question time
  • 7. Presentations at council
  • 8. Petitions
• Part 3: Conduct of debate
  • 9. Orderly conduct of meetings
  • 10. Motions and amendments
  • 11. Debate on a motion
  • 12. Questions by members
  • 13. Procedural motions
  • 14. Adverse reflection
• Part 4: Other matters
  • 15. Meeting minutes and confirmation
  • 16. Electronic meetings and attendance
  • 17. Council committees
  • 18. Meetings of electors
  • 19. Any other matters
• Appendix: Example timeline for an ordinary council meeting

Privacy statement

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If you do not consent to your submission being treated as a public document, you should mark it as confidential or specifically identify the confidential information, and include an explanation.

Even if your submission is treated as confidential, it may still be required to be disclosed in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA) or any other applicable written law.

The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries reserves the right to redact any content that could be regarded as racially vilifying, derogatory or defamatory to an individual or an organisation.

Introduction

The State Government is implementing a number of reforms to the Local Government Act 1995 (the Act) to improve transparency and accountability in local government in Western Australia and deliver benefits to ratepayers and residents.

Standardising council and committee procedures is part of these reforms. Establishing a consistent approach to all local government council and committee meetings will make it easier and simpler for people to participate in and observe council meetings, wherever they are held.

Establishing one standard is expected to simplify and improve training for council members and local government staff. It can also strengthen the enforcement of breaches of meeting procedures (for instance, if a person repeatedly and unreasonably disrupts a meeting).

Currently, it is usual practice for local governments to have local laws and policies in place to govern the conduct of council meetings. However, this approach means that there can be variation in how members of the public can engage with council meetings.

The Local Government Amendment Act 2023 inserts section 5.33A, to allow standardised meeting procedures for all local governments to be made in the form of Regulations or model provisions.

The State Government intends under section 5.33A to make Regulations that apply to all local governments and an order of the Governor under section 3.17 of the Act to repeal all existing local government meetings procedures, standing orders or council meeting local laws.

It is intended that the new standard meeting procedures (also known as 'standing orders') apply to all council and committee meetings held by local governments. It is also intended that Regulations will contain consistent rules for how meetings are held.

It is envisaged that relevant elements of Parts 2 and 3 of the Local Government (Administration) Regulations 1996 (the Regulations) would be incorporated into the new standardised meeting procedures.

The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) will also develop reference materials for council members, local government staff and communities to assist in ensuring consistency throughout the sector.

Note: unless otherwise specified in this paper, the word 'meeting' refers to both a council or a committee meeting and the word 'member' refers to both a council and a committee member.

Consultation process

You may choose to answer all or some of the questions in the consultation paper, and/or provide a submission that raises related matters not included in this consultation paper.

The DLGSC invites local governments, council members, chief executive officers (CEOs), local government employees, groups and associations, and members of the community to consider the proposals and provide feedback. Our preferred method for providing a submission is our online feedback form.

Online feedback form

Specific questions have been targeted to certain meeting procedure topics to better understand the variety of existing approaches currently used by the sector. The DLGSC is interested in learning more about how existing approaches work well in practice; and how reforms can be structured to improve transparency and public involvement, simplify the way meetings are conducted, and promote uniformity throughout the sector.

Although it is preferred that the feedback form is used to guide responses, general submissions and suggestions on any relevant topic can be provided via email to actreview@dlgsc.wa.gov.au

Part 1: General meeting process

1. Calling meetings

The calling of council meetings is outlined in sections 5.5 to 5.7 of the Act, and in existing regulations 12 to 14. Amendments are proposed to add new requirements for the oversight of special council meetings that are held at short notice and prevent any meeting from being held at an unreasonable time of day. It is important that special meetings are only convened in appropriate circumstances. Regulations are proposed to require:

• a minimum of 24 hours notice to convene a special council meeting
• that notice to convene a special council meeting may be done with less than 24 hours notice if an absolute majority of council members call the meeting
• that a meeting cannot commence any earlier than 8am or later than 8pm.

2. Agendas and order of business

It is proposed to broadly retain existing requirements for local governments to publish meeting agendas.

It is proposed that the general order of meetings be outlined in the Regulations for consistency across the local government sector. However, a council or committee may decide to consider business in a different order, provided that the other requirements of the Regulations (such as public question time being held before any decisions are made) are still met.

Regulations are proposed to outline the following order of business:

• opening (local governments will still be able to continue their own practices for opening meetings, such as making acknowledgements, prayers, opening statements, etc.)
• recording attendance
• public question time (see section 6)
• public presentations and petitions (see section 7 and section 8)
• members’ question time (see section 12)
• confirmation of previous minutes (see section 15)
• reports from committees and the CEO
• motions from members
• urgent business
• matters for which the meeting may be closed
• closure.

3. Urgent business

Currently, individual local governments’ meeting local laws and policies may vary in how urgent business is raised at a meeting. Existing local laws and policies provide various procedures for urgent business to be considered at a council meeting. Broadly, these procedures seek to limit the use of urgent business to only the most exceptional circumstances.

Regulations are proposed to allow the CEO to introduce an item without notice in cases of urgency if:

• an absolute majority of the council resolve to hear the matter at the meeting; and
• the item is clearly marked as urgent business.

It is proposed that DLGSC must be notified each time this occurs, within 7 calendar days, to ensure this process is only used in exceptional circumstances.

Urgent business may only be heard after public question time (see section 6).

4. Quorum

Existing regulation 8 addresses the process for when there isn’t a quorum at a meeting.

Amendments are proposed to provide for the following where a quorum is lost or not present:

• if no quorum is present within 30 minutes of the time set for the meeting, the meeting lapses
• where quorum is lost during a meeting:
  • the meeting proceeds to the next item of business if it is due to members leaving because of a financial or proximity interest
  • the meeting is adjourned for 15 minutes for any other reason and if quorum cannot be reformed, the meeting is closed.
• where quorum is lost, the names of the members then present are to be recorded in the minutes.

5. Adjourning a meeting

Currently, individual local governments’ meeting local laws or policies may contain processes for adjourning a meeting. It is intended to adopt similar rules, while also addressing concerns regarding meetings of council that run late. Regulations are proposed to provide that:

• council may decide to adjourn a meeting to another day, time and place to resume from the point it adjourned
• a presiding member may adjourn a meeting for 15 minutes to regain order of a meeting that has been disrupted
• if a meeting is adjourned for a second time due to disruption, a presiding member must adjourn the meeting to another day, time or place (not on the same day), with notice being published on the local government’s website.

It is also proposed that if a meeting is continuing and it reaches 10:45pm:

• the council or committee may decide to either extend the meeting for a further 15 minutes to allow for any remaining business to be concluded or determine to adjourn the meeting
• if any business remains at 11pm, the meeting must adjourn to a day and time which is at least 10 hours later to deal with any outstanding agenda items and a notice must be published on the local government’s website listing when the meeting will resume.

Part 2: Public participation

6. Public question time

Currently, the Act and Regulations require that public question time is to be made available at every council meeting and certain committee meetings.

Regulation 6 requires that at least 15 minutes is to be made available for public questions at those meetings. However, question time may be extended if there are further questions; the time may also be used for other business if there are no further questions.

Regulation 7 also provides that question time must be held before substantive decisions are made at that meeting.

Currently, the practice at many local governments is that a person who wishes to ask a question attends the meeting (either physically in-person or by electronic means) to ask their question. However, it is proposed that regulations allow for a personal representative of a person to ask a question. This provides an alternative avenue for someone who may be unable to attend a meeting to have their question raised.

Currently, individual local governments meeting local laws and policies may contain processes for members of the public to raise questions. Some requirements, such as rules requiring a person to lodge a question in writing before a meeting, may prevent a person who is not familiar with those requirements from being able to ask a question.

New standardised requirements are proposed to expand the existing Regulations to require that:

• a member of the public only needs to provide their name and suburb/locality (and not any other information) before asking a question
• a person is not required to lodge a question in writing in advance of a meeting (although a person may choose to do so, for instance if they have a very specific or technical question)
• a local government may still require a person, or their personal representative, to attend a meeting to ask a question lodged in writing in advance of the meeting for it to be addressed at that meeting
• questions must not take more than 2 minutes to ask, including a relevant preamble, unless the presiding member grants an extension of time
• if other people are waiting to ask questions, the presiding member will seek to provide equal opportunity for people to ask questions (for instance, by moving to the next person waiting after someone has asked 3 questions, and returning to the first person if time allows)
• any questions are to be answered by the presiding member, or a relevant member (nominated by the presiding member), the CEO, or an employee nominated by the CEO
• if a question, or a question of a similar nature, was asked and answered in the previous 6 months, the presiding member may direct the member of the public to the minutes of the meeting that contains the question and answer
• no debate of a question or answer is to take place
• questions may be taken on notice by the person who is answering the question
• when a question is taken on notice, a response is to be given to the member of the public in writing and a copy of the answer is to be included in the agenda of the next ordinary meeting
• the presiding member may reject questions that contain offensive language or reflect adversely on others but must provide opportunities for the question to be rephrased.

7. Presentations at council

Local governments commonly allow for presentations (also known as deputations) to be made to inform council decisions. Councils may set a policy for whether they hear presentations at council meetings and/or committee meetings, or at other meetings, and the circumstances in which a presentation may be heard.

It is proposed that local governments will continue to have discretion to choose whether and when to hear presentations.

To allow for a decision to be made in advance of the meeting, it is proposed that either the presiding member or CEO will make the decision on whether a presentation is heard at a meeting, based on any policy established by the council.

Accordingly, it is proposed that a council may establish a policy that determines:

• the types of meetings at which presentations may be heard
• whether the responsibility for making decisions on presentation requests sits with either the presiding member or CEO
• any other matters to guide the presiding member or CEO’s decision making towards requests.

New Regulations are also proposed to:

• allow a person, or group of people, to lodge a request in accordance with the council’s policy to provide a presentation at least 48 hours before the meeting
• require the presiding member or CEO to decide and provide a response to the person requesting the presentation by 12 noon the day of the meeting
• provide that if the presiding member or CEO refuses an application, they are to provide their reasons to the applicant and advise of the refusal at the meeting
• limit presentations to 5 minutes (not including questions) unless there is a resolution to extend the time limit
• allow council and committee members to ask questions of presenters.

8. Petitions

Many local governments have a tradition of accepting petitions, mirroring the practice of Parliament.

Regulations are proposed to:

• enable any person to petition a local government by lodging a petition to the council on any matter, including petitions which may be critical of actions or decisions of the local government
• require the lead petitioner to provide their contact details
• require any person signing a petition to state their suburb/town, and declare whether they are residents and/or electors of the district
• require the petitioner to tally the number of signatories
• limit rejection of a petition to only when it is not in the prescribed form
• require that the council is to consider each petition and must determine how it is to respond, such as by seeking a report from the CEO
• allow local governments to establish an electronic petitioning system if they wish
• require all petitions received and outcomes from petitions to be summarised in a report to the annual meeting of electors.

Part 3: Conduct of debate

9. Orderly conduct of meetings

New Regulations are proposed to create a duty for all people present at a meeting to:

• ensure that the business of the meeting is attended to efficiently and without delay
• conduct themselves courteously at all times
• allow opinions to be heard within the requirements of the meetings procedures.

It is also proposed that the Regulations:

• allow members to raise points of order to bring the presiding member’s attention to a departure from procedure
• provide that it is a minor breach for a presiding member to preside in a manner which is unreasonable or contravenes the requirements of the Act or Regulations
• empower the presiding member to call a person to order and:
  • should a member not comply with a third call to order, the presiding member may direct them to speak no further (but they may continue to cast their vote) for the remainder of the meeting, with failure to adhere to the direction being a minor breach
  • if any other person does not comply with one call to order, the presiding member may direct them to leave the meeting, with failure to do so being an offence.
• provide that a council may vote to rescind a direction made by a presiding member for a member to not speak further during a meeting
• provide that a member who has had a direction made against them to not speak further cannot move or second a motion that attempts to rescind the decision.

10. Motions and amendments

Existing meeting procedures address many matters relating to the processes of decision making. This includes motions and amendments (including foreshadowed and alternate motions), notices of motion by members, reasons for changes to the CEO’s recommended motion, passing motions 'en bloc', and how voting occurs. The existing system of motions (including foreshadowed, amendment, alternate and revocation motions) are proposed to be broadly maintained.

Council members may raise motions that are not part of the agenda of a meeting to recommend a proposal for consideration. For instance, a motion might propose a new policy or decision.

Local governments commonly require notice of a motion to be provided in advance of a council meeting. This is to allow council members time to review the motion and for the CEO and administration to provide advice needed to assist council members with making a decision on a motion.

Providing notice to other council members, the CEO and administration can support a more fulsome consideration of the motion.

Regulations are proposed to require council members to provide written notice of motions at least 1 calendar week before the council meeting commences. This would generally allow those motions to be included in the meeting agenda, which must be published 72 hours before the commencement of the meeting.

It is proposed that council members will still be able to move amendments and alternative motions during debate on agenda items without providing written notice in advance of the meeting. This provides for members to be able to consider all options and suggestions for an item included in the agenda of a meeting.

It is proposed that reasons for notices of motion, amendments and other decisions that are changed at a meeting would still be required.

11. Debate on a motion

The practice of motions being moved and seconded and debate alternating between speakers for and against the motion is used in meeting procedures statewide.

Some local governments have a further requirement where if a motion is not opposed, no debate occurs, and the motion is recorded as passing unanimously.

Regulations are proposed to provide for the following rules for formal debate on a motion or amendment:

• any motion must be seconded before it may be debated (or carried without debate)
• a motion is carried without debate if no member is opposed to the motion
• if a member is opposed, the mover and seconder may speak and are followed by alternating speakers against and for the motion, with a final right of reply for the mover
• speeches must be relevant to the motion under debate and no member must speak twice — except for the mover’s right of reply, or if the council decides to allow further debate
• no member can speak for longer than 5 minutes without the approval of the meeting.

12. Questions by members

The current practices for members asking formal questions at meetings varies throughout the sector. Some local governments have a 'questions from council members' period; other local governments allow members to place questions on notice for future meetings.

Regulations are proposed to provide that:

• council members can ask the CEO questions related to any item on an agenda by providing the question in writing by 12 noon the day before the meeting
• council member questions are to be answered during the 'questions from council members' agenda item
• council members must seek permission from the presiding member to ask the CEO clarifying questions during debate.

13. Procedural motions

Various procedural motions are provided for in each local governments’ meeting procedures. They help with managing a meeting effectively and democratically.

Regulations are proposed to provide for the following procedural motions to be put without debate:

• a motion to vary the order of business (e.g. to move a report in the order of business so it is considered earlier)
• a motion to adjourn debate to another time
• a motion to adjourn the meeting
• a motion to put the question (close debate)
• a motion to extend a member’s speaking time
• a motion to extend public question time
• a motion to extend the time for a public presentation
• a motion to refer a motion to a committee or for the CEO to provide a new or updated report to a future meeting
• a motion of dissent in the presiding member’s ruling (for example, to overturn the presiding member’s direction that a member does not speak further)
• a motion to close a meeting to the public in accordance with the Act.

14. Adverse reflection

In addition to aspects of the model code of conduct, existing meeting procedures seek to prevent inappropriate language and adverse reflections from occurring at meetings.

Regulations are proposed to provide that:

• a person, including a member, cannot reflect adversely on the character of members, employees or other persons — if they do so they must withdraw their remark
• members cannot adversely reflect on the decisions of the council, except in making a motion to revoke or change a decision
• failure to withdraw adverse reflection is to be dealt with as disorderly conduct (including as a potential minor breach)
• a member who is concerned about a remark that may be an adverse reflection may raise a point of order with the presiding member.

Part 4: Other matters

15. Meeting minutes and confirmation

Existing meeting procedures provide for the method of confirmation of the minutes. It is proposed to amend the Regulations to provide a clear process for correcting minutes by:

• allowing a member who identifies errors with unconfirmed minutes to provide a CEO with any proposed corrections by 12 noon the day before a meeting at which the minutes are to be confirmed
• requiring any proposed corrections to the minutes to be presented to council for a decision with a recommendation from the CEO
• requiring DLGSC to be notified if a local government fails to adopt or defers confirmation of the minutes of a meeting.

16. Electronic meetings and attendance

In 2020, Regulations were introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to enable councils to hold meetings electronically and for council members to attend using electronic means. This allowed councils to continue making critical decisions during the pandemic. The use of videoconferencing and the adoption of livestreaming has also encouraged public access and participation in local government.

On 9 November 2022, the Local Government (Administration) Amendment Regulations 2022 took effect, meaning local governments could conduct council and committee meetings electronically outside of emergency situations and that council and committee members could attend in-person meetings using electronic means, such as videoconferencing.

The State Government committed to a public consultation process to gain feedback on the effect of these changes following 12 months of operation.

17. Council committees

Sections 5.8 to 5.18 of the Act provide for the establishment of committees that may assist with decision-making. Section 7.1A provides for the establishment of an audit committee. The standardised meeting procedures will only apply to those committees established under sections 5.8 and 7.1A.

It is proposed that provisions for committees be similar to requirements for council meetings. Committees may need to provide a more flexible meeting environment, in terms of time limitations and procedure, to facilitate the consideration of issues in detail. This is reflected in meeting procedures across the State.

Regulations are proposed to provide that:

• a committee meeting is to be called when requested by the presiding member of the committee, the mayor or president, or a third of the committee’s members
• certain meeting procedures such as the order of debate, speaking twice and time limits do not apply to a committee
• a committee is answerable to the council and must provide at least 1 report to council on its activities each year.

18. Meetings of electors

The Act establishes that the mayor or president is to preside at electors’ meetings, and any resolutions passed by an electors’ meeting are considered at a following council meeting.

As electors’ meetings are quite different to council meetings, comment is sought about whether parts of the proposed standard should apply for electors’ meetings.

19. Any other matters

Feedback is welcome on any other element of local government meetings for consideration in the further development of the new Regulations.

Appendix: Example timeline for an ordinary council meeting

For this example, the local government holds its ordinary council meetings on the second Tuesday of every month. March 2024 has been used as an example.