Local Government Reform

The State Government is reforming the Local Government Act 1995 (the Act).

These are the most significant reforms to the sector in 25 years and aim to ensure local governments better serve residents and ratepayers.

Reforms have been crafted in consultation with the local government sector and are based on six themes:

To ensure that key election related reforms were in place before the 2023 local government elections, the amendments to the Act were divided into two tranches. The first tranche, which was passed by Parliament on 11 May 2023, focused on electoral reform.

The second tranche focuses on establishing the new Local Government Inspector and introducing local government monitors for early intervention and resolution of problems.

Reforms explained

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Resources and participation

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News

Priority regulation amendments for local government elections and final set of orders for council representation changes

Jul 6, 2023, 10:56 AM by User Not Found
The State Government has introduced priority regulation amendments for local government elections and made the final set of orders for council representation changes for the implementation reforms ahead of the 2023 elections.

These amendments are an important element of the most significant reform of the Local Government Act 1995 in 25 years and will strengthen local democracy and provide greater transparency and accountability.

Local Government Regulations Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2023

The Regulations amend the following to implement the priority reforms:

Following the recent passage of the Local Government Amendment Act 2023, the Regulations include the following reforms ahead of the 2023 local government elections:

  • grouping of all local governments into classes 1, 2, 3 and 4 that align with the current band system determined by the Salaries and Allowances Tribunal
  • removing wards for classes 3 and 4 local governments and requiring classes 1 and 2 local governments to have a popularly elected mayor or president – this creates consistency across the sector and aligns with recent trends for local government representation
  • implementation of optional preferential voting for all local government elections
  • improved candidate gift disclosures
  • other consequential amendments in the lead up to the 2023 elections.

In addition, the Regulations prescribe what is a “significant act” to restrict what local governments may do during the caretaker period, with these new statewide requirements to be in effect for the subsequent 2025 local government elections.

Details about the Regulations can be found on our website.

Final set of orders for council representation changes

The Governor has made the final set of orders changing the wards and representation of 44 local governments in Gazette No. 88 and 89 of 2023.

Details of the changes for each local government are available on our website.

Want more information?

Full Reform Proposals provides an overview of all the reforms topics that were consulted on.

The DLGSC holds regular webinars to explain reforms and update the local government sector on progress.

Register for LG Alerts to be notified of future webinars.

Previous webinars are available for viewing:  Local government reform webinars

Still have questions?

If you still have questions about reform, email us at actreview@dlgsc.wa.gov.au 

Page reviewed 10 May 2024
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