Official Responsibilities of Councillors

The Local Government Act 2009 (the Act) establishes the responsibilities and powers of Councillors.

The Act is founded on five local government principles with which Councillors must comply while performing their roles as elected representatives. These principles are listed below::-

• transparent and effective processes, and decision-making in the public interest; and
• sustainable development and management of assets and infrastructure, and delivery of effective services; and
• democratic representation, social inclusion and meaningful community engagement; and
• good governance of, and by, local government; and
• ethical and legal behaviour of councillors and local government employees.

These principles apply to anyone, including the Mayor, Councillors, CEO and all Council employees whilst performing responsibilities under the Act.

The Code of Conduct for Councillors in Queensland sets out the standards of behaviour aimed at helping Councillors understand how the principles and their responsibilities are put into practice while performing their official duties as elected representatives.

Complaints about the conduct of Councillors should be made to the Office of the Independent Assessor. The Independent Assessor has been established to receive, assess, investigate and prosecute complaints about councillor conduct.

The Office of the Independent Assessor may be contacted via:-

Phone: 1300 620 722
Email: OIAcomplaints@oia.qld.gov.au
In-person: Level 13, 53 Albert Street BRISBANE QLD 4000
Mail: PO Box 15031 CITY EAST QLD 4002

Councillor Conduct Register

As required under section 150DX of the Local Government Act 2009, Council is required to keep a Councillor Conduct Register to record and disclose complaints made against Councillors and the outcome of those complaints. There are some exceptions to recording complaints regarding public interest disclosures in the register.