16-27 – Annual reporting requirements for councils with elections in September 2016
What’s new or changing
- This Circular provides advice to councils with elections in September 2016.
What this will mean for your council
- The annual report is a key point of accountability between a council and its community. The annual report outlines the council’s achievements in implementing its Delivery Program.
- The annual report must contain the council’s audited financial statements and notes, and any information required by the Regulation or the Guidelines.
- The annual report must be prepared within five months of the end of the financial year (i.e. by 30 November). A copy of the report must be posted on the council’s website and be provided to the Minister (achieved by sending an email including a link to the report on the council’s website to olg@olg.nsw.gov.au).
Key points
- Annual reports tell the story of ‘how much we did and how well we did it’, and should reflect the quadruple bottom line under the Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework.
- Annual reports focus on a council’s implementation of the Delivery Program, through the Operational Plan, as these are the key plans that are wholly the council’s responsibility.
- Where a council rolls forward its Delivery Program each year, it is still required to report on the implementation of its initial Delivery Program, adopted for commencement on 1 July 2013.
- As the 2015-16 year’s report is prepared in the year of an ordinary election, it must also include a report as to the state of the environment relevant to the objectives for the environment established by the Community Strategic Plan.
Where to go for further information
- More information about the reporting elements of the Integrated Planning and Reporting framework can be found on the Office of Local Government’s website:
http://www.olg.nsw.gov.au/councils/integrated-planning-and-reporting
Tim Hurst
Acting Chief Executive