Local councils are crucial to the State’s economy, employing more than 48,000 people and spending over $12 billion annually on infrastructure, facilities and services for local communities. The Office of Local Government works collaboratively with the local government sector to strengthen and support the 128 councils in NSW to better serve their local communities. In this section, council staff and councillors can access a wide range of information and resources to assist them to fulfil their legislative obligations and develop best practice.

New 2021 Model Code of Meeting Practice for Local Councils in NSWLocal Government Elections – December 4

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Review of councillor misconduct framework

The NSW Government has released a comprehensive consultation paper and called for submissions as part of the independent review of the councillor misconduct framework. Have your say by 28 March 2022.

New laws to protect public spaces

NSW Parliament has passed new laws to help protect our public spaces from unattended and abandoned items and animals. The Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Act 2021 will provide councils and police with stronger powers and penalties following a review of the Impounding Act 1993.

Draft Guidelines for Risk Management and Internal Audit Framework for Local Councils in NSW

The Office of Local Government is seeking comment on the draft Guidelines for Risk Management and Internal Audit for Local Councils in NSW.

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Programs and Initiatives

Public Consultation – Your Opinion Counts

  • The Office of Local Government welcomes feedback from councils and members of the community.
  • If you are interested in providing feedback on other community consultations taking place throughout New South Wales, you can click here to visit the NSW Government Have Your Say website. This website contains a searchable database of community consultations taking place. You can find out what is happening in your community and share your opinions on new projects, services and government policy.

Supporting and Advising Councils

An effective and robust governance framework is essential to the successful performance of a council. The Office of Local Government seeks to promote and support effective internal governance in councils through:

  • The prescription of frameworks (such as the Mode Code of Conduct) and appropriate standards, along with the provision of mechanisms to enforce compliance with those standards
  • The provision of guidance, advice and support to assist councils to comply with appropriate standards of internal governance
  • Monitoring and reporting on the performance of councils
  • Working with councils that fail to comply with the appropriate standards of governance to improve their performance
  • Taking compliance action where councils breach their obligations or betray the trust of their communities.

Infrastructure Renewal

The NSW Government is committed to encouraging councils to focus on the renewal and management of their assets and provide local communities with the key infrastructure they need and deserve. Through various programs and initiatives, the Government has assisted local councils in NSW to reduce the infrastructure backlog from $7.5 billion in 2010-11 to $3.8 billion in 2018-19.

Joint Organisations

NSW boasts a network of 13 joint organisations to strengthen collaboration and engagement between State and local governments and improve infrastructure and service delivery to regional communities.

Eighty-seven councils in regional NSW are members of the 13 joint organisations: Canberra Region, Central NSW, Far North West, Far South West, Hunter, Illawarra Shoalhaven, Mid North Coast, Namoi, New England, Northern Rivers, Orana, Riverina and Murray, and Riverina.

Each Joint organisation comprises member councils, State agencies and other key stakeholders as determined by each joint organisation board.