Services to communities

Supporting safe, informed and thriving communities

Councils provide services to meet the needs and priorities of local communities such as waste collection, recycling, water supply and residential care.

Services vary between councils depending on a council’s location, size, demographics, resources, growth patterns and community preferences.

Community needs and service levels are determined through the Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) process. Councils should undertake regular service level reviews to ensure they provide, and continue to provide, a range of quality services that their community needs and that are sustainable in the long term.

The public’s right to access council information is regulated under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (the GIPA Act).

Councils are also required to comply with the Privacy and Personal Information and Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) and the Health Records Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act) in collecting, using and disclosing personal and health information.

More information about councils’ obligations under the GIPA Act, the PPIP Act and the HRIP Act is available on NSW Information and Privacy Commission.

Alcohol free zones (AFZs) and alcohol prohibited areas (APAs) may be used by councils to prohibit alcohol consumption in public places to reduce anti-social behaviour and crime.

AFZs apply to road-related public areas (e.g. public road, footpath or carpark). APAs apply to non-road-related public places (e.g. parks). These measures can help councils to keep public spaces and streets safe and enjoyable for residents and visitors while not discriminating against particular community groups.

AFZs and APAs should be used where there is demonstrable community need, deal with short-term issues and regularly reviewed to see if they are still needed. Used in isolation, AFZs and APAs may simply move a problem from one place to another. They are likely to be more effective when they form part of a broader strategy including things like education, community programs and public place design.

More information and resources about alcohol free zones:

Important Commonwealth and NSW laws apply to help protect people from discrimination in NSW. While they generally overlap and prohibit the same type of discrimination, the laws apply in slightly different ways and both must be complied with. Councils and council officials need to check both Commonwealth and NSW anti-discrimination laws to work out their obligations.

The Australian Human Rights Commission manages Commonwealth anti-discrimination laws as well as complaints about, and compliance with, these laws. For more information about these laws and the work of the commission, visit The Australian Human Rights Commission.

The NSW Anti-Discrimination Board (ADB) manages NSW anti-discrimination laws and relevant complaints under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW). Below are some resources developed by the Board to help councils and council officials protect people from discrimination.

Read more resources developed by the Board to help councils and council officials protect people from discrimination:

More information and resources about the management of asbestos in NSW:

Councils should always explore options to carry out their project within existing structures first before considering forming an entity outside of the local government framework. Read the Formation of Corporations and Entities (Section 358) Guideline (PDF, 510 KB) for further information.

The topic of hoarding is a sensitive matter and can be difficult to address. Compulsive hoarding is an identified psychological disorder and disability, impacting the effectiveness of traditional compliance and enforcement approaches taken by councils to manage a situation. Regulatory interventions are not only complex to undertake on legal, ethical, financial and operational grounds, but can often only temporarily coverup the underlying issue.

Catholic Healthcare Limited was engaged by the Office of Local Government to run a series of online training sessions for councils on the identification and management of hoarding and squalor issues with the aim of enabling council officers to assist people with hoarding tendencies before this escalates to excessive hoarding and squalor behaviours.

To support councils, Catholic Healthcare Limited provided its Hoarding and Squalor Participant Workbook (PDF, 757 KB). Visit Catholic Healthcare for more resources.

More information and resources on parking enforcement: