Councillor Conduct Framework Reform

The NSW Government is reforming the Councillor Conduct Framework to set clearer standards, strengthen accountability and build confidence in local government decision‑making.

Since the release of the Councillor conduct and meeting practices – A new framework (PDF, 573 KB), reforms have progressed, combining law reforms with practical guidance for councils and councillors.

The reforms are being delivered in 2 stages, allowing priority changes to be progressed while broader improvements to the conduct framework are developed and implemented.

Stage 1 reforms introduce tougher and more effective action to address serious misconduct. These are being progressed through the Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment (Councillor Conduct) Bill 2025.

The reforms will enable the most serious misconduct matters to be escalated to the NSW Land and Environment Court, drawing on the court’s local government expertise and providing stronger and more transparent decision making pathways. Interim measures, including immediate suspension where it is in the public interest, will also be available.

Subject to parliamentary processes, stage 1 reforms are expected to start later this year.

Feedback is being sought on stage 2 of the reforms which focuses on simplifying and strengthening the conduct framework so that councils and the NSW Government can direct resources to serious councillor misconduct, rather than minor or trivial complaints.

Policy Statement: Improving Councillor Accountability

The Policy Statement: Improving Councillor Accountability (PDF, 849 KB) signals the NSW Government’s intended direction for stage 2 of the Councillor Conduct Framework and outlines the new approach to managing councillor conduct in NSW.

The policy statement proposes:

• clearer definitions of unsatisfactory behaviour and serious misconduct
• a simplified, centralised complaints process managed by the Office of Local Government
• a shift away from councils managing councillor misconduct complaints
• a centralised, end-to-end complaint management process within the Office of Local Government to reduce duplication, improve consistency and ensure complaints are dealt with in a timely and proportionate way
• a new Privileges Committee, made up of councillors, recognising that elected representatives are best placed to assess conduct in the context of political debate
• stronger and timely pathways for dealing with serious misconduct, including referral to the NSW Land and Environment Court
• transitional arrangements to support a fair and orderly move to the new framework.

Together, these reforms aim to deliver a more efficient, fair and accountable conduct framework, strengthen confidence in local government and protect the integrity of local democratic processes. The policy statement represents a key milestone in the staged reform of the Councillor Conduct Framework.

The Office of Local Government is preparing draft legislation, regulations and supporting materials to implement both stages of the reforms. Further information will be published as the reforms progress.

As part of the development of the new Councillor Conduct Framework, the Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW is being split into 2 separate codes: one that applies specifically to councillors and another that will apply to council staff, delegates, and committee members.

This will allow the prescription of ethical and behavioural standards for councillors on the one hand and council staff and others on the other, to better reflect the different nature of their roles.

The new Model Code of Conduct for Councillors has been designed to:

• better reflect the political nature of councillors' role
• operate in a way that is consistent with the implied freedom of political communication under the Australian Constitution
• remove administrative requirements that are more relevant to council staff and that unduly constrain councillors’ ability to exercise their functions as elected officials
• simplify the conflict-of-interest provisions to make them easier to understand and apply, as well as remove any confusion about the circumstances in which a councillor has a conflict of interest
• remove or redraft provisions that can be 'weaponised' against councillors.

Breaches of the new Model Code of Conduct for Councillors will be dealt with under the new Councillor Conduct Framework.

A separate Model Code of Conduct for Council Staff, Delegates and Committee Members is currently being finalised. This will largely retain many of the existing provisions of the current Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW in a more simplified form.

Both Model Codes of Conduct will see significant changes to the way councillors' and designated persons' disclosures of interests will be managed.

The Model Code of Conduct for Councillors contains new provisions governing the making and publication of councillors' returns of interest. These are modelled on the requirements that apply to Members of the NSW Parliament under the Constitution (Disclosures by Members) Regulation 2026.

The Model Code of Conduct for Council Staff, Delegates and Committee Members will contain similar provisions which will apply to designated persons.

The reforms will see the following changes to the way disclosures of interests are managed:

• Councillors and designated persons will only be required to complete a full return once, within one month of their election. If they need to update their interests, they will only be required to complete the part of the return relevant to the new matter being disclosed.
• General managers will be required to keep an electronic register of the disclosures made by councillors and designated persons in 2 parts:
  • a publicly available part that must be published on the council's website in a searchable form
  • a confidential part containing the addresses of real property used for residential purposes.
• Councillors and designated persons will be required to lodge an annual declaration confirming the accuracy of the information in the register.

The NSW Parliament's Privileges Committee is currently undertaking a review of the disclosure requirements that apply to Members of Parliament. This includes considering whether the interests of immediate family members, namely a spouse or partner and any dependent children, should also be disclosed.

Any changes to these requirements will also be applied to councils via both Model Codes of Conduct. If this were to occur, these interests would be disclosed to the Office of Local Government and kept confidential to protect the privacy of councillors' and designated persons' family members.

In June 2025, the Office of Local Government issued a Free speech in local government in NSW (PDF, 3 MB) guideline which was informed through consultation on the discussion paper.