Matters to contact your council about first

Your council is the appropriate first point of contact for most matters. 

As many issues can only be addressed and resolved by the council, we recommend that all concerns be raised directly with them in the first instance. Disputes that are handled by the Office of Local Government and other agencies can often be resolved by first talking to council. This makes finding a fair resolution much faster. Read our council complaint statistics and insights.

Your council is the first point of contact for any issues or complaints about the following:

  • conflict of interest (non-financial)
  • councillor misconduct and code of conduct matters
  • customer service
  • development and planning decisions including development applications
  • financial management of council
  • pets
  • rates and charges
  • roads, traffic and parking
  • waste management or pollution (including noise pollution).

Raising issues with council should be done in writing and delivered either by post or by email. Most councils also have an online portal on their website where you can submit your concerns. Web, postal and email addresses for each council can be found through the Local Government directory.

When raising issues with your council you should only address the immediate concerns of the issue. Details should be clear and to the point so council can assist in resolving the issue quickly and effectively. Including extensive details that are irrelevant to the situation will only limit council’s ability to resolve the issue and cause delays.

For routine matters you should expect a response from your council within 4 weeks. More complex issues may take longer. It is important to remember that while an issue may seem simple to resolve there are other factors council must consider before providing a resolution. Excessive requests for a response will only cause delays.

If you are unsatisfied with council’s response you can contact the general manager requesting they look into the issue further. Council general managers can be found through the Local Government Directory. Before contacting the general manager you should first consider the reasons council provides for their response. If the proposed resolution is fair, benefits the whole community, and does not breach any legislation, policies, or guidelines it is unlikely that further investigation by the general manager will deliver a more favourable outcome.

If your council does not meet its obligations when responding to your concerns or resolving your complaint, submit a council feedback form to the Office of Local Government to find out who to contact next.

Conflict of interest (non-financial)

Disclosure of all conflicts of interest forms part of councils’ code of conduct expectations for council officials. Non-financial interests include interests that are private or personal in nature that will not produce a financial loss or gain to the council official.

You must first attempt to resolve any complaints about this issue with council before you contact OLG. If the issue cannot be resolved directly with council you can submit a complaint to OLG via our feedback form.

Councillor misconduct and code of conduct matters

You must first attempt to resolve any complaints about this issue with council before you contact OLG. Council is primarily responsible for deciding whether the actions of its members and staff constitute a breach of the standards of behaviour set out in the code of conduct – and what should happen if these standards are breached.

The Office of Local Government would normally only intervene in a code of conduct matter if it appears that the code of conduct have not been correctly applied – either because the prescribed procedures have not been followed or the prescribed standards of conduct have been misinterpreted – or if OLG is exercising its powers under the misconduct provisions of the Local Government Act 1993. Otherwise, OLG would not normally comment on the merits of a complaint or its outcome.

If you have reason to believe the code of conduct has not been correctly applied, and your complaint could not be resolved directly with council, you can submit a complaint to OLG via our feedback form.

Financial management of council

Council is responsible for the day-to-day financial management of its operations. This includes allocation of funds for community programs and services, payment of council expenses, and costs associated with council assets. If you believe council has not appropriately managed finances, you should speak to your council in the first instance to resolve the issue.

OLG would normally only intervene in financial management matters where there is evidence of systemic and serious mismanagement of council finances. If you have reason to believe council is not managing finances appropriately, and your complaint could not be resolved directly with council, you can submit a complaint to OLG via our feedback form.

Pets and NSW Pet Registry

You must first attempt to resolve any complaints regarding pets with council before you contact OLG. This includes complaints about enforcement or compliance issues concerning pets and pet ownership.

If the issue cannot be resolved directly with council you can submit a complaint to OLG via our feedback form.

How the Office of Local Government can assist

The Office of Local Government (OLG) provides a framework to enable councils to operate to a high standard and deliver services for their communities. The Local Government Act 1993 sets out how OLG delivers this framework and its role in overseeing council operations.

All councils are independently elected bodies. They are accountable to the communities they serve and their independence is safeguarded under the Act. OLG has limited capacity to intervene in the decisions and functions of councils. This is the case even when members of the community contact us and request that we give direction to council on how to resolve an issue. OLG can only take action on certain issues under the Act.

Matters to contact the Office of Local Government about first

Failure to disclose financial interest

Council officials are required to disclose all actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest. Financial conflicts of interest arise where there is financial loss or gain to the council official that results from their duties. OLG takes failure to disclose financial interests by council officials very seriously. You should contact us directly with your complaint about this matter via our feedback form.

Office of Local Government complaints handling process

We take complaints about councils very seriously and are committed to providing fair and reasonable outcomes. We assess complaints on the information provided by you, your council, and our obligations under the Local Government Act 1993. 

Learn more about the step-by-step process we take to assess complaints:

  1. Is it a complaint we handle?

    First, we determine whether your complaint is about something we are obliged to address under the Act. Please refer to What OLG can assist with (When OLG can assist) to find information on which complaints we handle. You must also try to resolve the issue with your council before contacting us if it is appropriate to do so.

  2. Submit a complaint with us

    If your complaint is something we handle you can let us know by submitting our council complaint form. Please keep details of your complaint brief and to the point. Responses that are too long or contain details that are not relevant to your complaint will take longer to assess.

  3. Assessing complaints

    We assess all complaints to determine what actions will be taken to resolve your complaint. In some cases no action will be required. We base all our decisions on the following criteria:

    • our obligations under the Local Government Act 1993
    • the information you provide including evidence to support your complaint
    • if the complaint is handled by another NSW Government agency
    • whether the appropriate steps have been taken by you and Council to try to resolve the issue
    • your complaint is one of several that points to a more systemic issue
    • how long ago the issue occurred and if intervention is unlikely to resolve it
    • whether it is in the public interest to investigate further.

    We may request that you provide further details and information about your complaint during the assessment process.

  4. Our response

    You will receive a response from us within 4 weeks of submitting your complaint. Some complaints may take longer to assess and respond to depending on the nature of the complaint and the information we receive. 

    Our response will explain the reasons for one of the following possible decisions:

    • We will take action in response to your complaint and what those actions will be.
    • We will refer your complaint to the appropriate NSW Government agency to handle your complaint.
    • We will take no action in response to your complaint.
    • We will also provide any information and advice on alternative ways to resolve the issue if it is appropriate to do so. 

    While you may disagree with our response we can only take certain actions when we have an obligation to do so under the Local Government Act 1993.

For matters outside our responsibilities, refer to matters managed by other agencies.