Resolving a problem with your council

If you have a concern about a council you should try to resolve it with the council in the first instance. If you are unhappy with the response from the council, you should write to council’s General Manager and ask them to look into the matter for you.

When you write to the General Manager, make sure your letter is clear and to the point. Describe the problem in a couple of sentences, tell the council what you need and ask for action. You need to allow the council a reasonable period to respond. For routine matters, you should generally allow four weeks – more complex matters may take longer to examine. If the council’s response is incomplete or unclear, write again to seek clarification. If after receiving the council’s response, your problem remains unresolved, you may need to consider taking the issue up with your local elected councillors or the Mayor.

The Office of Local Government’s investigations role is limited. For further information regarding our role, please refer to the Understanding OLG Complaint Handing section.

You may need to get your own legal advice and/or contact one of the following agencies preferably by telephone in the first instance:

Complaints Resolving a Problem

Links

NSW Ombudsman

Independent Commission Against Corruption

Common enquiries

  • Development applications and construction in your area

    Enquiries about council assessments / determinations should be made to council directly.

    If you have concerns about how a council has assessed / determined a development, see the section below on ‘Complaints about Council’.

    You can find ways to contact local councils here.

  • Allegations of corruption by councils

    Please report concerns about corruption by councils directly to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) by email, to icac@icac.nsw.gov.au, or using the online reporting form on ICAC’s website.

  • Complaints about Council

    In the first instance, complaints about a local council should be made directly to the council itself.

    If the complaint is in relation to concerns about the conduct of Councillors or council staff, it should be reported in writing to the general manager of the council, or to the Mayor in the case of alleged misconduct by the general manager.

    You can find ways to contact local councils here.

    Any alleged failure by Councillors or council staff to disclose or to appropriately manage pecuniary conflicts of interests should be reported to the Office of Local Government at olg@olg.nsw.gov.au.

    If you have contacted council about a complaint and the matter has not been resolved, you can read more about the Office of Local Government’s council complaint resolution process here.

  • NSW Pet Registry enquiries

    Helpful advice on the NSW Pet Registry can be found on its website, along with ways you can contact the Pet Helpline team.

  • Legal questions and enquiries

    Information on legal services can be found at the Legal Information Access Centre.

  • Council rates and charges

    The Office of Local Government does not have powers to intervene with the setting of rates and charges. This is the responsibility of local councils.

    You can find ways to contact local councils here.

  • Council employee grievances

    For information and advice on grievances involving council employees, contact the Office of Industrial Relations, Unions NSW or a Trade Union.

  • Matters in your area (noise, drainage, fees and charges)

    Please contact your local council if you wish to discuss matters relevant to its management of its local government area, including:

    • Fees and charges
    • Drainage and stormwater
    • Noise
    • Monitoring and enforcement issues

    You can find ways to contact local councils here.

  • Dog attacks

    Dog attacks should be reported immediately to your local council.

    If a dog attack occurs outside local council hours, you may call your local police station. You can find your local police station here.

    You can find ways to contact local councils here.

  • Backyard swimming pools and spas

    For more information about swimming pool laws and the certification process, please contact NSW Fair Trading.

    You can also contact your council about pool inspections and compliance actions.

    You can find ways to contact local councils here.

  • OLG Website or Council Portal support

    If you experience a technical issue using the OLG Website or Council Portal please contacts your organisations IT department for initial support.

    If the issue persists please contact olg@olg.nsw.gov.au with “OLG Website or Council Portal support” in the subject line.

  • Council Complaints Webform

    In the first instance, complaints about a local council should be made directly to the council itself.

    If the complaint is in relation to concerns about the conduct of Councillors or council staff, it should be reported in writing to the general manager of the council, or to the Mayor in the case of alleged misconduct by the general manager.

    You can find ways to contact local councils here.

    Any alleged failure by Councillors or council staff to disclose or to appropriately manage pecuniary conflicts of interests should be reported to the Office of Local Government at olg@olg.nsw.gov.au.

OLG Complaint Handling

The role of the Office of Local Government is to provide a framework to enable councils to operate to a high standard.

Local councils are independent bodies, elected by and accountable to their communities and therefore we encourage councils to resolve most complaints at the local level.

Many people write to the Minister for Local Government and/or the Office of Local Government asking for the council to be directed to take or not take a particular course of action. However, under the legislation we have limited powers to intervene in the decision making and functions of individual councils.

This is why complaints should be made to the council in the first instance. Many problems ultimately have to be resolved by the council without outside involvement.

Complaint form OLG

Links

Understanding OLG Complaint Handling

Categories of Complaints

Council Complaint Statistics

The complaints we receive about councils help us to proactively monitor council operations and identify emerging issues and trends. Analysis of this information enables us to better direct our resources. Analysis also helps us to identify the need for changes to local government legislation or policy or a need for training, guidance or other best practice advice.

For information on council complaints by financial year, see below.

Council Complaint 10 Year Trend