In September 2019 amendments to the Local Government Act 1995 and the Local Government (Administration) Regulations 1996 came into effect relating to training for elected members.
A mandatory training course, “Council Members Essentials” is required to be completed within 12 months of being elected and this course comprises the following five units:
- Understanding local government
- Serving on council
- Meeting procedures
- Conflicts of interest
- Understanding financial reports and budgets.
A person who is a council member on the day on which the Local Government Regulations comes into operation is exempt from the requirement until the end of their term of office.
The three members elected on 20 October 2021, for which the amended regulations apply, are:
- Cr Tracey Muir (completed 7 January 2022)
- Cr David Binks (completed 18 January 2022)
- Cr Ian Earl (completed 27 June 2022)
Pursuant to Section 5.127 of the Local Government Act 1995:
- A local government must prepare a report for each financial year on the training completed by council members in the financial year
- The CEO must publish the report on the local government's official website within 1 month after the end of the financial year to which the report relates.
The document below provides a listing of elected members training completed in the financial year ending 30 June 2022.