Sample council policies

The Act requires council to prepare and approve an Audit and Risk Committee Charter which sets out the functions and responsibilities of the Audit and Risk Committee.

These responsibilities include monitoring compliance of council policies and procedures, monitoring council financial and performance reporting, monitoring and providing advice on risk management and fraud prevention and overseeing internal and external audit functions.

The Act requires councils to adopt a Procurement Policy which specifies the principles, process and procedures council will use to purchase goods and services.

The policy must seek to promote open and fair competition and provide value-for-money.

The Act requires councils to have Governance Rules to govern the conduct of council meetings and meetings of delegated committees. The rules also govern the process for the election of the Mayor and Deputy May and how conflicts of interests are disclosed. The document also covers the Election Period Policy.

Aligned with the Code of Conduct requirements, many councils have also updated or developed policies on councillor-staff interactions.

The Act requires councils to have a public transparency policy which sets out which information is to be made publicly available and how it will be made available.

The Act requires councils to adopt a gift policy for councillors which includes procedures for maintaining a gift register.

The Act requires councils to develop a complaints policy that outlines the process for handling complaints. The Act defines a complaint and sets out the need to have an independent complaints process.

The Act requires council to adopt and maintain a policy in relation to the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses for councillors and members of delegated committees. The policy must include how to apply for a reimbursement and must provide for reasonable childcare reimbursement and carers in a care relationship.

The Act requires councils to adopt and maintain a community engagement policy which is developed in consultation with the community and sets out the types and form of community consultation which will be used. It must also set out the process for informing the community about the outcome of community engagement.

As part of our review of personal interests returns, Melbourne City Council provided a checklist and sample emails which can be used as part of the process. The checklist sets out what needs to be done and when. The sample emails can be used to request information from those who must declare personal interests.

The documents are available in two formats and assume the process will be managed by governance staff. You can read the report on our review on the reports page.

All Victorian councils have to meet statutory obligations on a regular basis, including lodging personal interest returns and reviewing policies.

Many councils use calendars, often referred to as governance schedules, to ensure key deadlines are met. Most are now computerised with scheduled reminders when compliance requirements need to be actioned.