The Act introduced major changes to remove councils from formally handling misconduct allegations and councillor disputes in house, replacing it with a centralised system overseen by the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar (PCCR).
In 2021, Local Government Victoria (LGV) engaged Price Waterhouse Coopers to undertake the Local Government Culture Project (Culture Project). Sector feedback highlighted the need to review the way councillor disputes and allegations of misconduct were managed under this new system.
Three years on from the introduction of this new conduct framework, the LGI wishes to progress the work undertaken through the Culture Project to measure if the current system is providing the efficient, cost effective and timely resolution to councillor conduct matters it was designed to deliver.
Sector engagement
Broad engagement with the sector is underway, which has already included:
- Ongoing conversations with LGV and the PCCR’s office;
- 1:1 conversations with professionals involved in the conduct framework processes;
- completion of three online surveys for Councillors, CEOs and Councillor Conduct Officers, with over 300 responses received;
- ongoing meetings LGV, the PCCR’s office and peak bodies representing local government;
- twenty-eight 1:1 conversations with Mayors, Councillors, CEOs and Councillor Conduct Officers who offered to provide more detailed feedback; and
- meetings with all interstate equivalents of LGV to talk through their models and recent reviews undertaken to further improve their conduct frameworks.
The response rate to our online surveys can be summarised as follows:
Survey Target | Number of surveys distributed | Number of survey respondents | Response Rate |
| Councillors | 631 | 202 | 32% |
| Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) | 79 | 54 | 68% |
| Councillor Conduct Officers (CCOs) | 79 | 50 | 63% |
Respondents were asked what type of council they represented, which showed that there was a fairly even representation from all council types:
Survey Target | Council Type (% of respondents) | |||
Small Rural | Greater City/Large Rural | Interface | Metropolitan | |
| Councillors | 24 | 33 | 15 | 28 |
| Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) | 22 | 39 | 16 | 23 |
| Councillor Conduct Officers (CCOs) | 25 | 28 | 17 | 30 |
Research
We are working with the PCCR’s office to understand the number of requests for internal arbitration and councillor conduct panels, how many proceed through the formal process, the time taken for a determination to be made and why some applications are rejected.
Councils are also being asked to voluntarily provide information as to the costs they incur when a councillor is involved in a formal process under the Act.
Stakeholder Working Group
It is imperative that the local government sector be involved in the development of alternative options and models for the management of councillor conduct.
The CMI has invited representatives from the peak bodies, a CEO, Councillor Conduct Officer and legal sector representative to participate in a Stakeholder Working Group, which will meet between March and May. LGV and the PCCR’s office have offered to provide technical support as required.
The Stakeholder Working Group will review the information gathered by the LGI through its engagement and research processes and assist with the development of options for an enhanced conduct framework.
Updates on the progress of this project will be posted on our website and through our quarterly newsletters.
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