{"id":"local-government-members-allowances-and-benefits-regulations-2025","name":"Local Government (Members Allowances and Benefits) Regulations 2025","slug":"local-government-members-allowances-and-benefits-regulations-2025","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":236107,"registerId":"sa-local-government-members-allowances-and-benefits-regulations-2025-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Local Government (Members Allowances and Benefits) Regulations 2025","content":"South Australia\nLocal Government (Members Allowances and Benefits) Regulations 2025\nunder the Local Government Act 1999\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tAllowances—section 76\n5\tReimbursement of expenses—section 77(1)(a)\n6\tExpenses requiring council approval—section 77(1)(b)\n7\tRegister of allowances and benefits\nSchedule 1—Repeal of Local Government (Members Allowances and Benefits) Regulations 2010\nLegislative history\n\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the Local Government (Members Allowances and Benefits) Regulations 2025.\n2—Commencement\nThese regulations come into operation on 1 September 2025.\n3—Interpretation\nIn these regulations—\nAct means the Local Government Act 1999;\neligible journey means a journey (in either direction) between the principal place of residence, or a place of work, of a member of the council, and the place of a prescribed meeting;\nprescribed meeting, in relation to a member of a council, means—\n\t(a)\ta meeting of the council or council committee; or\n\t(b)\tan information or briefing session under section 90A of the Act; or\n\t(c)\tany other discussion, workshop or briefing, or a training course or similar activity, that is directly or closely related to the performance or discharge of the roles or duties of the member.\n4—Allowances—section 76\nFor the purposes of section 76 of the Act, an allowance may be paid in instalments up to 3 months in advance or 3 months in arrears of each month in respect of which an instalment is payable.\n5—Reimbursement of expenses—section 77(1)(a)\n\t(1)\tSubject to this regulation, for the purposes of section 77(1)(a) of the Act, the kinds of expenses for which a member of a council will be reimbursed are as follows:\n\t(a)\ttravelling expenses actually and necessarily incurred by the member in travelling to or from a prescribed meeting if—\n\t(i)\tthe journey is an eligible journey; and\n\t(ii)\tthe journey is by the shortest or most practicable route;\n\t(b)\texpenses for the care of—\n\t(i)\ta child of the member; or\n\t(ii)\ta dependant of the member requiring full‑time care,\nactually and necessarily incurred by the member as a consequence of the member's attendance at a prescribed meeting.\n\t(2)\tHowever—\n\t(a)\tin relation to the operation of subregulation (1)(a)—\n\t(i)\tif an eligible journey relates to travel between a place within the area of a council and a place outside the area of a council (in either direction), the member is only entitled to be reimbursed in respect of expenses that can be attributed to travel within the area of the council; and\n\t(ii)\tthe rate of reimbursement for motor vehicle costs will be at a rate equal to the appropriate rate per kilometre determined for the purposes of calculating deductions for car expenses under section 28.25 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 of the Commonwealth; and\n\t(b)\tin relation to the operation of subregulation (1)(b)—a member of a council is not entitled to be reimbursed if the care is provided by a person who ordinarily resides with the member.\n\t(3)\tA council may aggregate claims for reimbursement of expenses under subregulation (1)(a) that relate to journeys that do not exceed 20 kilometres and then pay them on either a quarterly or monthly basis.\n6—Expenses requiring council approval—section 77(1)(b)\nFor the purposes of section 77(1)(b) of the Act, the following kinds of expenses for which a member of a council may be reimbursed are prescribed:\n\t(a)\texpenses incurred in the use of a telephone, fax or other telecommunications device, or in the use of a form of electronic communication, on the business of the council;\n\t(b)\ttravelling expenses incurred by the member as a consequence of the member's attendance at a function or activity on the business of the council (other than for which the member is reimbursed under section 77(1)(a) of the Act);\n\t(c)\ttravelling expenses incurred by the member in undertaking an eligible journey to the extent that those expenses are attributable to travel outside the area of the council;\n\t(d)\texpenses for the care of—\n\t(i)\ta child of the member; or\n\t(ii)\ta dependant of the member requiring full‑time care,\nincurred by the member as a consequence of the member's attendance at a function or activity on the business of the council (other than for which the member is reimbursed under section 77(1)(a) of the Act);\n\t(e)\texpenses incurred by the member as a consequence of the member's attendance at a conference, seminar, training course or other similar activity which is directly or closely related to the performance or discharge of the roles or duties of a member of a council (other than for which the member is reimbursed under section 77(1)(a) of the Act).\n7—Register of allowances and benefits\nPursuant to subsections (1) and (2) of section 79 of the Act, it will be a principle under those subsections that the chief executive officer will only be required—\n\t(a)\tto enter details of any expenses reimbursed under section 77(1)(b) of the Act (in the case of section 79(1)(b)), or of other benefits paid or provided (in the case of section 79(1)(c)); or\n\t(b)\tto make a record of the provision of a reimbursement or benefit not previously recorded in the Register (in the case of section 79(2)(b)),\non a quarterly basis1.\nNote—\n1\tReimbursements under section 77(1)(a) of the Act are not required to be recorded in the Register of Allowances and Benefits.\nSchedule 1—Repeal of Local Government (Members Allowances and Benefits) Regulations 2010\nThe Local Government (Members Allowances and Benefits) Regulations 2010 are repealed.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal regulations\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n2025\n74\nGazette 31.7.2025 p2901 \n1.9.2025: r 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument repeals the Local Government (Members Allowances and Benefits) Regulations 2010 and replaces them with a targeted set of prescriptions: timing of allowance payments (Reg 4), definitions of covered meetings and journeys (Reg 3), specified reimbursable expenses and limits including partial reimbursement across council boundaries and a Commonwealth‑linked vehicle rate (Reg 5), a list of expenses requiring council approval (Reg 6), and a quarterly recording principle for the CEO (Reg 7). Those changes alter the subordinate regulatory detail governing member allowances and benefits."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to the Local Government Act 1999 (ss 76, 77, 79) create dependency on the parent Act for coverage and procedure (Regs 4–7).","Use of defined terms that materially limit scope: 'prescribed meeting' and 'eligible journey' (Reg 3).","Partial reimbursement rule for journeys crossing council boundaries requires apportionment of travel costs (Reg 5(2)(a)(i)).","External indexing: motor vehicle reimbursement rate tied to Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 s 28.25 rates, creating dependency on Commonwealth tax law (Reg 5(2)(a)(ii)).","Aggregation option for small journeys introduces administrative choices for councils (Reg 5(3)).","Certain expenses are subject to council approval before reimbursement, shifting decision authority to councils (Reg 6).","Recordkeeping frequency narrowed to quarterly entries for specified reimbursements and benefits, adjusting compliance timing and information flows to the CEO (Reg 7).","Repeal of the 2010 Regulations means this instrument replaces the previous subordinate rules (Schedule 1)."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set what South Australian council members can be paid or reimbursed for, define “prescribed meetings” and “eligible journeys”, and fix payment timing and recordkeeping. They specify reimbursable travel and care costs, tie the motor‑vehicle kilometre rate to the Commonwealth tax rate, allow aggregation of small travel claims, list expenses requiring council approval (telecoms, travel outside the council area, conferences), and require quarterly recording of certain reimbursements. Councils pay the costs; some reimbursements need council approval and the CEO keeps the register quarterly."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly focused on their original purpose: setting the administrative framework for councillor remuneration and expense reimbursement. The 2025 version appears to be a straightforward re-enactment/update of the 2010 regulations with similar scope, not an expansion into new policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Only 7 substantive regulations plus a repeal schedule","5 defined terms in the interpretation section","Simple conditional structure with clear 'however' exceptions in regulation 5(2)","Cross-references limited to the parent Local Government Act 1999 (SA) and federal tax legislation for the kilometre rate","No nested exceptions or recursive definitions","Clear separation between automatic reimbursements (reg 5) and council-approved expenses (reg 6)"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set the rules for how much money South Australian local council members can claim for doing their job, and what expenses they can get back.\n\n**What it covers:**\n\n**Allowances** — Council members can be paid their regular allowances up to 3 months early or 3 months late (regulation 4).\n\n**Automatic reimbursements** (no council vote needed) — Members get money back for:\n- Travel to council meetings, briefings, training and workshops, but only the shortest practical route (regulation 5(1)(a))\n- Childcare or care for a dependant who needs full-time care, when attending those meetings (regulation 5(1)(b))\n\n**Important limits on travel claims:**\n- If travelling from inside the council area to outside it, members can only claim for the portion *inside* the council area (regulation 5(2)(a)(i))\n- Car travel is reimbursed at the federal tax office's standard rate per kilometre (regulation 5(2)(a)(ii))\n- Short trips under 20km can be bundled together and paid monthly or quarterly (regulation 5(3))\n\n**No double-dipping on care:** Members can't claim for care provided by someone who lives with them (regulation 5(2)(b)).\n\n**Expenses needing council approval:** For other costs — like phone bills, travel to functions, travel outside the council area, childcare for non-meeting events, and conference fees — members must get the council's okay first (regulation 6).\n\n**Public transparency:** The council must keep a public register of allowances and benefits. However, they only need to update it quarterly, and they don't need to record the automatic travel reimbursements (regulation 7).\n\n**Why it matters:** These rules try to balance fair compensation for volunteer or part-time councillors against protecting ratepayer money from being wasted. The 2025 version replaces the 2010 regulations."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was unavailable. No comparison between original intent and final form is possible from the information provided."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404 Page Not Found error","Analysis is based solely on the title of the instrument, not its actual content","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without access to the substantive provisions","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable content, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations would set rules for allowances and non-cash benefits (e.g., vehicles, travel, devices, expense reimbursements) provided to elected local government members in South Australia, affecting mayors, councillors, council administrators and ratepayers who fund them.  \n\nThey matter because they determine how public funds are allocated to representatives and establish transparency, eligibility and controls to prevent misuse of ratepayer money."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/local-government-members-allowances-and-benefits-regulations-2025","history":"/api/acts/local-government-members-allowances-and-benefits-regulations-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/local-government-members-allowances-and-benefits-regulations-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/local-government-members-allowances-and-benefits-regulations-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/local-government-members-allowances-and-benefits-regulations-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/local-government-members-allowances-and-benefits-regulations-2025/documents"}}