440IDepartmental Chief Executive may take disciplinary action for misconduct

440I Departmental Chief Executive may take disciplinary action for misconduct

440I Departmental Chief Executive may take disciplinary action for misconduct

(1) The Departmental Chief Executive may take disciplinary action against a councillor if the Departmental Chief Executive is satisfied that—

(a) the councillor has engaged in misconduct (whether on the basis of a departmental report or a report by the Ombudsman or Independent Commission Against Corruption), and

(b) disciplinary action is warranted.

(2) The Departmental Chief Executive may take one or more of the following actions (and any such action is disciplinary action)—

(a) counsel the councillor,

(b) reprimand the councillor,

(c) by order, direct the councillor to cease engaging in the misconduct,

(d) by order, direct the councillor to apologise for the misconduct in the manner specified in the order,

(e) by order, direct the councillor to undertake training,

(f) by order, direct the councillor to participate in mediation,

(g) by order, suspend the councillor from civic office for a period not exceeding 3 months,

(h) by order, suspend the councillor’s right to be paid any fee or other remuneration, to which the councillor would otherwise be entitled as the holder of the civic office, in respect of a period not exceeding 3 months (without suspending the councillor from civic office for that period).

(3) In determining which disciplinary action, if any, to take against a councillor who has engaged in misconduct, the Departmental Chief Executive may take into account any previous incidents of misconduct by the councillor, any disciplinary action previously taken against the councillor and any other relevant matters.

(3A) Before taking disciplinary action against a councillor, the Departmental Chief Executive is to—

(a) give the councillor written notice—

(i) specifying the grounds on which it is proposed to take disciplinary action against the councillor, and