Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Act 2016

This instrument introduces a cohesive set of planning, reporting and audit concepts into the Local Government Act 1993. The statute now treats strategic planning, resource planning, delivery scheduling, annual operational programming, community engagement, and internal audit as interconnected elements of council governance, with the regulations and guidelines providing elaboration.

Primary concepts created or clarified by the text are:

• Community strategic plan, with a statutory review trigger linked to ordinary elections and a minimum planning horizon of 10 years (s 402(3)). The council must review the community strategic plan following an ordinary election and may endorse the existing plan or prepare a new plan to ensure coverage of at least the next 10 years.

• Community engagement strategy, defined as a mandatory strategy for engagement with the local community when developing plans, policies and programs and for determining council activities other than routine administrative matters (s 402A). The obligation is to establish and implement the strategy.

• Resourcing strategy, defined as a long-term strategy for provision of resources required to perform council functions, explicitly including the implementation of strategies in the community strategic plan (s 403).

• Delivery program, a statutory program that details the principal activities the council will undertake to perform its functions within the resources available under the resourcing strategy. It must be re-established after each ordinary election to cover a 4-year period commencing 1 July following the election (s 404).

• Operational plan, an annual plan adopted before the start of each year describing the activities to be engaged in by the council as part of its delivery program for that year (s 405).

• Integrated planning and reporting guidelines, a delegated framework the regulations may prescribe for preparation, development, consultation, review, and content for all of the above and for annual reporting and environmental reporting (s 406).

• Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee, a mandatory committee that councils must appoint, whose functions include keeping under review compliance, risk management, fraud control, financial management, governance, implementation of strategic plans, service reviews, performance measurement data collection, and any other prescribed matters (s 428A).

• Ministerial approval mechanisms for reduced meeting frequency and reduced councillor numbers, limited to councils prescribed by regulation and subject to specified timing and notification constraints (s 224A as substituted; s 365A).

• Regulatory gatekeeping. Several significant functions and flexibilities are expressly conditional on councils being "prescribed by the regulations", and numerous content and procedural details are delegated to regulations and guidelines (see s 224A(7), s 365A(6), s 406(1) and (2), and amendments shifting references to the regulations elsewhere such as ss 532 and 610F).

Structurally, the Act moves from open-ended statutory statements to a framework of mandatory instruments plus delegated content. The regulations and guidelines are positioned as the primary repository for procedural and content detail on planning, consultation, reporting and the scope of matters for internal audit committees. The statute prescribes the high level objectives and the sequencing around elections, but delegates content specifics to subordinate instruments.

Each of the inserted provisions contains procedural constraints. For example, before a council may apply to reduce its meetings it must give not less than 42 days public notice and forward submissions and council comments to the Minister (s 365A(2)-(3)). For strategic documents, the council must review post-election by 30 June and ensure coverage of at least 10 years (s 402(3)). These are concrete timing and process obligations tied to the concept architecture of planning and accountability.

Where the text empowers the Minister, the legal instrument gives the Minister a binary decision function , approve or decline , for meeting reductions (s 365A(4)) and similarly confines who may apply to councils prescribed by regulation for councillor-number reduction (s 224A(7)). The creation of Part 4A places internal audit and improvement functions within the statutory regime of council governance, and allows for joint arrangements (s 428B). The Audit Committee is both a reviewer and information-provider to the council (s 428A(2)-(3)).

The principal entities affected are councils operating under the Local Government Act 1993, the Minister responsible for the Act, and, indirectly, the local communities that are the subject of councils' strategic and operational plans. The amendments create differential effects depending on whether a council is "prescribed by the regulations" for specific discretions.

Councils: The amendments impose affirmative statutory duties on all councils in areas such as internal audit and integrated planning. Notably:

• All councils must appoint an Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee (s 428A(1)).
• All councils must have a community engagement strategy (s 402A), a resourcing strategy (s 403), a delivery program (s 404) and an operational plan (s 405), with particular timing and review triggers (ss 402(3), 404(2), 405).
• Councils must review their community strategic plan after an ordinary election before 30 June and ensure it covers at least the next 10 years (s 402(3)).

Councils with eligibility under regulations: Certain flexibilities apply only to councils "prescribed by the regulations". Those prescribed councils may:

• Apply to reduce the number of councillors under the amended s 224A, subject to the timing limitation (s 224A(7)-(9); sch 1 cl 4).
• Apply to the Minister to approve a reduction in the number of times the council is required to meet each year (s 365A(6)-(7); sch 1 cl 27).

Ministerial office: The Minister acquires explicit decision-making responsibilities in respect of applications under s 365A. The Minister may approve or decline an application to reduce meetings and, if approved, the council must meet at least as often as specified in the resolution forwarded to the Minister (s 365A(4)-(5)). The Minister's role in councillor number reductions exists in the amended s 224A context (the text restricts who may apply; it implies the Minister is the approving authority under s 224A but the schedule text focuses on application eligibility and timing).

Council staff and the general manager: The amendments affect meeting procedures and confidentiality by expressly allowing the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee to exclude the general manager from a meeting while the committee deals with any matter, if it thinks it appropriate (amendment to s 376(4); sch 1 cl 31). This creates a statutory basis for excluding the general manager in some committee settings, altering the prior attendance expectations.

Local communities and stakeholders: The amendments require councils to establish and implement community engagement strategies and to place public notices for proposed meeting reductions with a not less than 42-day notice period, and to forward summaries of submissions to the Minister (s 365A(2)-(3), s 402A). The regulations may set detailed consultation requirements for preparation and review of strategic documents (s 406(2)). Thus communities are given prescribed consultation windows and mechanisms, subject to how the regulations prescribe those processes.

Other councils and bodies: The insertion of s 428B permits councils to enter into arrangements with other councils or prescribed bodies to jointly appoint an Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee to serve multiple councils or bodies. This provision affects inter-council collaboration choices and may be used to pool audit governance resources (s 428B).

Regulators and the Department administering the Act: The text shifts significant procedural detail to regulations and guidelines (s 406). The department and the Minister will therefore be affected in their roles drafting, making and enforcing regulations and integrated planning and reporting guidelines. The power to prescribe which councils may apply for the specific reductions is vested in regulations (s 224A(7), s 365A(6)).

Suppliers and third-party consultants: By creating statutory requirements for strategies, plans and committee functions, the Act creates predictable demand for professional services such as community engagement specialists, resourcing and financial modelling experts, internal audit providers, and consultants experienced in drafting integrated planning and reporting documentation, although the Act itself does not prescribe use of external providers.

Who does not gain rights: The Act does not create a private right to compel the Minister to approve an application for reduced meetings or councillor numbers. The Minister retains a discretion to approve or decline an application under s 365A(4), and the amended s 224A reasserts that a council may apply but does not guarantee approval.

Who pays: The Act does not create new explicit funding streams; the resourcing strategy (s 403) must address the long-term provision of resources required to perform functions, which implies councils must allocate internal resources to meet the obligations under the new regime. Costs of compliance, community consultation and internal audit will be borne by councils and ultimately their ratepayers unless external grants or funding arrangements are available outside the text.

Geographical scope and timing: The amendments apply to councils governed by the Local Government Act 1993. Some schedule items commence on the date of assent to the amending Act, while other provisions commence on days to be proclaimed (see the Act's commencement clause). Several application windows are tied to the timing of ordinary elections and are limited to the period after the commencement of the relevant subsection and not later than 12 months before the next ordinary election (see s 224A(8) and s 365A(7)).

The amendments create and modify a set of positive duties for councils, procedural rights for the Minister, and certain process rights for the community. Below are the statutory duties and rights extracted and cited from the inserted and substituted provisions.

Duties on councils:

• Appointment of Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee: Every council must appoint an Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee (s 428A(1)). The committee must keep under review specified operational matters including compliance, risk management, fraud control, financial management, governance, implementation of the strategic plan and delivery program, service reviews, performance measurement collection, and any other matters prescribed by the regulations (s 428A(2)(a)-(i)). The committee must provide information to the council to improve the council's performance of its functions (s 428A(3)). Councils may enter joint arrangements to appoint a committee for multiple councils or bodies (s 428B).

• Community strategic plan review: After an ordinary election of councillors, the council must review the community strategic plan before 30 June following the election, and may endorse the existing plan or develop/endorse a new plan to ensure the area has a community strategic plan covering at least the next 10 years (s 402(3)).

• Community engagement strategy: A council must establish and implement a community engagement strategy for engagement with the local community when developing plans, policies and programs and for determining its activities other than routine administrative matters (s 402A).

• Resourcing strategy: A council must have a long-term resourcing strategy for the provision of resources required to perform its functions, including implementing strategies in the community strategic plan (s 403).

• Delivery program: A council must have a delivery program detailing the principal activities to be undertaken to perform its functions, within resources available under the resourcing strategy. A new delivery program must be established after each ordinary election to cover a 4-year period commencing 1 July following the election (s 404(1)-(2)).

• Operational plan: A council must adopt an operational plan before the beginning of each year, detailing activities for the year as part of the delivery program covering that year (s 405).

• Public notice and submissions for meeting-reduction applications: Before resolving to make an application to the Minister to approve a reduction in the number of times the council is required to meet, the council must give not less than 42 days public notice of its proposed resolution. After passing the resolution, the council must forward to the Minister a copy of the resolution, a summary of any submissions received and the council's comments concerning those submissions (s 365A(1)-(3)).

• Compliance with integrated planning and reporting guidelines if made under the regulations: The regulations may make provision for guidelines to be complied with by councils, and may impose requirements about preparation, consultation, review and contents of the strategic planning suite and reporting (s 406(1)-(2)). If the regulations and guidelines are made, councils will have an obligation to follow them when preparing the specified instruments.

Procedural rights and decision points:

• Minister's approval for reduced meetings: The Minister may approve or decline an application to reduce the number of times a council is required to meet each year. If approved, the council is required to meet at least as often as specified in the resolution forwarded to the Minister (s 365A(4)-(5)).

• Application eligibility windows: An application to reduce meetings (s 365A) or to reduce the number of councillors under s 224A must only be made by councils prescribed by the regulations (s 365A(6); s 224A(7)). Both applications may be made only after commencement of the relevant subsection and not later than 12 months prior to the next ordinary election after that commencement (s 365A(7); s 224A(8)).

• Right to make more than one application: Nothing prevents a council from making more than one application under s 365A or s 224A (s 365A(8); s 224A(9)). This creates a statutory right to repeat applications within the prescribed timeframe, subject to regulation-prescribed eligibility.

Meeting attendance and confidentiality:

• Exclusion of the general manager from Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee meetings: The Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee may exclude the general manager from a meeting while it deals with any other matter, if it thinks it appropriate (amendment to s 376(4)). This is an express committee discretion to exclude the general manager, which alters the previous default that the general manager attends council meetings and may indicate an ability to consider sensitive matters without the general manager present.

Amendments affecting publication and notice provisions:

• The provisions requiring publication of draft operational plans and public notice of fees now point to the regulations rather than a particular statutory section, which decentralises the specific requirements into regulations (amendments to s 532 and s 610F(2)).

Rights of the community:

• Right to be consulted before an application to reduce meetings: A statutory minimum of 42 days public notice is required before council resolution to apply, and councils must forward a summary of submissions and their comments to the Minister (s 365A(2)-(3)). The detail of consultation for strategic documents may be prescribed in the regulations (s 406(2)).

Regulatory discretion and delegation:

• The regulations have power to prescribe which councils can make particular applications, to set integrated planning and reporting guidelines, and to prescribe other matters for the internal audit committee (s 224A(7), s 365A(6), s 406(1)-(2), s 428A(2)(i)). The effect is that the scope and operational detail of many duties will derive from delegated instruments.

Limits and caveats in the text:

• For meeting reductions: The statutory test is procedural rather than substantive in the inserted text; s 365A provides the application and decision framework but does not articulate substantive criteria for the Minister to apply when approving or declining an application. The statute mandates public notice, submissions handling and the Minister's decision, but does not itself list approval criteria.

• For councillor number reductions: The substituted s 224A confines who may apply and when, but does not alter section 224 substantive rules regarding changing councillor numbers; it states nothing prevents councils from making more than one application or taking action under s 224 to change councillor numbers.

Each of these duties and rights creates obligations that will have operational and budgetary implications for councils, and many of the operational details are left to subordinate instruments. The Act therefore establishes statutory anchors and sequencing while signalling that the regulations and guidelines will supply content and procedural detail.

The schedule as supplied primarily creates duties and procedural steps, but the inserted and substituted provisions in Schedule 1 do not themselves introduce express new criminal offences, pecuniary penalties or specific enforcement mechanisms in the text supplied. Enforcement and penalties in the Local Government Act 1993 more broadly may apply to council non-compliance, but the schedule text supplied focuses on substantive duties, procedural obligations and Ministerial discretions without prescribing explicit sanctions within the new sections themselves.

What the text does on enforcement mechanics and decision-making:

• Ministerial decision-making: For applications seeking reduction in the number of required council meetings, the Minister is given an approval or decline role (s 365A(4)). The Minister's approval becomes the operative mechanism that changes a council's statutory meeting frequency, because if the Minister approves the application the council is required to meet at least as often as specified in the resolution (s 365A(5)). This creates an administrative control point; the practical enforcement mechanism for meeting frequency is the Minister's approval decision.

• Regulatory reliance: Several duties are expressed subject to regulations and guidelines (s 406, s 224A(7), s 365A(6), s 428A(2)(i)). If regulations prescribe specific processes, compliance obligations arising from those regulations will carry whatever enforcement or penalty regimes the regulations and parent Act provide. The schedule text itself shifts content into delegated instruments, thereby making enforcement contingent on subsequent regulatory drafting.

• Internal governance oversight: The Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee is directed to keep under review a range of operational matters and to provide information to the council that improves performance (s 428A(2)-(3)). The Audit Committee's reviews and reports operate as internal governance enforcement mechanisms, by producing oversight and identifying areas requiring remedial action. The statutory empowerment to review compliance, fraud control and financial management can prompt council action, but the schedule does not spell out consequences for failing to implement committee recommendations.

• Procedural prerequisites: For applications to reduce meetings and to reduce councillor numbers, councils must follow pre-application processes including public notice, submissions handling and timing constraints (s 365A(2)-(3), s 224A(8)). Failure to observe these prerequisites would likely render an application non-compliant and thus vulnerable to refusal by the Minister or invalid procedural standing, although the text does not specify a remedy or penalty within the new sections. The Act retains the Minister's approval gate.

• Exclusion of the general manager: The amendment allowing the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee to exclude the general manager from meetings in certain circumstances (inserted s 376(4)) imposes no civil or criminal penalty. It is an express procedural power that affects who may attend committee deliberations, thereby changing internal confidentiality and governance dynamics.

What the schedule does not do:

• It does not create any new offences or pecuniary penalties in the text supplied. The schedule reworks planning and audit duties, but it does not insert specific penalty provisions such as fines or imprisonment for non-compliance, nor does it add an express enforcement regime distinct from the existing mechanisms in the parent Act and subordinate instruments.

• It does not assign new inspector or compliance officer powers in the inserted provisions themselves. Any external enforcement mechanisms will derive from other parts of the Act, regulations or administrative powers exercised by the Minister or department.

Implications for enforcement practice:

• Administrative enforcement will likely rely on the Minister's discretion (for meeting and councillor number changes), the regulations (once made), and existing oversight frameworks within the Local Government Act 1993. The Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee provides an internal oversight channel that can identify compliance lapses and recommend corrective action to the council.

• Because the regulations and integrated planning and reporting guidelines may impose detailed requirements (s 406), the enforcement burden and the available sanctions may emerge when those subordinate instruments are made. Councils and advisers should therefore monitor regulation-making, as the absence of explicit penalties in the schedule means enforcement detail will largely be found outside the inserted text.

In short, the schedule embeds governance and process obligations, creates Ministerial approval points and mandates internal audit arrangements, but it does not itself set out new penalties or an explicit enforcement apparatus in the inserted sections. Enforcement will therefore be through the Minister's decisions, regulatory instruments, internal audit reporting and existing enforcement provisions of the parent Act.

The schedule operates as an amendment to the Local Government Act 1993, and its interaction with other legal instruments is structured primarily through references to the parent Act, to regulations and to the Minister's existing powers. The inserted provisions reference and depend on the regulations that the parent Act and the new sections empower.

Interaction with the Local Government Act 1993:

• The inserted sections are direct amendments to the parent Act. For example, s 224A is amended (sch 1 cl 4), s 365A is inserted (sch 1 cl 27), ss 402-406 are substituted/inserted (sch 1 cls 34-35), and Part 4A is inserted (sch 1 cl 41). These changes operate within the Act's existing framework for council functions, meeting requirements, elections and Ministerial oversight.

• The schedule leaves in place other sections of the Local Government Act 1993 that govern related matters, such as section 224, which governs changing the number of councillors. The substituted s 224A expressly states that it does not prevent a council from taking action under section 224 to change the number of councillors (s 224A(9)). This signals coexistence between the special application mechanism and the pre-existing section 224 process.

Regulations and delegated instruments:

• The amendments create multiple dependencies on regulations. Councils may only make certain applications if they are "prescribed by the regulations" (s 224A(7), s 365A(6)). The regulations may provide integrated planning and reporting guidelines and impose requirements regarding preparation, consultation, review and content of the planning instruments (s 406(1)-(2)). Sections that previously referenced a particular statutory section for draft operational plan publication and fee notice now refer to "the regulations" (sch 1 cls 75 and 77). Therefore the substantive application of many duties is contingent on how regulations and guidelines are drafted.

Ministerial powers and administrative law:

• The schedule inserts ministerial decision points where the Minister may approve or decline applications (s 365A(4)). These decisions will be administrative acts and therefore subject to the usual rules of administrative law, including potential judicial review, although the schedule itself does not specify procedural or evidentiary standards. The Minister's decisions will interact with judicial review principles outside the schedule text.

Local government governance and corporate law interface:

• The insertion of an Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee and its functions on financial management and fraud control (s 428A(2)(c)-(d)) brings statutory obligations into areas that may also be governed by corporate governance principles and the Local Government Act's own financial reporting and audit regimes. The Act does not replace state audit office functions or external audit arrangements; it embeds an internal audit oversight function that sits alongside other accountability mechanisms.

Existing consultation and environmental reporting frameworks:

• The repeal of the State of the Environment Reports section (s 428A as omitted) changes statutory reporting requirements. The new s 406(2) explicitly contemplates regulations imposing requirements for environment reporting. The interaction between the repeal and the regulatory power suggests a shift from the prior statutory environment reporting mechanism to a delegated regime that will rely on regulations for content and process.

Inter-council arrangements and cooperation:

• Section 428B permits joint internal audit arrangements between councils or with prescribed bodies. This provision interacts with legal rules governing contracts, joint ventures and inter-governmental arrangements, since councils will need to enter into arrangements governed by contract and the parent Act. The legal form and enforceability of joint arrangements will be determined by the contracting framework available to councils under the parent Act and general contract law, but the inserted provision expressly authorises such joint appointment arrangements.

Regulatory hierarchy and standards:

• Because the schedule delegates detailed obligations to regulations and guidelines, it interacts with the general legal principle that delegated legislation must be consistent with the parent Act. The integrated planning and reporting guidelines, once framed in regulations, will need to be consistent with the statutory text, including timing triggers tied to elections and minimum planning horizons.

Amendments to references:

• The schedule substitutes regulatory references in several places (for example s 532 and s 610F), which changes how other statutory provisions interact with regulatory instruments. This centralises procedural detail in the regulations rather than in particular named sections of the Act.

No express cross-reference to other Acts or external bodies appears in the inserted text supplied. The supplied schedule is internally focused on governance within the Local Government Act 1993 and on delegation to regulations and Ministerial oversight, rather than creating direct obligations under other state or federal statutes.

In practice, the interplay between these amendments and other laws will be mediated by:

• The content of regulations and integrated planning and reporting guidelines made under s 406.
• Existing external audit and reporting regimes that operate under other state arrangements.
• Administrative law oversight of Ministerial decisions.
• Contractual arrangements councils enter into for joint audit committees or for procurement of professional services.

For statutory interpretation and compliance, councils will need to consider the parent Act as amended by this schedule together with any regulations and guidelines once made, and with existing statutory obligations under other relevant state instruments.

The schedule is part of the Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Act 2016. The commencement clause in the Act provides that most of the Act commences on days to be proclaimed, while certain items in Schedule 1 commence on the date of assent. The schedule identifies that specific numbered items commence on assent as listed in the Act's commencement provision (see the Act's cl 2). The schedule itself contains multiple insertions, substitutions and omissions to the Local Government Act 1993.

The operative textual changes effected by Schedule 1 include:

• Repeals and omitted clauses: The schedule notes multiple bracketed items as repealed in the enumerated list; for example, items [1]-[3], [5]-[26], [28]-[30], [32], [33], [36]-[39], [42]-[74], [78]-[83], [86]-[91] are marked as repealed or removed as part of the schedule. The supplied schedule identifies which discrete earlier provisions are removed, although the schedule text supplied does not reproduce the original repealed content.

• Insertions and substitutions: The schedule inserts the new Part 4A Internal audit (including s 428A and s 428B), inserts the new s 365A, substitutes s 402(3) and replaces sections 403-406 with new sections 402A-406 and the integrated planning and reporting guideline power (sch 1 cls 34-35, 41). The schedule also amends attendance rules for the general manager (s 376(4) insertion; sch 1 cl 31).

• Changes to references and examples: The schedule replaces references to a specific section governing operational plans with references to "the regulations" in ss 532 and 610F (sch 1 cls 75, 77). It also amends Schedule 6 items to insert community engagement strategies into the list of examples and to add examples addressing criteria, consultation and performance measurement frameworks for strategic documents (sch 1 cls 84-85).

Commencement detail in the parent Act as amended:

• The Act's commencement clause in cl 2 states the general commencement by proclamation, and lists schedule items that commence on the date of assent: Schedule 1 items [6], [8], [11], [12], [14], [17], [19]-[22], [88] and [89] commence on the date of assent. The rest commence by proclamation. The supplied schedule does not identify which inserted sections correspond to the numbered schedule items beyond the bracketed notations, but the Act's cl 2 provides the directive that specified schedule items become effective on assent while others await proclamation.

There is no further textual record in the supplied schedule of subsequent amendments or later amending Acts. The schedule itself records that it amends the Local Government Act 1993 No 30 and cites that Schedule 1 amends a prior amending instrument noted as "sch 1: Am 1987 No 15, sec 30C", but no further amendment chronology beyond the 2016 Amendment Act is contained in the supplied material.

Practical consequences of the amendment timing:

• Councils and advisers need to check the commencement notices and proclamations connected to the Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Act 2016 to determine which operative provisions are in force at any given date. The schedule explicitly contemplates staggered commencement with some items operative on assent and others by proclamation (Act cl 2). The supply of integrated planning and reporting guidelines and the drafting of regulations will further define when delegated obligations become effective.

Because the supplied schedule is the amending instrument rather than the full consolidated parent Act, tracking subsequent statutory developments or any later amendments will require consulting the consolidated Local Government Act 1993 as in force and any regulations and guidelines made under s 406.

The schedule text supplied contains no references to litigation, cases or judicial interpretation. It does not cite any judicial authorities, nor does it indicate any legal challenges or decisions that have construed the inserted or amended provisions. The text is a statutory amendment instrument without recorded litigation history within the supplied material.

Consequently, within the boundaries of this source there are no reported cases, declarations, judicial reviews or appeals described. Any litigation concerning the interpretation, validity or application of these amendments would necessarily appear in external legal reports, judicial databases or subsequent legislative or regulatory materials, which are not part of the supplied schedule.

Practitioners should therefore treat the provisions as novel statutory material in need of authoritative interpretation until case law develops. The lack of litigation history in the schedule means that interpretive questions remain for courts and administrative decision-makers, particularly around:

• The substantive criteria the Minister may apply when approving or declining an application under s 365A, since the statute does not prescribe approval criteria.
• The scope of a council's obligations under the integrated planning and reporting guidelines once made under s 406.
• The relationship between the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee's review functions and any existing statutory or common law obligations on councils and council officers.
• The limits and judicial review standards applicable to Ministerial decisions under the amended provisions.

Until courts address these points, the practical meaning of some statutory phrases, such as "prescribed by the regulations" and what constitutes appropriate exclusion of the general manager from committee meetings, will be matters for administrative practice and regulatory guidance rather than settled case law. Practitioners should monitor judicial registries and administrative decisions for developments after the commencement of the relevant provisions.

The schedule contains a number of textual features and drafting choices that create practical risks or traps for councils and advisers. These are matters that require attention because the statutory text delegates detail to regulations and creates timing and procedural constraints that may be overlooked.

1. Regulatory gatekeeping for eligibility:

• Several important flexibilities are only available to councils "prescribed by the regulations". This phrase appears in s 224A(7) and s 365A(6). If the regulations do not prescribe a council, that council will have no ability to use the application routes created by these sections. Councils should not assume eligibility until they have checked the relevant regulations (s 224A(7); s 365A(6)).

2. Fixed timing windows tied to elections:

• Both the councillor-number application and the meeting-reduction application must be made "after the commencement of this subsection" and "not later than 12 months before the next ordinary election of councillors after that commencement" (s 224A(8); s 365A(7)). Councils that miss this window may forfeit the opportunity to apply. The statute provides a narrow window linked to the commencement date and the election calendar.

3. 42 days public notice requirement for meeting-reduction applications:

• Before making a resolution to apply to reduce meetings, councils must give not less than 42 days public notice, and must forward a summary of submissions and comments to the Minister (s 365A(2)-(3)). Failure to comply with the notice or submission-handling steps could render an application procedurally defective.

4. Ministerial decision criteria not stated:

• The statute empowers the Minister to approve or decline a meeting-reduction application (s 365A(4)) but does not set out criteria the Minister must consider. This creates uncertainty about the substantive test or evidence required. Applicants cannot point to statutory approval criteria; they must rely on administrative practice, guidance or case law that may develop later.

5. Shift of procedural detail into regulations and guidelines:

• Several references to content and consultation are delegated to regulations and integrated planning and reporting guidelines (s 406). Until those subordinate instruments are made, councils may face uncertainty about exact content requirements, consultation processes and reporting formats. The schedule also swaps references in ss 532 and 610F to "the regulations", meaning publication obligations will depend on regulatory wording. Councils should track regulation-making closely.

6. Exclusion of the general manager:

• The Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee may exclude the general manager from meetings while dealing with any other matter if it thinks it appropriate (amendment to s 376(4)). This gives the committee discretion; however, excluding the general manager could raise internal governance tensions or require clear protocols to avoid claims of procedural unfairness where staff are the subject of committee review.

7. Reporting horizon and election-linked review:

• The community strategic plan must be reviewed after each ordinary election before 30 June and must cover at least the next 10 years (s 402(3)). Councils that fail to conduct the review within the specified timeframe may be non-compliant. The 10-year minimum horizon is an explicit content requirement and affects long-term planning assumptions.

8. No express penalties in the new sections:

• The inserted provisions do not specify penalties. Non-compliance may therefore be enforced through existing regime mechanisms, Ministerial action, or through reputational and governance consequences rather than immediate statutory fines. However, compliance failures may create administrative or political repercussions and could be relevant in oversight inquiries or audits.

9. Joint committee arrangements require formality:

• Section 428B permits joint appointment arrangements. Councils entering such arrangements must ensure the legal form of the arrangement (contracts, cost sharing, decision-making protocols) is properly documented since the statute authorises but does not prescribe the mechanism for inter-council governance.

10. Potential duplication with existing processes:

• The schedule retains section 224, and expressly states a council can still take action under s 224 to change councillor numbers even where s 224A provides an application route (s 224A(9)). Councils must choose the correct procedural pathway and ensure they meet the relevant statutory prerequisites.

11. Timing and commencement complexity:

• The Act includes a mix of items commencing on assent and others by proclamation (Act cl 2). Councils should check which schedule items commenced on assent and which require proclamation, since the availability of application windows and obligations may hinge on commencement dates.

12. Internal audit committee scope tied to regulations:

• While s 428A lists matters to be kept under review, it also includes "any other matters prescribed by the regulations" (s 428A(2)(i)). The scope of committee responsibilities may expand once regulations are made, increasing the committee's workload and council resource obligations.

In practice, these features mean that councils should not assume uniform application of the new powers and duties across local government. Instead, councils must verify regulatory prescriptions, time-sensitive windows and administrative practices before acting. The schedule creates opportunities and processes, but the devil is in the delegated detail.

This section sets out concrete steps that a council, mayor, general manager or legal/compliance adviser should follow to meet the statutory requirements inserted by the schedule. Each step cites the relevant provision where applicable.

1. Confirm commencement dates and regulatory prescriptions

• Check whether the relevant schedule items have commenced (Act cl 2). Determine if the council is "prescribed by the regulations" for purposes of s 224A and s 365A by consulting the regulations once made (s 224A(7); s 365A(6)). The availability of application routes is conditional on regulation-prescribed eligibility.

2. Review and update governance instruments

• Appoint an Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee as required by s 428A(1). Prepare a terms of reference that reflect the statutory review duties set out in s 428A(2)(a)-(i) and the committee's duty to provide information to the council to improve performance (s 428A(3)). Include procedures for meeting frequency, membership (including independent members if desired), reporting lines, confidentiality and protocols for excluding the general manager where appropriate (see inserted s 376(4), sch 1 cl 31).

3. If forming a joint committee, document the arrangement

• Where entering a joint internal audit arrangement under s 428B, prepare a formal inter-council agreement or contract delineating the committee's jurisdiction, cost sharing, governance, dispute resolution and administrative arrangements. Ensure the arrangement complies with the parent Act's procurement and contracting requirements.

4. Prepare or revise the community engagement strategy

• Develop and implement a community engagement strategy that sets out how the council will engage with the local community when developing plans, policies and programs and when determining activities other than routine administrative matters (s 402A). Document consultation methods, notice periods and mechanisms for considering public submissions, and align the strategy with anticipated regulatory requirements under s 406(2) about consultation.

5. Prepare or update the resourcing strategy

• Draft a long-term resourcing strategy that evidences how the council will finance and resource the implementation of strategies in the community strategic plan and other functions (s 403). Align assumptions with long-term financial planning, asset management and workforce planning.

6. Draft the delivery program and operational plan timeline

• Create a delivery program that details principal activities within the resources available under the resourcing strategy. Ensure it is prepared post-election to cover the 4-year period commencing 1 July following the election (s 404(1)-(2)). Prepare operational plans annually, adopted before the beginning of each year and detailing activities to be engaged in by the council as part of the delivery program (s 405).

7. Conduct the post-election community strategic plan review

• After each ordinary election, review the community strategic plan before 30 June following the election. Decide to endorse the existing plan or prepare/endorse a new plan to ensure coverage of at least the next 10 years (s 402(3)). Record the decision formally and update relevant documents and public records.

8. Prepare for integrated planning and reporting guideline compliance

• Monitor the regulations for integrated planning and reporting guidelines made under s 406. Align template documents, consultation processes, performance measurement frameworks and reporting timelines to anticipated regulatory content. The regulations may impose specific requirements for preparation, consultation and review procedures for the strategic instruments (s 406(1)-(2)).

9. If considering reducing meeting frequency, follow pre-application procedural steps

• Verify regulatory eligibility for making an application (s 365A(6)). Provide not less than 42 days public notice of the proposed resolution to apply for reduced meeting frequency (s 365A(2)). After passing the resolution, forward to the Minister a copy of the resolution, a summary of any submissions received and the council's comments concerning those submissions (s 365A(3)). Observe the timing constraint that the application must be made not later than 12 months before the next ordinary election after the commencement date (s 365A(7)). Prepare supporting materials and explain how a reduced meeting schedule will not impair statutory duties.

10. If considering reduction in councillor numbers, follow s 224A application rules

• Confirm whether the council is prescribed by the regulations to apply under s 224A(7). If prescribed, ensure the application is lodged after the commencement and not later than 12 months before the next ordinary election after commencement (s 224A(8)). Note that nothing prevents making more than one application or taking action under s 224 (s 224A(9)). Keep records of each application and any public consultation undertaken.

11. Manage stakeholder consultation and submissions

• For planning instruments and for any meeting-reduction application, implement robust public notice procedures and submission management systems. For meeting-reduction applications, produce a clear summary of submissions and the council's comments as required by s 365A(3). For strategic planning instruments, structure consultation in line with the council's community engagement strategy and anticipated regulatory requirements under s 406.

12. Recordkeeping and transparency

• Maintain contemporaneous records of committee minutes, resolutions, community engagement activities, consultation materials, submissions received and council responses. Retain evidence of adoption dates for operational plans, delivery programs and the community strategic plan review to demonstrate compliance with the post-election and annual deadlines (ss 402(3), 404(2), 405).

13. Internal audit follow-up and implementation

• Ensure that the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee's reviews produce actionable reports and that the council implements or formally responds to committee recommendations. The statutory role of the committee includes providing information to improve performance (s 428A(3)); councils should convert that information into measurable actions and monitor implementation.

14. Update policies on attendance and confidentiality

• Reflect the committee's power to exclude the general manager in relevant meeting protocols and confidentiality policies. Provide guidance on when exclusion might be appropriate, how to record exclusion decisions, and rights of the general manager to be informed of outcomes consistent with employment law and governance norms (inserted s 376(4)).

15. Budgeting and resourcing

• Budget for the additional internal governance activities, including costs of committee operation, possible independent committee members, external audit providers, community engagement activities, and preparation of integrated planning and reporting documentation. The resourcing strategy must account for the long-term provision of resources required for these functions (s 403).

16. Monitor regulatory developments and guidance

• Because the regulations and integrated planning and reporting guidelines may substantially shape obligations, councils should assign responsibility to a compliance officer or legal adviser to monitor regulation-making and to prepare to adjust practices accordingly once the regulations and guidelines are published (s 406).

17. Legal and administrative review

• Before submitting applications to the Minister, seek legal advice on procedural compliance and prepare materials that address the Minister's likely concerns even though the statute does not specify approval criteria. Consider the risk of judicial review for procedural defects or claims of unreasonable decision-making in Ministerial determinations.

18. Cross-reference with existing reporting regimes

• Align new planning and reporting activities with existing financial reporting, asset management and external audit obligations under the parent Act and other related statutes to avoid duplication and to ensure consistent assumptions across documents.

By following these steps and grounding compliance obligations in the cited statutory provisions (ss 402(3), 402A, 403, 404, 405, 406, 365A, 224A, 428A, 428B, and the amendment to s 376), councils can create a defensible administrative record and governance architecture that meets the amended statutory framework. Councils should maintain flexibility to adapt to subsequent regulations and guidelines, which will determine many practical details.