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(c) have regard to the professional
development needs of
councillors; and
(d) include an estimate of the
expenditure to be spent in a
financial year by the council in
implementing the policy.
13. Part 3, Division 3AAA inserted
After section 28J of the Principal Act, the
following Division is inserted in Part 3:
Division 3AAA – Councillor allowances and numbers
28JAA. Allowances
(1) A councillor is entitled to the allowance
prescribed for the councillor’s allowance
band.
(2) The allowance band for a councillor is
the allowance band allocated to the
council as specified in Schedule 3, as
determined in accordance with Schedule
4.
(3) A mayor and deputy mayor are entitled
to any prescribed allowances in addition
to any allowances referred to in
subsection (1).
(4) Allowances are to be paid in arrears.
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(5) A councillor, mayor or deputy mayor
may, by written notice to the general
manager of the council, elect not to
receive all or part of an allowance.
(6) A councillor who is suspended under this
Act is not entitled to any allowance
during the period of suspension.
(7) A person who is prohibited from
performing the functions or exercising
the powers of a councillor under
section 339C is not entitled to any
allowance during the period of the
prohibition.
28JAB. Review of councillor allowances and
numbers
(1) The Minister must undertake a review of
councillor numbers and councillor
allowances for all councils within the
period commencing 12 months before,
and ending 6 months before, the date of
an ordinary election.
(2) In conducting a review under this
section, the Minister must, in accordance
with Schedule 4, determine –
(a) the aggregate score for each
council; and
(b) the councillor number category
for each council; and
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(c) the allowance band for each
council.
(3) The Minister may recommend that the
Governor amend Schedule 3 by order
under section 28JAD to reflect –
(a) the councillor number category
and councillor numbers; and
(b) the allowance band –
determined in accordance with Schedule
4.
28JAC. Requests for reduction of councillor
numbers
(1) A council that is in councillor number
category 3 in column 4 of Schedule 3
may apply to the Minister for approval to
reduce the number of councillors to be
elected for the council to 5.
(2) An application under subsection (1)
must –
(a) be in writing, and
(b) include evidence that the council
has resolved, by absolute
majority at an ordinary meeting
of the council, to apply to reduce
the number of councillors; and
(c) be made no later than 6 months
before the day on which notice of
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the next ordinary election is
given.
(3) If the Minister approves an application
under subsection (1), the Minister is to
recommend to the Governor that
Schedule 3 be amended accordingly
under section 28JAD.
(4) A council for which an order is made
under section 28JAD has 5 councillors
from the next ordinary election following
the making of the order and continues to
have 5 councillors unless –
(a) the council’s councillor number
category is no longer category 3
as a result of a review under
section 28JAB; or
(b) the council applies to increase the
number of councillors to 7.
(5) An application under subsection (4)(b)
must –
(a) be in writing; and
(b) be made at least 8 years after the
order under subsection (3) was
made; and
(c) be made no later than 12 months
before the day on which notice of
the next ordinary election is
given; and
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(d) include evidence that the council
has resolved, by absolute
majority at an ordinary meeting
of the council, to apply to
increase the number of
councillors.
28JAD. Order to amend Schedule 3
(1) The Governor, by order and on the
recommendation of the Minister, may
amend Schedule 3 by omitting, inserting
or substituting one or more numbers
specified in column 4, column 5 or
column 8 of that Schedule.
(2) A recommendation under subsection (1)
may be made as a result of –
(a) a review under section 28JAB; or
(b) an approval under section 28JAC.
(3) An order under subsection (1) may
contain provisions of a savings or
transitional nature.
(4) An order made under subsection (1) has
effect despite any provision of this Act.
(5) An amendment to Schedule 3 applies in
relation to the next ordinary election of
the relevant council following the
making of the order and has effect from
the issue of the certificates of election for
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that election, unless otherwise provided
in the order.
14. Section 28ZA amended (Initial assessment of code
of conduct complaint)
Section 28ZA of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting from subsection (1)(f)
“Panel.” and substituting “Panel;”;
(b) by inserting the following paragraphs
after paragraph (f) in subsection (1):
(g) refer the whole complaint to the
Director under section 28ZBA;
(h) refer part of the complaint to the
Director under section 28ZBA.
(c) by omitting from subsection (3)(b)(iii)
“Officer.” and substituting “Officer;
and”;
(d) by inserting the following paragraph after
paragraph (b) in subsection (3):
(c) if the initial assessor has referred
the whole or part of the complaint
to the Director, is to –
(i) notify the councillor
against whom the
complaint is made, in
writing, of the result of
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the initial assessment and
the reasons for it; and
(ii) provide a copy of the
complaint to that
councillor; and
(iii) provide the Director with
a copy of the initial
assessment of the
complaint and all
documentation and other
evidence on which the
initial assessment was
based.
15. Section 28ZBA inserted
After section 28ZB of the Principal Act, the
following section is inserted in Subdivision 3:
28ZBA. Referral of code of conduct complaint on
initial assessment to Director
The initial assessor for a code of conduct
complaint, on an initial assessment, may
refer a code of conduct complaint, or part
of it, to the Director if the initial assessor
reasonably considers that the complaint
includes conduct that is capable of
amounting to serious councillor
misconduct.
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16. Sections 28ZHA and 28ZHB inserted
After section 28ZH of the Principal Act, the
following sections are inserted in Subdivision 3:
28ZHA. Referral of code of conduct complaint to
Director
The investigating Panel for a code of
conduct complaint may, at any time,
refer a code of conduct complaint, or part
of it, to the Director if the investigating
Panel reasonably considers that the
complaint includes conduct that is
capable of amounting to serious
councillor misconduct.
28ZHB. Referral of code of conduct complaint to
other persons or authorities
(1) The investigating Panel for a code of
conduct complaint may, at any time
during the investigation of the complaint,
refer the complaint, or part of the
complaint, to a person or other authority
that the investigating Panel considers
appropriate if the investigating Panel
reasonably considers that –
(a) the complaint discloses that an
offence may have been
committed; or
(b) the complaint would be more
appropriately dealt with by that
person or authority.
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(2) A person or other authority to whom a
code of conduct complaint is referred
under subsection (1) –
(a) may accept or refuse the referral;
and
(b) must notify the investigating
Panel for the code of conduct
complaint of that acceptance or
refusal within 28 days after
receiving the referral.
(3) If the person or other authority to whom
the code of conduct complaint is referred
does not notify the investigating Panel as
required by subsection (2)(b), the person
or authority is taken to have accepted the
referral.
(4) If the person or other authority accepts
the referral, the complaint, or the part of
the complaint referred, ceases to be a
code of conduct complaint.
(5) If the person or other authority refuses
the referral, the investigating Panel for
the code of conduct complaint may
continue its investigation of the
complaint or part of the complaint.
17. Section 28ZK amended (Notification of
determination of code of conduct complaint)
Section 28ZK of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
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(a) by omitting subsections (6) and (7);
(b) by omitting subsection (9);
(c) by inserting in subsection (10)(a)(ii) “,
the Director” after “Officer”;
(d) by omitting from subsection (10)(b)
“paragraph (a)(ii); and” and substituting
“paragraph (a)(ii).”;
(e) by omitting paragraph (c) from
subsection (10);
(f) by omitting subsection (11) and
substituting the following subsection:
(11) Subsection (10) does not apply to
the disclosure of a document,
report or information if at the
time of the disclosure –
(a) the initial assessor has
dismissed the code of
conduct complaint to
which the document,
report or information
relates; or
(b) the determination report
relating to the document,
report or information, has
been provided to persons
as required under
subsection (2).
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18. Part 3, Division 3B inserted
After section 28ZP of the Principal Act, the
following Division is inserted in Part 3:
Division 3B – Serious councillor misconduct
Subdivision 1 – Preliminary
28ZQ. Interpretation
In this Division –
code of conduct referral means the
referral of a code of conduct
complaint from –
(a) an initial assessor to the
Director under
section 28ZBA; or
(b) an investigating Panel to
the Director under
section 28ZHA;
decision-maker includes the following
persons:
(a) an initial assessor;
(b) an investigating Panel;
(c) the Director;
(d) the Tasmanian Civil and
Administrative Tribunal.
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28ZR. Serious councillor misconduct
(1) For the purposes of this Act, serious
councillor misconduct means conduct,
or an attempt to engage in conduct, by a
councillor that is or involves a serious or
significant contravention of the code of
conduct.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a
decision-maker is to have regard to the
following when determining whether
conduct, or an attempt to engage in
conduct, by a councillor constitutes a
serious or significant contravention of the
code of conduct:
(a) whether the conduct is unlawful;
(b) the extent of any actual or
potential harm or risk, caused as a
consequence of the conduct, to an
individual, the council or public
safety;
(c) the degree to which the conduct
impacts negatively on the ability
of the relevant council to perform
its functions under this or any
other Act;
(d) whether the conduct involves –
(i) deliberate and intentional
misuse of council
resources, information, or
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authority, for personal
gain; or
(ii) undue influence on, or
detriment to, the council,
community or a
community member;
(e) the nature and extent of any
material benefit or detriment
derived by the councillor or
others as a result of the conduct;
(f) whether the conduct is part of a
repeated pattern of contraventions
or involves collusion with others,
and the councillor’s role in such
collusion;
(g) such other public interest
considerations that the relevant
decision-maker considers
relevant.
28ZS. Ministerial guidelines in relation to serious
councillor misconduct
(1) The Minister, by order, is to issue
guidelines consistent with this Act to
assist decision-makers in determining
whether conduct, or an attempt to engage
in conduct, by a councillor constitutes a
serious or significant contravention of the
code of conduct.
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(2) A decision-maker may have regard to
any guidelines issued by the Minister
under this section.
(3) The Minister, by order, may amend,
revoke, or revoke and substitute any
guidelines made under this section.
(4) Before making, amending or revoking
and substituting an order, the Minister
must consult with –
(a) councils; and
(b) the public –
as to the matters that the Minister is
considering including in the order, the
amended order or the substitute order.
Subdivision 2 – Assessment of serious councillor
misconduct
28ZT. Assessment of serious councillor misconduct
(1) If the Director receives a code of conduct
referral from an initial assessor or an
investigating Panel in respect of the
conduct of a councillor, the Director
must carry out an assessment of that
conduct to determine whether to conduct
an investigation.
(2) After carrying out an assessment, the
Director may –
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(a) if the Director determines that the
conduct of the councillor is
capable of amounting to serious
councillor misconduct, determine
that the Director will conduct an
investigation into that conduct; or
(b) if the Director determines that the
conduct is not capable of
amounting to serious councillor
misconduct, refuse to conduct an
investigation into the conduct; or
(c) refer the complaint to another
person or authority if the Director
considers that the complaint
would be more appropriately
dealt with by that other person or
authority.
(3) If the Director makes a determination
under subsection (2)(a) –
(a) the complaint is taken to be a
complaint made to the Director
under section 339E and ceases to
be a code of conduct complaint;
and
(b) the Director is to proceed under
that section and section 339EA in
relation to the complaint.
(4) If the Director refuses under subsection
(2)(b) to commence an investigation into
a councillor’s conduct, the Director must
refer the matter back to the initial
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assessor or the investigating Panel for the
code of conduct complaint.
(5) If the Director does not make a decision
under subsection (2) within 28 days of
receiving a code of conduct referral, the
Director is to notify the initial assessor or
the investigating Panel and the
complainant that the matter is still under
consideration.
28ZU. Determination of Director following
investigation of councillor conduct
(1) After completing an investigation into a
councillor’s conduct following a code of
conduct referral, the Director may do any
of the following:
(a) make an application to the
Tasmanian Civil and
Administrative Tribunal under
section 28ZW;
(b) refer the matter back to the initial
assessor or the investigating
Panel that made the initial
referral;
(c) refer the matter to any other
person or authority;
(d) dismiss the complaint.
(2) A complaint that has been referred back
to an initial assessor or an investigating
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Panel under subsection (1)(b) is taken to
be a code of conduct complaint and
ceases to be a complaint to the Director
under section 339E.
28ZV. Referral of complaints back to initial
assessor or investigating Panel
(1) If a complaint is referred back to an
initial assessor or an investigating Panel
under section 28ZT or 28ZU –
(a) the Director must provide reasons
to the initial assessor or
investigating Panel for the
referral; and
(b) if the complaint is referred back
to an initial assessor, the initial
assessor is to proceed under
section 28ZA in relation to that
complaint within 14 days after
the referral of the matter; and
(c) if the complaint is referred back
to an investigating Panel, the
investigating Panel is to proceed
with the investigation and
determination of the complaint.
(2) On doing a further initial assessment
under section 28ZA as required by
subsection (1)(b) –