Governance and Public Transparency
Councillor Code of Conduct
The Councillor Code of Conduct outlines what our mayor and councillors may and may not do as a Council representative. It covers various areas of professional conduct and details the standards of behaviour expected of councillors in their interactions with other councillors, Council staff and the public. It also explains procedures for dealing with conflicts that may occur.
Councillor Code of Conduct 2021(PDF, 575KB)
Councillor Expense Reports
Councillors are entitled, under section 40 of the Local Government Act 2020, to the reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties.
Quarterly reports of all councillor expenses are provided to Councillors and Council’s Audit and Risk Committee.
The reports include:
- expenses incurred by councillors during the quarter
- reimbursement claims made by councillors during the quarter
For the purposes of transparency and good governance, quarterly reports can be found below:
Councillor Expenses Report 30 September 2020(PDF, 373KB)
Councillor Expenses Report 31 December 2020(PDF, 387KB)
Councillor Expenses Report 31 March 2021(PDF, 374KB)
Councillor Expenses Report 30 June 2021(PDF, 376KB)
Councillor Expenses 30 September 2021(PDF, 291KB)
Councillor Expenses 31 December 2021(PDF, 288KB)
Councillor Expenses 31 March 2022(PDF, 290KB)
Councillor Expenses 30 June 2022(PDF, 286KB)
Delegations
Delegating a Council's powers, duties and functions is essential to fulfilling the responsibilities of local government. When a Council delegates a power, duty or function to a member of staff or to a committee ("the delegate"), the decision of the delegate is deemed to be a decision of the Council.
A new Instrument of Delegation - Council to the Chief Executive Officer (S5) was approved by Council on 27 July 2021.
View Council to the Chief Executive Officer (S5)(PDF, 109KB)
A new instrument of delegation to Members of Council Staff (S6) was approved by Council on 23 March 2021.
View S6 Instrument of Delegation to Members of Council Staff March 2021(PDF, 1MB)
The Planning and Consultation Committee was established by Council Resolution on 23 February 2021. The Instrument of Delegation to the Planning and Consultation Committee and Terms of Reference were also approved by Council Resolution on 23 February 2021.
Elections
General election for Council are held every four years. Elections were held in October 2020, and will be held again in October 2024.
More information can be found at the Council Elections page of Council's website.
Freedom of Information
Object of the Freedom of Information Act 1982
The object of this Act is to extend as far as possible the right of the community to access to information in the possession of the Government of Victoria and other bodies constituted under the law of Victoria for certain public purposes by –
- making available to the public information about the operations of agencies and, in particular, ensuring that rules and practices affecting members of the public in their dealings with agencies are readily available to persons affected by those rules and practices: and
- creating a general right of access to information in documentary form in the possession of Ministers and agencies limited only by exceptions and exemptions necessary for the protection of essential public interests and the private and business affairs of persons in respect of whom information is collected and held by agencies.
More information can be found at the Freedom of Information page of Council's website.
Governance Rules
Section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020 requires Council to adopt Governance Rules by 1 September 2020.
View Council's Governance Rule - Decision Making Policy(PDF, 789KB)
View Council's Governance Rule - Election of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor(PDF, 423KB)
View Council's Governance Rule - Election Period Policy(PDF, 592KB)
View Council's Governance Rule - Meeting Procedure(PDF, 876KB)
View Council's Governance Rule - Procedure for Disclosure of Conflict of Interests(PDF, 554KB)
Meeting Procedure Local Law
Council's Meeting Procedure Local Law was revoked in full on 22 December 2022. Clauses 15 and 16 relating to the Common Seal now form part of the Nillumbik Shire Council General Local Law 1 which was adopted by Council on 13 December 2022 and came into effect on 22 December 2022.
View Council's Meeting Procedure Local Law(PDF, 320KB) (repealed)
Clauses 1-14 of this Local Law ceased to be in operation from 25 August 2020 having been superseded by Council's Governance Rule - Meeting Procedure adopted 25 August 2020
More Information on Local Laws can be found at the Local Laws page of Council's website.
Personal Interests Returns
The Local Government Act 2020 (the Act) requires that a specified person, as defined by the Act, lodge an initial personal interests return containing the matters prescribed by the regulations within 30 days of becoming a Councillor, CEO or nominated officer.
The Act also requires a specified person, as defined by the Act, to lodge a biannual personal interests return containing the matters prescribed by the regulations twice yearly by the end of the prescribed period.
The Act requires the CEO to publish a summary of the personal interests returns on the Council Internet site.
View Council's Summary of personal interests returns March 2022(PDF, 146KB)
View Council's Summary of personal interests returns September 2022(PDF, 245KB)
Privacy and Public Transparency
Nillumbik Shire Council (Council) views the protection of an individual’s privacy as part of its commitment towards accountability and integrity, and is committed to protecting an individual’s right to privacy.
The Privacy & Data Protection Act 2014 and the Health Records Act 2001, specifically the Information Privacy Principles and the Health Information Principles outline Council’s obligations in relation to how it collects, stores, uses, discloses and disposes of the information we hold about you.
More information can be found at the Privacy Statement page of Council's website.
View Council's Public Transparency Policy(PDF, 515KB)
View Council's Privacy Policy(PDF, 631KB)
Public Interest Disclosures
The purpose of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 is to encourage and facilitate the making of disclosures of improper conduct and detrimental action by public officers and public bodies. It does so by providing certain protections for people who make a disclosure, or those who may suffer detrimental action in reprisal for making a disclosure. An essential component of this protection is to ensure that information connected to a public interest disclosure, including the identity of a person making and the contents of that disclosure, are kept strictly confidential.
More information can be found at the Public Interest Disclosures page of Council’s website.
View Council's Public Interest Disclosure Procedure(PDF, 906KB)