Councillor conduct is governed by the Local Government Act 2009. Anyone performing a responsibility under the Act, including mayors, councillors and council employees, must apply the local government principles which underpin the Act.

By virtue of being elected and holding office, councillors individually and collectively are bound by these principles. As elected representatives for their community, mayors and councillors must apply these principles to all decisions and planning carried out under the Act, and their decisions must be justifiable, transparent and accountable.

Sections 176-182 of the Act are about dealing with complaints about councillor conduct to ensure appropriate standards are maintained and that councillors who engage in misconduct are disciplined.

What happens if a complaint is made about a councillor’s conduct?

Under the Act, the council’s chief executive officer (CEO) is responsible for receiving and assessing all complaints about the conduct or performance of a councillor. If the CEO assesses a complaint to be about something frivolous, or considers it has been made vexatiously, the CEO may decide to take no further action.

If the CEO receives a complaint about the behaviour of a mayor or deputy mayor which is assessed as inappropriate conduct, the CEO must refer the complaint to the chief executive of the Department of Local Government and Planning. If, however, the CEO’s assessment of inappropriate conduct relates to a councillor other than the mayor or deputy mayor, the complaint must be referred to the mayor.

There are a number of legislative requirements governing the assessment of complaints and these are outlined in Section 177 of the Act, for example, the need for the CEO to keep appropriate records of complaints, some of which must be accessible to the public.

Types of complaint

There are three types of potential complaints relating to councillor conduct, which are all dealt with differently under the Act:

• Inappropriate conduct is conduct which is not appropriate for a councillor, but is not misconduct, for example, if a councillor fails to comply with a council procedure, or inappropriately criticises a council employee, or behaves in an offensive or disorderly way in a council meeting.
• Misconduct is conduct that adversely affects the honest and impartial performance of a councillor’s responsibilities, for example, the misuse of privileged information, a breach of trust, and repeated breaches of meeting procedures.
• Official misconduct is conduct which is dealt with under the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001, for example, the failure of a councillor to declare a material personal interest in a matter before council.
  

Legislation extracts

• Local Government Act 2009 - Local government principles underpin this Act
  
  

  4 Local government principles underpin this Act (1) To ensure the system of local government is accountable, effective, efficient and sustainable, Parliament requires— (a) anyone who is performing a responsibility under this Act to do so in accordance with the local government principles; and (b) any action that is taken under this Act to be taken in a way that— (i) is consistent with the local government principles; and (ii) provides results that are consistent with the local government principles, in as far as the results are within the control of the person who is taking the action. (2) The local government principles are— (a) transparent and effective processes, and decision-making in the public interest; and (b) sustainable development and management of assets and infrastructure, and delivery of effective services; and (c) democratic representation, social inclusion and meaningful community engagement; and (d) good governance of, and by, local government; and (e) ethical and legal behaviour of councillors and local government employees.

• Local Government Act 2009 – Division 6 Conduct and performance of Councillors
  • 176 What this division is about
    
    

    Division 6 Conduct and performance of councillors 176 What this division is about (1) This division is about dealing with complaints about the conduct and performance of councillors, to ensure that— (a) appropriate standards of conduct and performance are maintained; and (b) a councillor who engages in misconduct is disciplined. (2) A councillor includes a person who is no longer a councillor but who was a councillor when the misconduct is alleged to have happened. (3) Misconduct is conduct, or a conspiracy or attempt to engage in conduct, of or by a councillor— (a) that adversely affects, or could adversely affect, (either directly or indirectly) the honest and impartial performance of the councillor’s responsibilities or exercise of the councillor’s powers; or (b) that is or involves— (i) the performance of the councillor’s responsibilities, or the exercise of the councillor’s powers, in a way that is not honest or is not impartial; or (ii) a breach of the trust placed in the councillor; or (iii) a misuse of information or material acquired in or in connection with the performance of the councillor’s responsibilities, whether the misuse is for the benefit of the councillor or someone else; or (c) that breaches section 171(3) or 174(2); or (d) that is referred to the department’s chief executive as misconduct under section 181. (4) Inappropriate conduct is conduct that is not appropriate conduct for a representative of a local government, but is not misconduct, including for example— (a) a councillor failing to comply with the local government’s procedures; or (b) a councillor behaving in an offensive or disorderly way in a meeting of the local government or any of its committees. (5) It is irrelevant whether the conduct that constitutes misconduct was engaged in— (a) within Queensland or elsewhere; or (b) when the councillor was not exercising the responsibilities of a councillor. (6) In summary, the process for reviewing complaints of misconduct by councillors is as follows— • assessing complaints—the chief executive officer assesses each complaint of misconduct, and refers all complaints of misconduct that are not frivolous or vexatious to the department’s chief executive • notifying councillor of the hearing of a complaint of misconduct—he department’s chief executive notifies the councillor about the hearing of the complaint • hearing and deciding complaints—the regional conduct review panel or tribunal hears the complaint and decides whether or not the councillor engaged in misconduct, and if so, what is the appropriate disciplinary action • taking disciplinary action—disciplinary action is taken against a councillor who has engaged in misconduct, by the regional conduct review panel, the tribunal or the Minister, depending on the severity of the misconduct. (7) A regional conduct review panel is a body, created under this Act, that is responsible for hearing and deciding a complaint of misconduct by a councillor. Note— See chapter 6, part 4 for more information about the creation of a regional conduct review panel. (8) The tribunal is a body, created under this Act, that is responsible (amongst other things) for hearing and deciding the most serious complaints of misconduct by a councillor. Note—See chapter 6, part 3 for more information about the creation of the tribunal, and section 183 for the tribunal’s other responsibilities. (9) To remove any doubt, a councillor may be dealt with for an act or omission that constitutes misconduct under this Act, and also dealt with for the same act or omission— (a) as the commission of an offence; or (b) under the Crime and Misconduct Act. (10) A decision under this part by any of the following persons is not subject to appeal— (a) a regional conduct review panel; (b) the tribunal; (c) the chief executive officer; (d) a mayor; (e) a deputy mayor; (f) the chairperson of a meeting. Note—See section 244 for more information.

  • 177 Assessing complaints
    
    

    177 Assessing complaints (1) This section applies if a local government, or the department’s chief executive, makes or receives a complaint about the conduct or performance of a councillor. (2) The local government or department’s chief executive must give written notice of the complaint to the chief executive officer. (3) The chief executive officer must assess each complaint to decide whether the complaint— (a) is about a frivolous matter or was made vexatiously; or (b) is about inappropriate conduct, misconduct, official misconduct or another matter (including a general complaint against the local government, for example). (4) If the chief executive officer assesses that the complaint is about a frivolous matter or was made vexatiously, the chief executive officer may decide that no further action be taken in relation to the complaint. (5) If the chief executive officer assesses that the complaint is about inappropriate conduct, the chief executive officer must— (a) if the complaint is about conduct of the mayor or deputy mayor—refer the complaint to the department’s chief executive; or (b) if the complaint is about conduct of another councillor—refer the complaint to the mayor. (6) If the chief executive officer assesses that the complaint is about misconduct, the chief executive officer must refer the complaint to the department’s chief executive. (7) If the chief executive officer assesses that the complaint is about official misconduct under the Crime and Misconduct Act, the chief executive officer must deal with the complaint in accordance with that Act. (8) If the chief executive officer assesses that the complaint is about another matter, the chief executive officer must deal with the complaint in an appropriate way. (9) The chief executive officer must give the entity who made the complaint, and the accused councillor, a written notice that states— (a) the type of complaint that the chief executive officer has assessed the complaint as; and (b) the action (if any) that is proposed to be taken in relation to the complaint; and (c) if the complaint was about a frivolous matter or was made vexatiously—that it is an offence under subsection (10) for a person to make a complaint that is substantially about a matter that the chief executive officer has assessed as being frivolous or vexatious. (10) A person must not make a complaint about the misconduct of a councillor if— (a) the complaint is substantially the same as a complaint that the person has previously made; and (b) the chief executive officer has given the person a notice that complies with subsection (9). Maximum penalty—10 penalty units. (11) The chief executive officer must keep a record of— (a) all written complaints received by the chief executive officer; and (b) the outcome of each written complaint, including any disciplinary action or other action that was taken in relation to the complaint. (12) The chief executive officer must ensure that the public may inspect the record— (a) at the local government’s public office; or (b) on the local government’s website. (13) However, subsection (12) does not apply to the record of a written complaint that— (a) the chief executive officer has assessed as being about a frivolous matter or as having been made vexatiously; or (b) is a public interest disclosure within the meaning of the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1994. (14) If the department’s chief executive receives a complaint about misconduct that is a breach of section 171(3), the department’s chief executive must refer the complaint to the tribunal.