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Department of Premier and Cabinet

Making a Councillor Code of Conduct Complaint

How to make a Code of Conduct complaint

Any person can make a complaint under a Council’s Code of Conduct.

A complaint must be in writing and include the information required under section 28V of the Local Government Act 1993.  A template form detailing the required information is available to complete Local Government Code of Conduct Complaint Form, 13 July 2023. Complaints must be lodged with the general manager of the relevant council within six months of the alleged contravention.

The complaint must be accompanied by

  1. a statutory declaration verifying the accuracy of the information contained in the complaint. This should meet the Requirements for completing a Statutory Declaration, August 2022; and
  2. the prescribed fee. For 2023-24, this is $89.00.

Further information about how to make a complaint, information and other requirements is contained in the Information Sheet - Local Government Code of Conduct - Information for Complainants, 28 July 2022.

Councils are required to make a copy of their Code of Conduct available on their website and for public inspection free of charge at their public office and for purchase at a reasonable charge. The Model Code of Conduct, adopted by all Tasmanian Councils, is contained in the Local Government (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2016 and is also available on the Tasmanian legislation website at www.legislation.tas.gov.au.

Referral of complaint by General Manager

On receipt of a Code of Conduct complaint, the general manager is required to assess it to ensure that it meets the requirements of section 28V of the Act. Where the complaint meets these requirements, the general manager must:

  • if the complaint is against less than half of all the councillors of the council, refer it to the Code of Conduct Panel Executive Officer by email at lgconduct@dpac.tas.gov.au; or
  • if the complaint is against one half or more of all the councillors of the council, refer it to the Director of Local Government by email at localgovernment@dpac.tas.gov.au.

For more information on these requirements view the Information sheet – Local Government Code of Conduct – Information for General Managers, 28 July 2022

Code of Conduct Panel determinations

Code of Conduct Panel determination reports are required to be tabled by the relevant council at the first public meeting held after the determination is made at which it is practicable to do so.

Addendums to reports (which contain confidential information) are required to be tabled at the next closed council meeting at which it is practicable to do so.

Copies of Panel determination reports which have been tabled are available to view and download via the links on the Code of Conduct Panel Determination Reports webpage.

Further information and guidance

More information

For further information regarding code of conduct complaints contact the Executive Officer

phone 03 6232 7220
email  lgconduct@dpac.tas.gov.au