Local Government Amendment (Targeted Reform) Bill 2025 - Consultation

The Tasmanian Government invites your feedback on the Local Government Amendment (Targeted Reform) Bill 2025 – Exposure Draft, which is now available for public consultation.

This Exposure Draft is a key milestone in the Local Government Priority Reform Program 2024-26, aimed at enhancing the efficiency, transparency, and responsiveness of Tasmanian councils to better serve their communities.

About the Exposure Draft

Proposed reforms being introduced via the Bill include:

New serious councillor misconduct provisions;
More flexible and effective early intervention tools to address emerging governance challenges in councils;
Legislating core councillor learning and development requirements;
Supporting more consistent data and transparency (including around council rates);
Establishing the architecture for improving - over time - council strategic direction-setting and planning, underpinned by a stronger focus on community engagement and wellbeing;
Enhancing the efficiency and transparency of the Code of Conduct complaints handling framework.
Supporting provisions for remote attendance at closed council meetings, aligning with anticipated updates to the Meeting Regulations.

Consultation Process

This is the second phase of consultation for these reforms, following the release of the Discussion Paper – Targeted Amendments to the Local Government Act 1993 in December 2024. Feedback on the Discussion Paper, which closed in March 2025, has been carefully considered and incorporated into the Exposure Draft where possible. Read more about the first round of consultation and the submissions received.

A Consultation Report has been provided to show how the Discussion Paper feedback has been incorporated into the Exposure Draft. The Consultation Report can be viewed here: