Managing conflicts of interest of councillors

Consultation – proposed conflict of interest reforms for councillors in Local Government

The Tasmanian Government is committed to supporting and strengthening our local government sector and ensuring councils are well equipped to serve their communities. It is also committed to providing opportunities for community involvement in the development of Government policy.

To assist in this endeavour, the Office of Local Government has released a discussion paper outlining proposed reforms to the framework for managing councillors’ conflicts of interest and is seeking feedback from the local community, stakeholders, councils, council staff and elected representatives.

Individuals who hold public office at all levels of government should be held to the highest standards in terms of behaviour and accountability and have a responsibility to act in a way that reflects community expectations. Elected representatives from local governments are expected to conduct themselves with honesty, professionalism and dedication to their community.

At times, situations have arisen that have highlighted a need to revise the way councillors declare and manage their personal interests when fulfilling their public duties. Having a strong framework to manage councillors’ conflicts of interest is vital to protecting the integrity of councils to ensure the community can have confidence in the decisions they make.

Developed in consultation with the Local Government Association of Tasmania and council representatives, the Managing conflicts of interest of councillors - framework proposal discussion paper asks for feedback on a range of options to improve and strengthen the existing regulatory framework.

The discussion paper proposes changing how conflicts of interest are classified and managed, broadening when councillors are required to disclose interests, requiring councillors to submit annual personal interest returns and making Tasmanian penalties proportionate to penalties in other States.

View the discussion paper  here:  Managing conflicts of interest of councillors - framework proposal (PDF 1.2MB)

ADDENDUM to the discussion paper

The Office of Local Government has received requests for clarification on several issues raised in the discussion paper. To assist with the consultation process, the Office of Local Government has released an addendum providing further information on the following issues:

• options for the types of debt that could be required to be declared including examples from both Federal and Tasmanian State Members of Parliament;
• clarification of what the declaration of ‘other income’ could include; and
• clarification of the ‘nature’ of interests as a concept.

The consultation period on the discussion paper has been extended to 2 February 2024 to provide additional time for respondents to consider the extra information.

View the  ADDENDUM to the discussion paper here:  Addendum to Managing conflcits of interest of councillors

How to make a submission

All written submissions on the Managing conflicts of interest of councillors - framework proposal (PDF 1.2MB) discussion paper must be received by 5pm on 2 February 2024.

Feedback is preferred by email to lgconsultation@dpac.tas.gov.au.

Alternatively, submissions may be provided by mail, addressed to:

Office of Local Government
Department of Premier and Cabinet
GPO Box 123
HOBART TAS 7001

Confidentiality

In the absence of clear information that a submission is to be treated as confidential, submissions will be treated as public information and published on the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s website. If you would like your submission to be treated as confidential, you must indicate in writing, at the time of providing your submission, the parts of your submission you wish to remain confidential and provide the reasons for this.

Please consult the Tasmanian Government’s Public Submission Policy for further information.

Submissions will be published after consideration by Government.

No personal information other than an individual’s name or the organisation making a submission will be published.