Managing conflicts of interest of councillors

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.

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.

In November 2023, the Government released a discussion paper outlining proposed reforms to the framework for managing councillors' conflicts of interest. 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 and addendum to the discussion paper here:

Managing conflicts of interest of councillors - framework proposal

Addendum to Managing conflcits of interest of councillors

Feedback received during consultation indicates broad support for the principles, objectives, and key tenets of the proposed framework, recognising its importance and alignment with good practice elsewhere.

In response to this consultation, the Government has released a Position Paper which presents a commitment to progressing the framework in close consultation with the sector as part of the Government's Local Government Priority Reform Program 2024-2026.

Government Position Paper and Feedback Summary - Managing Interests