How councils work

The Local Government Act gives councils their core purpose:

• to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the community
• to represent the community's interests
• to ensure peace, order and good government.

To help manage these responsibilities, councils can also create their own specific laws, called by-laws. These allow a council to respond to local needs – like rules for parking or managing public spaces – and add to the powers given to it under other legislation.

For an overview of council services and the laws that guide them, go to Local Government Association of Tasmania.

A council is made up of two parts that work together: the elected council (like a board of directors that sets the overall direction), and the council administration (the team of professional staff who carry out that direction).

The elected council

The elected council is made up of community members chosen by the public in council elections. This group is the council's strategic decision-making body, responsible for setting policies, approving the budget, and appointing the general manager.

• Councillors: A councillor’s main role is to represent the community. While individual councillors can help with communication and participate in council activities, they have no legal power on their own. The council's power is only exercised when councillors act together by voting in a formal meeting to set plans, determine policies or approve budgets.
• Mayor and deputy mayor: The mayor and deputy mayor are councillors who are directly elected to their leadership positions. In addition to their duties as a councillor, a mayor chairs council meetings, acts as the council's official spokesperson, and leads the appointment and performance review of the general manager.
• Planning authority: When making decisions on planning and development applications, the council acts as a planning authority. This is a specific legal role where councillors must make decisions based strictly on planning laws, not on popular opinion. You can learn more about this on the Tasmanian Government's planning website.

The council administration

The council administration is the operational arm of the council, led by the general manager.

• The general manager: The general manager is the only staff member appointed directly by the elected council. The general manager is responsible for managing daily operations, implementing the council's decisions, and providing professional advice. For councils with a CEO, the CEO is the general manager.
• Council staff: Council staff are the employees who carry out the day-to-day work of the council, delivering the full range of local services and providing technical expertise.

Councils make decisions on many important issues such as community services, infrastructure and planning.

Councils make decisions at formal council meetings and must follow a uniform set of rules when conducting meetings. Council committees can make decisions delegated by the council. Similarly, the council’s general manager makes delegated operational decisions.

Meeting types

There are three types of council meetings:

1. Ordinary meetings are regular meetings of the council held at least once a month.
2. Special meetings are convened for a particular purpose by the mayor, a majority of councillors or by resolution at a council meeting.
3. Council committee meetings are held as needed to oversee specific functions, such as the council’s finance, strategic planning or service areas.

The mayor is the chairperson of ordinary and special council meetings. In the mayor’s absence, the deputy mayor is the chairperson. If both are absent, the councillors that are present elect one of their number to be the chairperson of the meeting.

Open and closed council meetings

Council decision-making must be as open and transparent as possible.

Council meetings are open to the public unless the topic for discussion is about a matter that may need to be kept confidential. Examples of confidential matters include staff, commercial, security or legal matters. Councils are allowed to discuss these matters in a meeting, or part of a meeting, that is closed to the public.

During a closed meeting, the council decides whether discussions, reports or documents and outcomes relating to the closed meeting need to be kept confidential or can be made public.

Members of the public can attend open council meetings.

Meeting agendas and minutes

The general manager prepares meeting agendas and papers for councillors. Adequate time must be provided for councillors to read council papers before the meeting.

After a council meeting, the general manager prepares meeting minutes which form the official record of the decisions made by the council.

Meeting agendas, papers and minutes are publicly available, and are usually published on council websites, except on matters that need to remain confidential.

Voting and council decisions

Each councillor, including the mayor and deputy mayor, has one vote on decisions made at a council meeting or a committee meeting.

Council decisions are decided by simple majority (more than half of those present), unless an absolute majority is required by law. Tied votes are treated as a negative vote.

The mayor is the spokesperson for the council and must represent accurately the decisions of the council.

A council operates in a continuous cycle of planning, deciding, acting and reviewing. This process ensures the community's vision guides the council's work and the results are reported back to the public.

Step 1: Planning and vision

This is where the elected council translates the community's long-term vision into a formal plan. It involves developing key documents like the strategic plan, long-term financial plans, and asset management plans to guide the council's direction. This stage is heavily informed by public consultation, ensuring your voice helps shape the future.

Step 2: Making the decision

All council decisions are made in formal council meetings through a process of debate and voting. To ensure fairness and transparency, councillors must follow strict rules, including declaring any actual or perceived conflict of interest, including pecuniary interests.

Step 3: Taking action

Once a decision is made, it is time to put it into practice.

• The elected council gives legal effect to the decision by using its powers, such as formally setting the annual rates and charges that fund services or creating a new by-law.
• The general manager and council staff then execute the decision. This includes collecting rates, enforcing by-laws, managing contracts and delivering the full range of council services to you.

To learn how council rates are calculated and what they pay for, go to information about council rates.

Step 4: Reporting and review (the feedback loop)

This final stage ensures the council is accountable for its actions and performance.

• The council must produce a public annual report measuring its performance against the goals set in its annual plan.
• This report is presented at an annual general meeting (AGM), where you can attend and ask questions.
• The council's finances and performance are also checked by its own internal audit panel and the Tasmanian Auditor-General to ensure public money is being managed responsibly.

To see how councils are performing against key measures, go to council performance and dashboard.

The relationship between a council and its community is a two-way street. The law provides you with many opportunities to participate in local decision-making and holds your council accountable.

How you can have your say

• Voting: The most direct way to influence your council is by voting in the four-yearly council elections to choose your representatives.
• Attending meetings: Most council meetings are open to the public, so you can see decision-making firsthand. Every council must also hold a public annual general meeting each year.
• Making submissions: You have the right to make formal written submissions on specific proposals, such as the creation of a new by-law or reviewing or making a new strategic plan.
• Using petitions and polls: You can raise issues directly with your council by starting or signing a petition or join with other residents to request an elector poll on a major issue.

Ensuring accountability and integrity

To ensure councils act in the best interests of their communities, several layers of oversight are in place.

• Councillor conduct: Every councillor must follow the Local Government Code of Conduct that sets standards of behaviour. If you believe a councillor has breached the code, you can find the steps to make a complaint by going to making a code of conduct complaint. For a general overview of how different types of complaints are handled, go to help with complaints and issues.
• Financial oversight: Councils are subject to regular internal audits and audits by the Tasmanian Auditor-General to ensure they are managing public money responsibly.
• Tasmanian Government intervention: In cases of serious or systemic failure, the Minister for Local Government has significant powers. These can range from issuing Performance Improvement Directions that legally require a council to improve, to establishing a formal board of inquiry that can lead to the dismissal of a council.

Council elections are held every four years. All councillors serve a four-year term until the next statewide local government elections.

Why are council elections important?

Local councils make decisions about services and infrastructure that affect everyday life like roads, rubbish collection, planning and parks. Councillors are elected to represent the interests of the community. Voting ensures these important local decisions are made by people with community support.

Voting for councillors, mayor, and deputy mayor

When you receive your postal ballot papers for a council election, you will be voting in separate contests at the same time.

One part of your ballot is for electing the councillors for your municipal area. Separate parts of your ballot are for the direct election of the mayor and the deputy mayor.

To be elected as a mayor or deputy mayor, a candidate must be successful in both contests. This means they must win the popular vote for the leadership position and also win a seat as a councillor.

The voting process

The Tasmanian Electoral Commission is responsible for the entire election process, including managing voter enrolment, candidate nominations and the counting of votes.

To vote, you must be correctly enrolled in your local council area. You are eligible if you are:

• on the state electoral roll
• a non-resident property owner, occupier or business operator enrolled via the general manager’s roll.

Voting is compulsory for all electors on the state roll.

Election results

The results of past council elections are at the Tasmanian Electoral Commission website.

Standing for election is a great way to make a difference in your community. Councillors play a key role in shaping public infrastructure, local services, long-term planning and budgets.

The Tasmanian Electoral Commission is responsible for conducting council elections. It provides all official information, forms and resources for candidates. To ensure you have the most accurate and up-to-date information, the Tasmanian Electoral Commission website is the source if you are considering running for council.

On the Tasmanian Electoral Commission website, you will find information on:

• Eligibility criteria: The rules about who can and cannot nominate for council.
• The nomination process: How to nominate, including key dates and the required forms.
• Candidate statements: The rules and process for submitting a personal statement and photograph for the voter information brochure.
• Electoral advertising: The legal requirements for declaring all campaign advertising costs after an election.
• The candidate handbook: A guide containing information on all procedures, timelines and rules for candidates.

Council elections reform

The Tasmanian Government is reviewing how local government elections work in Tasmania to ensure they are contemporary, fair, and effective. This reform project is looking at potential changes to areas like voting systems, campaigning rules and candidate eligibility.

For the latest updates on this work go to improving the local government system.

What is a by-law?

While councils have many responsibilities under state legislation, a by-law is a tool that allows them to tailor rules to their unique local circumstances.

For example, a council might create a by-law to manage activities in public spaces, such as setting rules for footpath dining or street trading, to balance the needs of businesses and pedestrians.

Every by-law must relate to a council's official functions and powers. It only has legal force within that council's boundaries and automatically expires 10 years after it is made, unless a shorter period is specified.

How by-laws are made

The power for councils to make by-laws is granted by the Tasmanian Parliament, and the process is set out in Part 11 of the Local Government Act. As part of this process, the council must release a draft of the proposed by-law and a formal statement explaining its impact for public consultation (called a regulatory impact statement), allowing community members to provide feedback before it is formally adopted.

Finding current by-laws

By-laws are regularly updated and they expire after 10 years. The most reliable and up-to-date source for a council's current by-laws is the council itself.

Councils are required to have copies of their current by-laws on their website. Find your local council's website in the Tasmanian council directory.

The system for setting and adjusting these allowances is defined in state legislation to ensure a consistent and fair approach across all 29 councils.

How allowances are set

To ensure fairness while balancing council finances, Tasmania’s 29 councils are grouped into seven categories based on factors like their number of voters and revenue base. The allowance rates are set for each of these categories.

Mayors and deputy mayors are entitled to receive additional allowances to reflect the higher level of duties they undertake in their official roles.

The annual adjustment process

Councillor allowances are adjusted for inflation once a year. This happens on 1 November and is calculated using Tasmania's Wage Price Index.

Current allowance rates

The dollar amounts for the allowances payable to councillors, deputy mayors and mayors for each council are in the councillor allowance information sheet.

Legal basis

The legal basis for paying councillor allowances is established in the Local Government Act and detailed in the Local Government (General) Regulations.

The starting point is Section 340A of the Act, which entitles councillors to receive an allowance. This section also specifies that mayors and deputy mayors are entitled to an additional allowance on top of their base councillor payment to reflect their extra duties.

The specific rules and amounts are then set out in the Regulations:

• Regulation 49(2) specifies the method for calculating annual increases to allowances.
• Regulation 49(3) includes a rule for when a deputy mayor acts in the mayor's position for four consecutive weeks or more, allowing them to receive the higher mayoral allowance for that period.
• The table of allowances for each of the seven council categories is in Schedule 4 of the Regulations.

Other information

Councillors can choose not to receive part or all of their allowance by notifying their general manager in writing.

Each council is required to publish the total amount of allowances and expenses paid to councillors in its annual report.