Council is required to adopt a policy concerning the payment of expenses and the provision of facilities to the Mayor and Councillors within 12 months of the election.

The policy must comply with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act), the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 and the guidelines issued by the Office of Local Government (OLG) under section 23A of the Act.

We have reviewed our Councillor Expenses and Facilities Policy (the draft Policy), and proposed some amendments to which comply with the above requirements. The draft Policy is based on the OLG’s template policy.

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What's proposed?

The draft Policy maintains all the existing provisions of the current policy whilst including some minor changes to ensure the financial limits for the reimbursement of expenses are increased each financial year in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

It is also proposed to increase the carer’s expenses cap from $6,000 to $9,000 per year to better reflect the cost of these services. Reference to parking permits has also been included.

The proposed changes were reported to Council at its meeting on Tuesday 8 October 2024, where Council resolved to place the draft Councillor Expenses and Facilities Policy on public exhibition to seek feedback from our community. The proposed changes are highlighted as tracked changes in the document.

• View the Council Minutes (Item 8.6, p.7).

Key considerations

Key considerations of the draft Policy include:

• having a practical, clear and transparent framework for the reimbursement of expenses
• ensuring adequate financial thresholds for information technology assets to support the increased ongoing requirement for remote meetings and digital ways of working
• setting suitable limits to enable Councillors and the Mayor to participate in a range of community events and functions, having regard to the size and scale of Northern Beaches Council
• ensuring Councillors have access to the necessary support to meet the requirements of the role of a Councillor, including “to make all reasonable efforts to acquire and maintain the skills necessary to perform the role of a councillor” (section 232 of the Act)
• aligning the policy to budget processes.

Have your say

Submissions have now closed and we are reviewing all feedback received.

All submissions in their entirety are made publicly available in the Community Engagement Report. Personal identifying information, and content which is discriminatory, hateful or which may defame, offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate will be redacted.