Posted on July 29, 2026 by Megan Hawley

Proposed New Councillor Conduct Framework

In 2025, the NSW government proposed amendments to the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act) by way of the Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment (Councillor Conduct) Bill 2025 (Conduct Bill).

The Conduct Bill proposed, amongst other things, escalation of some Code of Conduct matters to the Land & Environment Court. The Office of Local Government’s website indicates that it is expected the changes to the LG Act proposed by the Conduct Bill will commence later this year. The Conduct Bill has not yet been passed by either House of Parliament.

The Conduct Bill is referred to as Stage 1 of the councillor conduct reforms.

Stage 2 has now been released for comment and entails a new policy statement, and draft Councillor Code of Conduct.

New Policy Statement

The Improving Councillor Accountability – Councillor Conduct Reform Policy Statement June 2026 (Policy Statement) notes that the current framework for managing councillor conduct is struggling.

The Policy Statement proposes:

• new definitions of unsatisfactory behaviour and serious misconduct;
• new pathways for complaints handling with:
  • complaints about unsatisfactory behaviour to be referred to a new ‘Privileges Committee’, and
  • complaints about serious misconduct to be referred to the Office of Local Government (OLG)

New definitions

The proposed new definition of unsatisfactory behaviour for a councillor is:

• Behaviour that is outside the norms and expectations of a sitting councillor, and/or
• Behaviour that is beyond the implied right of free political communication and represents
harassment and bullying.

Examples are use of racial, gendered or other demeaning commentary, or using media to spread disinformation, as well as low level harrassing or abusive activities.

Serious misconduct is to be defined as:

• A councillor engaging in council decision-making where they have a significant conflict of
interest or have failed to declare or have provided an incomplete return of interests
• A councillor that has engaged in repeated unsatisfactory behaviour of a serious nature
as determined by a panel of their peers (the Privileges Committee)
• A pattern of behaviour, carried out on more than one occasion, or that involves more than one
participant, that is indicative of systemic issues and an abuse of the broader legislative
obligations any person may face  
• A councillor potentially breaching workplace health and safety legislation by engaging in
threatening or menacing behaviour, or using intimidation to create physical or mental harm to
another person 
• Serious corrupt conduct within the meaning of the Independent Commission Against
Corruption Act 1988.
• A councillor having been found guilty of an offence under other legislation.

Complaints pathway

The Policy Statement proposes that all complaints will be lodged directly with the OLG using a secure webform. OLG will then dismiss complaints outside the scope of the LG Act, refer matters involving unsatisfactory behaviour to the Privileges Committee and investigate allegations of serious misconduct or legislative breaches.

The Privileges Committee

The Privileges Committee is proposed to be appointed by the Minister for Local Government and be comprised of 20 experienced mayors and councillors. For each complaint a panel will be formed comprising 5 committee members, plus a legal adviser and OLG Secretariat.

The Panel is to review the complaint and the response from the councillor the subject of the complaint, and after considering the evidence, may issue a formal warning, reprimand or censure, or take no further action, or refer matter to OLG if the matter is serious and goes beyond unsatisfactory behaviour.

Other proposed amendments

There are some proposed changes to investigative powers, and consideration is being given to allowing resolution of conduct complaints through a voluntary undertaking. There are also proposed new penalties for obstructing investigations or failing to comply with an investigato’rs directions.

LEC Powers

As proposed in the Conduct Bill, the Land & Environment Court would have powers to impose a range of sanctions such as disqualification, suspension, reversal of unjust benefit, compensation or restitution or civil penalty.

Objectives

The new framework is intended to streamline the current process, reduce weaponisation of complaints, and reduce costs for Councils (who currently have to engage external investigators).

There are clearly some benefits in removing decisions regarding complaints from councillors who may be direct political opponents of the person the subject of the complaint. The Panel formed from the Privileges Committee will presumably be formed from members without a direct conflict. However, it may be difficult to completely removed politics from conduct complaints.

Whilst there could be some costs savings for councils, it is proposed that councils contribute the costs of the OLG in managing conduct matters.

Finally, whilst some pressure might be relieved for councils dealing with a large volume of complaints, there could clearly be a challenge for OLG in dealing with complaints promptly given all complaints are funnelled through the OLG.

The new framework is accompanied by a revised Councillor Code of Conduct, which we will review separately.

The Policy Statement can be found here. Submissions are open until 7 August 2026.