The Councillor Briefing Policy aims to provide a clear process for the operation of councillor briefings.
Councillor briefings are open to all councillors on a voluntary basis.
Generally, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), directors and any other members of Council staff who may be required due to their involvement in a matter which is listed on the agenda will attend.
Persons external to the council may be invited to attend from time to time. Their attendance will be noted on the agenda for the relevant councillor briefing.
As a type of meeting, councillor briefings are addressed in the Local Government Act 2020 (the Act), the Local Government (Governance and Integrity) Regulations 2020 (the Regs), and the Governance Rules.
Section 131(1) of the Act recognises meetings that are conducted “under the auspices of Council”, of which a councillor briefing can be so defined. Similarly rule 1.1 of chapter 6 of the Governance Rules provides for meetings of councillors that are “scheduled or planned for the purpose of discussing the business of Council or briefing councillors”.
Importantly, the Standards of Conduct, legislated by the Act and the Regs, require councillors to diligently use Council processes to become informed about matters which are subject to Council decisions. In this respect councillor briefings are a process for that very purpose.
Councillor briefings are one method to assist in decision making, and this review enables councillors to consider how briefings can best ensure a process of continual improvement.
We are now asking the community for their feedback on this policy.