Details of a new Bill that could deliver major reforms to the Victorian local government sector are now publicly available after being introduced to Victoria’s Parliament.
The Local Government Bill 2019 was introduced on November 13 after four years of work on the Local Government Act Review. It has been designed to modernise existing legislation and improve council democracy, accountability and transparency.
It is framed by five key reform themes, which are:
- Improving service delivery through better financial management and community engagement
- Raising councillor standards through mandatory training and defined standards of conduct for councillor behaviour
- Improving council democracy through increasing councillors’ direct accountability to their communities
- Restoring community confidence in their elected officials through new election process and improved transparency
- Strengthening relationships between the councillors, ministers and communities by removing unnecessary approvals and arbitrary powers.
More information about the proposed reforms can be found on the Local Government Review Page.