Governance Rules Review

Good governance and transparent decision-making are a priority of Mansfield Shire Council.

We have undertaken a review of our governance rules and some changes have been included in the new draft Governance Rules, which bring our governance and decision-making processes in line with the Local Government Act 2020.

About our Governance Rules

All Councils are required to have governance rules in place which determine the rules for Council meetings, as well as provide guidance on other governance matters.

The Governance Rules cover topics such as the conduct of meetings, how the Mayoral appointment is made, the process for public submissions, how conflict of interest are to be managed and how other committees of Council operate.

Council’s current Governance Rules have been in place for all Council meetings since 2020, including online meetings. It became necessary to conduct online meetings during the pandemic and were only made possible through a temporary emergency change to State Government legislation.

Why we need to review our Governance Rules

The emergency provision allowing for online meetings will expire on 1 September 2022. All councils must amend their governance rules to allow for electronic participation in meetings on a permanent basis.

Council is, in accordance with these legislative changes, reviewing its Governance Rules to enable it to hold electronic meetings and is inviting community feedback.

The changes also include:

• Chapter 2 Rule 72 - Mode of Attendance to include wholly in person, wholly electronic or hybrid. It also includes conditions that must be met for remote attendance
  • Substitution of 'in attendance' for 'present' throughout. 'In attendance' allows for meeting participation by electronic or in person means;
• Rule 6 - Election of the Mayor - clarification of use of the lot system to obtain an absolute majority in line with Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2020 (the Act);
• Deletion of the Chapter 6 Rule 1 requirement of reporting of Informal Meetings of Councillors (Assembly of Councillors) at the next Council meeting. This is no longer required under the Act, so Council has the discretion to delete this reporting requirement;
• Chapter 2 Rule 74 Criticism of members of Council Staff has been included
• Method of voting in all sections to include any visual or audible means as the CEO determines, as well as a show of hands;
• Clarification of conflict of interest notification needing to include whether general or material throughout;
• Use of Gender neutral language throughout

Why we need to hear from you

We believe online meetings are working well and making it easier for people to attend remotely or to view the recorded meeting later.

The recommended change allows us to continue to hold meetings online to enable remote access. However, before we adopt this change, we want to ensure that there aren’t any limitations or prohibitory factors that prevent members of the community from accessing Council meetings.

We welcome any feedback or comments from the community.