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Title | Local Authority Policy |
Policy Number | P10 |
Type | Council Policy |
Document Owner | Chief Executive Officer |
Approval Date | 29 Sept 2023 |
MaGiQ Document ID | 690832 |
Review Date | 29 Sept 2026 |
Council Resolution Number | OC125/2023 |
This Policy responds to the NT Local Government Act, 2019 and associated Guideline 1.
Local Authorities are established under the NT Local Government Act, 2019 to assist Central Desert Regional Council (CDRC) to achieve effective integration and involvement of local communities in the system of local government.
Local Authorities must comply with any guidelines made under the NT Local Government Act, 2019; and, they are subject to control and direction by the Council of CDRC.
This policy applies to all Local Authorities in the CDRC region.
This Policy includes areas, delegations, functions, membership and roles and responsibilities of Local Authorities, Council and CDRC.
Council: the elected members as a whole of CDRC.
CDRC: Central Desert Regional Council as a whole.
CEO: Chief Executive Officer of CDRC.
Local Authority: as established under the NT Local Government Act, 2019.
Elected member: a member elected to the Council of CDRC.
Appointed member: a member nominated from the community and appointed by the Council to represent the community of the Local Authority area.
Chair: elected by the Local Authority and responsible for running the meeting and ensuring that members are following the conventions of the meeting.
Local Government Act 2019
NT Local Government Act Guideline 1 – Local Authorities
Local Authorities will assist CDRC to achieve effective integration and involvement of local communities in the system of local government as it relates to CDRC’s region.
CDRC’s nine Local Authority areas are Anmatjere, Atitjere, Engawala, Lajamanu, Laramba, Nyirripi, Willowra, Yuelamu and Yuendumu.
The Council has delegated to Local Authorities the power of decision making and approval of the allocation and expenditure of funds from the Northern Territory Government’s ‘Local Authority Project Funding’ program.
When a decision is being made, or a matter is being considered, each member must consider whether they have a conflict of interest and, if so, they must leave the meeting while the matter is considered.
Members who are staff must ensure a conflict is declared if the discussion includes issues and/or projects that directly impact their area of work.
Local Authorities:
Number of members
In order to encourage all community members wishing to be involved, the number of members on each Local Authority can change at any time. There must be a minimum of 6 members and a maximum of 14 members, which includes elected members for the relevant ward.
Members
Under the Local Government Act, 2019 s77 (1), A Local Authority consists of:
An appointed member should be a member of the community. Community residents over 18 years who live in the Ward, for the majority of the time, can nominate or be nominated for Local Authority member except that two (2) members of a Local Authority maybe under the age of 18 years.
Employees of CDRC are permitted to be members, however, must declare a conflict of interest.
Council will have the final say on Local Authority membership.
Ideal membership makeup
A local authority should:
• Include members who are committed to attending and participating in meetings
• Be representative of key groups within the area including
Nominations
Nominations can be received for a Local Authority at any time.
To become a Local Authority member the candidate needs to fill in a Local Authority nomination form. The completed nomination form can be handed directly to Council Services Office, emailed to the
When membership drops, or is likely to drop, below the minimum number of appointed members, or where nominations are received above the maximum level, Council will call for additional nominations and will allow 21 days for nominations to be received.
The appointment of nominees is subject to the approval of Council.
Term
The term of a Local Authority member is ongoing unless membership is revoked.
Revocation of membership
Membership is revoked when a member:
Council may revoke an appointed member if the member:
Proxy membership
Chair and Deputy Chair
The term of the Chair and Deputy Chair shall be ongoing unless the Local Authority membership determines otherwise by resolution.
The election of the Chair and Deputy Chair will be conducted in the following way:
Number of meetings
Council will plan to hold four meetings each financial year to comply with the minimum of four meetings in each financial year as stipulated in Guideline 1: Local Authorities.
Postponing or cancelling a meeting
With nine Local Authorities and a scheduled calendar of events to cover four scheduled Local Authorities a year and six ordinary Council meetings there is not a lot of available time to re‐schedule a meeting.
In the event that a quorum cannot be achieved, the chair of a local authority may reconvene a meeting by providing notice to the CEO or delegate at least three days prior to the scheduled meeting date. The meeting date must not coincide with other Council scheduled meetings, as the secretariat would not be available. A Chair may decide to re‐schedule and organize its own secretariat with minutes provided back to the Head Office and Council.
Provisional meeting
At the time and place set for a local authority meeting when a quorum has not been established, number of members (appointed or elected) present is one third or more of the number of appointed members for the local authority, a provisional meeting may be held under the provisions of Guideline 1.
A provisional meeting does not have the powers or functions that the council may have delegated to the local authority. During provisional meetings, all agenda items may be discussed. Minutes must be taken and the minutes clearly state that it was a provisional decision. Members at a provisional meeting can confirm the minutes of a previous provisional meeting. However, members at a provisional meeting cannot confirm the minutes of a previous local authority meeting.
Local Authority:
Council:
Attending a meeting:
Details relating attending a meeting via audio or audio-visual means at a local authority meeting or special local authority mirror the requirements of a council meeting.
The following officers should attend Local Authority meetings whenever possible.
Members who attend Local Authority meetings will receive the following:
All members must fill in and sign the Extra Meeting Allowances form prior to receiving payment.
Anyone who contacts the Council wishing to make a deputation or presentation to a Local Authority must seek permission from the Local Authority Chair by returning a Deputation Request Form to the CEO. The Form should be received at least two weeks prior to the meeting date and the Chair has the right to decline a deputation.
Date | Details |
7 February 2014 | Adopted by Council – replaces Local Board Policy |
5 February 2016 | Reviewed and updated to new template |
25 May 2017 | Anmatjere vacancies changed from 10 to 9 (OC083/2017) |
15 November 2017 | Updated to reflect changes to Local Authority procedure and agenda (OC145/2017) |
31 May 2019 | Updated to reflect changes and requirements of Guideline 8 under the NT Local Government Act 2008 ( OC046/2019) |
29 July 2020 | Updated to comply with changes to the Provisional meeting requirements in Guideline 8: Regional Councils and Local Authorities (OC087/2020) |
25 November 2021 | Updated to reflect changes and requirements of Guideline 1 under the NT Local Government Act, 2019 (OC155/2021) |
31 March 2022 | Updated to reflect the requirements of Local Authority desktop review Report from Northern Territory Government (OC053/2022) |
29 September 2023 | Updated to reflect changes and requirements of Guideline 1 under the NT Local Government Act 2019 (OC125/2023) |