Source: copy obtained from Blue Mountains City Council Library
Blue Mountains City Council is committed to high ethical standards and it is the responsibility of all Councillors, members of staff and delegates representing Council to continually maintain those standards.
Local Government is often faced with difficult decisions and the Code of conduct has been developed to assist providing a clear set of principles and guidelines on standards of ethical behaviour expected and fairness to all parties.
This Code is designed to assist Councillors, members of staff and delegates:
By upholding the standards and principles of this Code, we will ensure the highest level of governance and community leadership is provided to our City. I therefore commend the Code to you.
Michael Willis General Manager
The following definitions apply in the Code of Conduct:
The term "you" used in this code refers to Councils officials
Blue Mountains City Council recognises the importance of ethical behaviour and fairness to all parties.
The Local Government Act, 1993, requires every council to adopt a Code of Conduct for observance by ALL Councillors, members of staff and delegates representing the Council.
This Code has been prepared taking into account the provisions of the Local Government Act and will assist you to:
It is the personal responsibility of Council officials to comply with the standards in the Code and to regularly review their personal circumstances with this in mind. Council contractors and volunteers will also be required to observe the relevant provisions of Council's Code of Conduct.
Failure by a councillor to comply with an applicable requirement of Council's Code of Conduct constitutes misbehaviour. Failure by a member of staff to comply with Council's Code of Conduct may give rise to disciplinary action.
The code of conduct applies equally to formal and informal dealings between councillors, staff and others. The key principles upon which the code is based are outlined below:
Council officials must not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to any individual or organisation that might reasonably be thought to influence them in the performance of their duties.
Council officials have a duty to promote and support these principles by leadership and example and to maintain and strengthen the public's trust and confidence in the integrity of the council. This means promoting public duty to others in the council and outside, by their own ethical behaviour
Council officials have a duty to make decisions solely in the public interest. Officials must not act in order to gain financial or other benefits for themselves, their family or friends. This means making decisions because they benefit the public, not because they benefit the decision maker.
Council officials must make decisions solely on merit and in accordance with their statutory obligations when carrying out public business. This includes the making of appointments, awarding of contracts or recommending individuals for rewards or benefits. This means fairness to all; impartial assessment; merit selection in recruitment and in purchase and sale of council's resources; considering only relevant matters
Council officials are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must consider issues on their merits, taking into account the views of others. This means recording reasons for decisions; submitting to scrutiny; keeping proper records; establishing audit trails
Council officials have a duty to be as open as possible about their decisions and actions, giving reasons for decisions and restricting information only when the wider public interest clearly demands. This means recording, giving and revealing reasons for decisions; revealing other avenues available to the client or business; when authorised, offering all information; communicating clearly
Council officials have a duty to act honestly. Officials must declare any private interests relating to their public duties and take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in such a way that protects the public interest. This means obeying the law; following the letter and spirit of policies and procedures; observing codes of conduct; fully disclosing actual or potential conflict of interests and exercising any conferred power strictly for the purpose for which the power was conferred.
Council officials must treat others with respect at all times. This means not using derogatory terms towards others, observing the rights of other people, treating people with courtesy and recognising the different roles others play in local government decision making.
5.1 You must avoid behaviour that could be deemed to be an act of disorder or misbehaviour. Specifically you must avoid conduct that:
5.2 You must act honestly and exercise a reasonable degree of care and diligence in carrying out your functions under the Local Government Act 1993 or any other Act. (section 439 of the Local Government Act 1993)
5.3 You must respect all community members and other council officials and the role they play, treating them with courtesy at all times.
5.4 You have an obligation to consider issues consistently, promptly and fairly. This involves dealing with matters in accordance with established procedures, in a non-discriminatory manner.
5.5 You must take all relevant facts known to you, or should be reasonably aware of, into consideration and have regard to the particular merits of each case. You must not take irrelevant matters or circumstances into consideration when making decisions.
5.6 You must not harass, discriminate, or support others who harass and discriminate against colleagues or members of the public on the grounds of sex, pregnancy, age, race (including their colour, nationality, descent, ethnic or religious background), political affiliation, marital status, disability, homosexuality or transgender.
5.7 It is your duty to ensure that development decisions are properly taken and that parties involved in the development process are dealt with fairly. You must not only avoid impropriety, but must at all times avoid any occasion for suspicion and any appearance of improper conduct.
5.8 In determining development applications, it is essential that you are highly conscious of the potential for even the slightest impropriety to lead to suspicion of misconduct. This means you must ensure that no action, statement or communication between yourself and applicants or objectors conveys any suggestion of willingness to provide preferential treatment or concessions.
5.9 If you are unsure about the ethical issues around an action or decision you are about to take, you should consider these five points:
5.10 You have the right to question any instruction or direction given to you, which you think, may be unethical or unlawful. If you are uncertain about an action or decision, you may need to seek advice from other people. For Council staff this includes your supervisor or trusted senior officer, Council's Executive Officer or Internal Auditor, the Department of Local Government, the Ombudsman's Office and the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Councillors may seek guidance from your colleagues, the General Manager, Executive Officer, the Department of Local Government, the Ombudsman's Office and the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
6.1 A conflict of interests exists when you could be influenced, or a reasonable person would perceive that you could be influenced by a personal interest when carrying out your public duty.
6.2 You must appropriately resolve any conflict or incompatibility between your private or personal interests and the impartial performance of your public or professional duties.
6.3 Any conflict between your interests and those of council must be resolved to the satisfaction of Blue Mountains City Council. When considering whether or not you have a conflict of interests, it is always important to think about how others would view your situation.
6.4 It is essential that you properly address conflict of interests issues that may arise. You must:
6.5 Perceptions of a conflict of interests are as important as actual conflict of interests. The onus is on you to identify a conflict of interests, whether perceived or real, and take the appropriate action to resolve the conflict in favour of your public duty.
6.6 Where necessary, you must disclose an interest promptly, fully and in writing. If a disclosure is made at a council or committee meeting, both the disclosure and nature of an interest must be recorded in the minutes.
6.7 If you are in doubt whether a conflict of interests exists, you should seek legal or other appropriate advice.
6.8 A conflict of interests can be of two types:
6.9 Pecuniary interest is regulated by Chapter 14 Part 2 of the Act. The Act requires that:
Designated persons are defined at section 441 of the Act
6.10 Where you are a member of staff of council, other than a designated person (as defined by section 441), you must disclose to your supervisor or the general manager (in writing), the nature of any pecuniary interest you have in a matter you are dealing with as soon as practicable.
6.11 If you have a non-pecuniary conflict of interests, you must disclose the nature of the conflict. If this is in a meeting, do so as soon as practicable.
6.12 If you have declared a non-pecuniary conflict of interests you have a broad range of options for managing the conflict. The option you choose will depend on an assessment of the circumstances of the matter, the nature of your interest and the significance of the issue being dealt with. You must deal with a non-pecuniary conflict of interests in at least one of these ways:
6.13 A member of staff of council who is considering outside employment or contract work that relates to the business of the council or that might conflict with their council duties, must notify and seek the approval of the general manager in writing. (section 353)
6.14 Before you engage in outside employment or business you must ensure that it will not:
6.15 Councillors should note that matters before council involving campaign donors may give rise to a non-pecuniary conflict of interests.
6.16 You will inevitably deal personally with your council (for example, as a ratepayer, recipient of a council service or applicant for a consent granted by council). You must not expect or request preferential treatment for yourself or your family because of your position. You must avoid any action that could lead members of the public to believe that you are seeking preferential treatment.
Council officials, at some stage may be offered a gift or benefit in the course of their work. The gift or benefit could be offered innocently in good faith or could be an attempt to influence. Feelings of obligation can arise if council officials accept a gift or benefit. Once such a gift is accepted, a council official can be compromised. Individuals attempting to corrupt council officials often start with small inducements that appear to have no improper motive behind them.
Corruptly receiving a gift or benefit is an offence under both the common law and NSW legislation. The offence extends to the offering or seeking of a gift or benefit.
For the purposes of this section, a reference to a gift or benefit does not include a political donation or contributions to an election fund that is subject to the provisions of the relevant election funding legislation.
7.1 You must not:
7.2 You must not seek or accept any payment, gift or benefit intended or likely to influence, or that could be reasonably perceived by an impartial observer as intended or likely to influence you to:
7.3 You may accept gifts or benefits of a nominal or token value and that do not create a sense of obligation on your part.
7.4 Generally speaking, token gifts and moderate acts of hospitality could include:
7.5 You must never accept an offer of money, regardless of the amount.
7.6 In general, you must not accept gifts and benefits that have more than a nominal or token value. These include tickets to major sporting events, corporate hospitality at a corporate facility at a sporting venue, discounted products for personal use, the frequent use of facilities such as gyms, use of holiday homes, free or discounted travel and free training excursions.
What happens if you are offered a non-token gift/benefit?
The options available to you are:
7.7 What records have to be made?
To ensure transparency when a non-token gift is offered (whether it is accepted or not) you must complete the "Gift/Benefit Acceptance/Refusal" form. Once completed, this form should be sent to the Internal Auditor who will then record it and place it onto the Council's Gifts/Benefits Register.
7.8 You must also take all reasonable steps to ensure that your immediate family members do not receive gifts or benefits that could appear to an impartial observer to be an attempt to influence or secure a favour. Immediate family members ordinarily include parents, spouses, children and siblings.
7.9 Councillors and designated persons must by law disclose a description of any gift or gifts totalling a value exceeding $500 made by the same person during a period of 12 months or less. (this is required to be included in the disclosure of interests returns - section 449 of the Local Government Act 1993)
7.10 Staff with any queries regarding gifts and benefits should contact their supervisor/branch manager or Council's Executive Officer or Internal Auditor. Councillors should contact the General Manager or Executive Officer.
Relevant Council Protocol:
7.11 You must not take advantage of your position to improperly influence other council officials in the performance of their public or professional duties to secure a private benefit for yourself or for somebody else.
7.12 You must not take advantage (or seek to take advantage) of your status or position with, or functions performed for, council in order to obtain unauthorised or unfair benefit for yourself or for any other person or body.
8.1 Each council is a statutory corporation. The councillors are the governing body of the corporation. Councillors have the responsibility of directing and controlling the affairs of the council in accordance with the Local Government Act 1993.
8.2 Councillors must:
8.3 The role of the Mayor is defined by section 226 of the Act. The role is the sae whether the Mayor is popularly elected or elected by the Councillors
8.4 The General Manager is responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the council's organisation and for ensuring the implementation of, without delay, the decisions of the council.
8.5 Members of staff of Council have an obligation to:
8.6 You must act in accordance with council's Code of Meeting Practice and the Local Government (Meetings) Regulation 1999 during council and committee meetings.
8.7 You must respect the chair, other council officials and any members of the public present during council and committee meetings or other formal proceedings of the council.
8.8 The following interactions are inappropriate:
9.1 A Council must provide access to the documents available under section 12 of the Local Government Act 1993 to all members of the public, and to Councillors. A Council must also provide Councillors with information sufficient to enable them to carry out their civic functions
9.2 Any information that is given to a particular Councillor in the performing of their civic duties must also be available to any other Councillor who requests it
9.3 Councillors who have a personal (as distinct from Civic) interest in a document of Council have the same rights of access as any member of the public.
9.4 Members of staff of Council have an obligation to provide full and timely information to Councillors about matters that they are dealing with in accordance with Council procedures
9.5 Councillors have an obligation to properly examine and understand all the information provided to them relating to matters that they are dealing with to enable them to make a decision on the matter in accordance with Councils charter
9.6 The General Manager and public officer must act reasonably in deciding whether a document sought by a Councillor should be made available under section 12 of the Local Government Act 1993 or because it is relevant to the performance of the Councillors civic duty. The General Manager or public officer must state the reasons for the decision if access is refused.
9.7 You must
9.8 You must carry out your duties in a manner that allows councillors, members of staff, delegates and the public to remain informed about local government activity and practices.
9.9 You must not use confidential information gained through your official position for the purpose of securing a private benefit for yourself or for any other person.
9.10 You must not seek or obtain, either directly or indirectly, any financial benefit or other improper advantage for yourself, or any other person or body, from any information to which you had access in the exercise of your official functions or duties by virtue of your office or position.
9.11 You must not use confidential information with the intention to improperly cause harm or detriment to your council or any other person or body.
9.12 You must take care to maintain the integrity and security of confidential documents or information in your possession, or for which you are responsible.
9.13 When dealing with personal information you must comply with:
Personal information is information or an opinion about a person whose identity is apparent, or can be determined from the information or opinion.
9.14 You must use council resources ethically, effectively, efficiently and carefully in the course of your public or professional duties, and must not use them for private purposes (except when supplied as part of a contract of employment) unless this use is lawfully authorised and proper payment is made where appropriate.
9.15 Union delegates and consultative committee members may have reasonable access to Council resources for the purposes of carrying out their industrial responsibilities, including but not limited to:
9.16 You must be scrupulous in your use of council property, including intellectual property, official services and facilities and should not permit their misuse by any other person or body.
9.17 You must avoid any action or situation which could create the impression that council property, official services or public facilities are being improperly used for your own or any other person or body's private benefit or gain.
9.18 The interests of a Councillor in their re-election is considered to be a personal interest and as such the reimbursement of travel expenses on election matters is not appropriate. Council letterhead, Council crests and other information that could give the impression it is official council material must not be used for these purposes
9.19 You must not convert any property of the council to your own use unless properly authorised.
9.20 You must not use council's computer resources to search for, access, download or communicate any material of an offensive, obscene, pornographic, threatening, abusive or defamatory nature.
9.21 As elected members of the council, councillors are entitled to have access to the council chamber, conference room, mayor's office (subject to the mayor's approval), councillor's rooms, and public areas of council's buildings during normal business hours and for meetings. Should councillors need access to these facilities at other times, authority is required from the General Manager in order that necessary arrangements can be made.
9.22 Councillors must not enter staff-only areas of council buildings without the approval of the General Manager (or delegate) or as provided in the procedures governing the interaction of councillors and council staff.
9.23 Councillors must ensure that when they are within a staff area they are cognisant of potential conflict or pecuniary interest matters and /or a perception that they may bring influence to bear on council staff decisions and should conduct themselves accordingly.
Council officials are individually accountable for their acts and omissions in relation to their council duties. It is important that council officials clearly understand all of the requirements of their code of conduct as they may affect their work or civic responsibilities.
For a code of conduct to be effective and meaningful it must be supported with appropriate reporting of breaches and appropriate sanctions for breaches. Council officials need to have confidence that the code will be complied with and breaches will be dealt with appropriately. Breaches of a code of conduct by council officials may result in disciplinary action, legal action or in other sanctions being imposed, depending on the nature of the breach.
10.1 You have an obligation to act honestly. You should report any instances of suspected corrupt conduct, maladministration and serious and substantial waste of public resources in accordance with council's internal reporting policy.
10.2 The Protected Disclosures Act 1994 provides certain protections against reprisals for council officials who report such matters. It is an offence to take detrimental action against people who make such reports.
10.3 Staff have an obligation to report suspected breaches of the code of conduct to the General Manager, Internal Auditor or Executive Officer, (preferably in writing).
10.4 Where you believe that the General Manager has failed to comply with this Code, you should report the matter to the Mayor, preferably in writing, who will report the matter to the conduct committee.
10.5 Where appropriate, the general manager will make enquiries, or cause enquiries to be made, into breaches of the code of conduct regarding members of staff of council and others engaged by the council and will determined the matter.
10.6 Where the general manager has determined not to enquire into the matter, the general manager will give the complainant the reason/s in writing.
10.7 Enquiries made into staff conduct which might give rise to disciplinary action must occur in accordance with the relevant local government award and make provision for procedural fairness including the right of an employee to be represented by their union.
10.8 Council will establish a conduct committee that will consist of the Mayor, the general manager and at least one person independent of council. The independent representative should comprise council's nominated legal adviser or other independent person/s of appropriate standing. In the instance of a complaint being made by or against the Mayor or the general manager, the Deputy Mayor, or another councillor who has been designated by council, will take the place of the Mayor or general manager on the committee.
10.9 Councillors should report suspected breaches of the code of conduct to the general manager, preferably in writing, in the first instance and refrain from making allegations at council meetings. Where appropriate, the general manager will report the matter to the conduct committee.
10.10 Where the general manager has determined not to report the matter to the conduct committee, the general manager will give the complainant the reason/s in writing.
10.11 Council's conduct committee is responsible for making enquiries into allegations of breaches of the code of conduct by councillors and must either:
10.12 Enquiries made by the general manager, an independent person or the conduct committee will follow the rules of procedural fairness. The enquirer must:
10.13 Council's conduct committee must decide whether a matter reported to it discloses a prima facie breach of this code. The conduct committee will report its findings, and the reasons for these findings, in writing to the council. the complainant and the person subject of the complaint.
10.14 The conduct committee may recommend that council take any actions provided for in this code of conduct that the committee considers reasonable in the circumstances.
10.15 Where the council finds that a councillor has breached the code, it may decide by resolution to:
10.16 Sanctions for staff depend on the severity, scale and importance of the breach and must be in accordance with any staff agreements, awards, industrial agreement and contracts.
11.1 For the purposes of Chapter 14, part 1, Division 3 of the Act, failure by a councillor to comply with an applicable requirement of this code of conduct constitutes misbehaviour. (section 440F)
11.2 Under section 440G a council may by resolution at a meeting formally censure a councillor for misbehaviour.
11.3 Under section 440H, the process for the suspension of a councillor from civic office can be initiated by a request made by council to the Director General of the Department of Local Government.
11.4 The first ground on which a councillor may be suspended from civic office is where the councillor's behaviour has been disruptive over a period, involving more than one incident of misbehaviour during that period, and the pattern of behaviour during that period is of such a sufficiently serious nature as to warrant the councillor's suspension.
11.5 Council cannot request suspension on this ground unless during the period concerned the councillor has been:
11.6 The second ground on which a councillor may be suspended from civic office is where the councillor's behaviour has involved one incident of misbehaviour that is of such a sufficiently serious nature as to warrant the councillor's suspension.
11.7 Council cannot request suspension on this ground unless the councillor has been:
11.8 Under section 440H, the process for the suspension of a councillor can also be initiated by the Department of Local Government, the Independent Commission Against Corruption or the NSW Ombudsman.
12.1 The Mayor and/or the General Manager are the official spokespersons for the Council on all matters. The General Manager may nominate other staff to act as spokespeople for the Council. The Communications Specialist is responsible for coordinating Council's media liaison and has been delegated responsibility to respond to media inquiries on behalf of Council. All media inquiries should be forwarded to the Communications Specialist in the first instance.
12.2 As a member of the community and an advocate on behalf of the community, Councillors, staff and delegates have the right to enter into public debate on political, professional and social issues. You need to take care, however, not to allow the impression to be gained that such comments are official comment on behalf of the Council.
12.3 Intoxication, by alcohol or drug affected, whilst on duty is an unsafe personal condition and is proven to be a hindrance to work performance. A person, so affected, cannot provide the high standard of service required by Council. Further, such a person could place others at an unacceptable level of risk.
Should alcohol or any other drug affect any person (whether illegal or prescribed) then such instances shall be reported to or dealt with by, the person's supervisor with assistance from Human Resources. In the case of a Councillor who is representing Council, such instances shall be reported to the Mayor and/or the General Manager.
If you are using prescribed drugs that may have an affect on your performance you must inform your supervisor.
12.4 Further information or guidance concerning Council's Code of Conduct is available from Council's Internal Auditor or Council's Executive Officer on (47) 805000.
Other relevant external contacts are: