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  • For business
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  • City and Council
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Councillor and Employee Interaction Policy

1.0

Purpose and Intent  

To enable Councillors and Council employees to work together in their respective roles and meet their responsibilities; to support professional, respectful, effective working relationships and the building of
trust between Councillors and Council employees.  

This Policy: 
• Supports Council employees to discharge their obligations and responsibilities under the Act.
• Ensures Councillors are provided with consistent, coordinated, accurate, timely and well-informed
advice and information to help them to fulfil their role in an effective manner. 
• Provides a framework for interactions between Councillors and Council employees.  
• Provides guidelines to facilitate a positive working relationship between Councillors and Council
employees. 
• Supports transparent decision-making and good governance arrangements. 
• Provides Councillors with confidence that community enquiries they raise on behalf of
constituents will be managed in accordance with Council policies and procedures.
• Recognises the responsibilities of the Council to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety
Act 2004 and the Equal Opportunity Act 2010. 
• Supports Councillors to conduct themselves with integrity as outlined in Part 6 of the Act (Section
123, relating to misuse of position; Section 124, relating to directing a Council employee; and
Section 125, relating to confidential information). 

Policy
The Act prescribes the roles and functions of Councillors and Council employees, and to some degree, the nature of the relationship between them.

The core role of a Councillor is to participate in the decision-making of the Council, represent the local community in that decision-making and contribute to the strategic direction of the Council.

The administrative, or operational arm of Council, comprises the Chief Executive Officer and Council employees who are responsible for implementing Council policy and decisions, providing service
delivery and professional advice to Councillors to enable decision-making by Council.

Among other functions, Section 46(3)(c) of the Act states the CEO is responsible for “managing interactions between members of Council employees and Councillors and ensuring that policies, 
practices and protocols that support arrangements for interaction between members of Council employees and Councillors are developed and implemented”.

This Policy is intended to contribute to respectful and constructive relationships between Councillors and Council employees, by articulating their different but complementary roles and establishing clear
and effective interaction and communication protocols.

The Policy also seeks to mitigate potential risks and unintended consequences that may arise when Councillors deal directly with Council employees and seeks to safeguard the integrity of both
Councillors and Council employees.