LGEMA - Local Government Elected Members Association

04/06/2026

Local Government Policy

1. Council makes policy to guide the exercise of any discretion in a decision in interests of its own District community.

2. Only Council can make policy.

3. This does not mean simply approving policies initiated by CEOs.

4. Council policy making is a fundamental EM/Council role.

5. Policies do not bind Council but can bind employee delegates as Council decides.

6. This means all employee delegates have to make decisions in compliance with Council policy or bring the decision to depart to Council for Council to decide.

7. For example: what records are available to the public, how employees treat ratepayers who complain or who have not paid their rates; how whistleblowers are treated; how questions are answered at public question time.

8. LGEMA has draft policies, along with a draft Notice of Motion to introduce a policy, on many topics that will engage your electors.

9. Members just have to ask us for what they need. For example: our recently updated policy on access to records, our model CEO contract template; and our recently completed local government response to homelessness.

03/06/2026

Local Government, Housing and Homelessness

LGs bear the cost and concerns around homelessness.
Council can adopt a homelessness policy and petition state government for amendments to LG Act to help fund LG responses.

For Example: According to the ABS 2021 Census, Australia had 10.85 million private dwellings, of which 1,043,776 were unoccupied on Census night (approximately 10.1%). Western Australia recorded 118,109 unoccupied dwellings (approximately 10.9% of all dwellings in the State). At the same time, the ABS estimated 122,494 Australians were experiencing homelessness on Census night in 2021. What about a differential rate for vacant dwellings?

LGEMA has a draft Notice of Motion for LG Housing and Homelessness policy and a draft policy available to LGEMA members.

02/06/2026

Governance or Administration?

Administrative law and governance demand that EMs be sufficiently involved to:
• understand the issues;
• exercise independent judgment;
• avoid fettering discretion;
• demonstrate proper consideration of submissions.

EMs generally entitled to rely on:
• officer reports,
• expert advice,
• legal advice,
PROVIDED they actually consider the material themselves and are given the source material in sufficient time to properly consider it.

Councils merely adopting recommendations mechanically without genuine consideration expose decisions to challenge on grounds such as:
• failure to consider relevant matters;
• improper exercise of statutory power;
• procedural unfairness (in some circumstances).

Safest governance practice is therefore:
• officers perform the detailed review work;
• council remains engaged at key decision points;
• council makes the final statutory determinations itself.

28/05/2026

Local Law Reviews

Under LG Act Schedule 9.3 Division 7 clause 65, any local law that:
• was already due for review, or
• would become due shortly under the former 8-year rule,
must be reviewed within the 2-year transitional period ending 7 December 2026, unless the local law had already been reviewed within the previous 8 years.

27/05/2026

LGEMA Member Services (no paid subscriptions required)

Services,
for our LGEMA members ($60 for current EM membership, $100 for associate members (representing likeminded ratepayer/resident groups) (email us for membership form on [email protected]),
include:

1. Forums on LG Governance including from external experts (on “Defamation and EMs” at our next forum 26 July).

2. Phone and email responses to governance questions.

3. Model Notice of Motions including:
a. Support for Third Party Merits Review Rights
b. LG Pays For EM LGEMA Membership Subscriptions, Forums
c. Notice of Motion Process and Procedure
d. Model Litigant Obligations Policy
e. Appoint Independent Expert to Assist Council.

4. Model good governance policies including an “Access to Records Policy Suite”.

26/05/2026

Transitioning from Standards Panel to Adjudicator in SAT

Inadequate drafting has meant the following.

1. If you received a Panel adverse finding that you committed a minor breach but you had not received your sanction by 1 January 2026 (amendment day), it is arguable that only the Adjudicator (not the Panel) can order a sanction.

2. This is a review point that needs to be tested in SAT on review of a minor breach decision made before 1 January 2026 but sanction order made by Panel after 1 January 2026.

3. LGEMA can provide argument for this point for SAT to an EM on request.

25/05/2026

LG Records FOI Access’ Statistical Information

FOI Act 2023/2024 Annual Report (referenced National Dashboard of Utilisation of Information Access Rights comparing statistics on use of information access rights across Australian access jurisdictions has been kept since 2017) and referenced the results of Monash University – The Culture of Implementing freedom of information in Australia study showing WA had highest (with SA) receipt of access applications (recently overtaken by Victoria).

FOI Act 2024-2025 Annual Report shows about LGs
• Receipt of FOI applications to LGs 1,055 (up from 964) being 4.8% of total across state (up from 4.3%)
• Joondalup highest at 75, Stirling next at 72
• 11.7% granted full access
• 74.1% of access applications granted edited access
• 47 external reviews sent to Commissioner, with City of Melville highest at 12

24/05/2026

Other Sources of Access to LG Records

Vital records identified by WA State Records Office (SRO) include,
• Insurance policies
• Some policy and procedures
• Certificates of incorporation
• Corporate seals
• Legal documents
• Software programs and licences
• Deeds
• Copyright
• Contracts and agreements
• Leases
• Client files
• Personnel register
• Current financial records.

So give State Records a try, and if they do not have a vital record, then make a complaint to SRO

Government of Western Australia, Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport

23/05/2026

FOI to WALGA

For anyone experiencing difficulties with their WALGA FOI application here is copy of correspondence (in reverse chronologiucal order) between LGEMA and WALGA, which might help.

From: FOI Sent: Thursday, 21 May 2026 1:48 PM
Dear Ms Boulter
Thank you for your email of 20 May 2026 providing further information in relation to your request. Thank you for clarifying that you are specifically seeking access to invoices.
We have now undertaken preliminary searches based on your response. Based on these preliminary searches, we understand the relevant documents are invoices are dated between 1 January 2025 and 30 April 2026.
Therefore, we understand the scope of the documents requested is: “Copies of all invoices paid to legal counsel by WALGA related to Local Government Elected Members Association (WA) Inc -v- Western Australian Local Government Association [2026] WASC 102, between 1 January 2025 and 30 April 2026.”
If you wish to lodge an access application for this scope of documents, please pay the attached invoice for the initial application fee. WALGA will then confirm lodgement of your access application, undertake and finalise searches, identify third party information and any other potentially exempt information in the documents identified, and estimate any additional charges that may be payable in relation to this application. We will then advise you in writing if any additional charges are payable.
As outlined in our previous correspondence, it may be possible to deal with your request more quickly and at lower cost if you agree for the commercial and personal information of third parties to be omitted from the documents provided to you under this application. We would invite you to advise whether you would agree for WALGA to omit that information from any documents provided by way of return email.
Kind Regards, Information Management Team | WALGA

From: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, 20 May 2026 9:43 AMTo: FOI
Dear FOI Coordinator
See our responses below in capital letters for your convenience.
Cheers Sandra Boulter LGEMA Chair

From: FOI Sent: Monday, 18 May 2026 4:21 PM
Dear Ms Boulter
Thank you for your email of 16 May 2026.
Like many agencies, WALGA requests applicants provide relevant details by means of a form, so that the information needed to deal with an application can be collected at the earliest possible opportunity. This is intended to avoid the potential delay associated with correspondence to request and confirm those various details, and assists WALGA to complete the administrative processes necessary to deal with a request. For example, WALGA’s form:
• Includes questions to assist in the definition of a workable scope for an access application; and CLEAR IN OUR APPLICATION 8 MAY 2026
• Requests information necessary to effect receipt of payment of the application fee, so that our finance team can arrange receipt of funds through your preferred payment method. CLEAR IN OUR APPLICATION 8 MAY 2026
If you do not wish to complete the form or have specific accessibility requirements, WALGA will make reasonable adjustments to assist you. If this is the case, could you please reply by way of return email with information requested at each part of the form, including by responding with:
1. Whether you are making the request on behalf of an organisation; CLEAR IN OUR APPLICATION 8 MAY 2026
2. All applicable contact information, including an address and telephone number (if available); CLEAR IN OUR APPLICATION 8 MAY 2026
3. Your preferred method of communication and preferred means of receiving documents; TWO ALTERNATIVES CLEAR IN OUR APPLICATION 8 MAY 2026
4. Details of the scope of request – we would particularly invite you to specify the types of documents you are seeking. We understand you may be seeking information about total monetary amounts. However, access applications under the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (FOI Act) are for access to documents. If you wish to specifically proceed with an access application, WALGA considers it necessary to identify what kinds of documents you wish to access; CLEAR IN OUR APPLICATION 8 MAY 2026 THAT WE ARE ASKING FOR INVOICES WHICH BY THEIR NATURE ARE CLEARLY RELATED TO A TIMEFRAME
5. Whether you consent to any third party or other information being deleted from any documents provided (which may enable your application to be dealt with more quickly and potentially at lower cost); ADVISE WHEN WE SEE RESPONSE TO OUR APPLICATION
6. Whether you are seeking a reduction in fees; CLEAR IN OUR APPLICATION 8 MAY 2026 WHERE WE ASK HOW WE CAN PAY
7. Whether you consent to your identity being disclosed in public reporting; CLEAR IN OUR APPLICATION 8 MAY 2026 THAT WE HAVE NOT REQUESTED CONFIDENTIALITY AS WOULD BE REQUIRED IN OUR APPLICATON
8. Whether you acknowledge that additional fees may be payable in respect of the application (e.g. additional charges); and THAT IS NOT REQUIRED IN OUR FIRST APPLICATION BUT IS FOR YOU TO ADVISE US BEFORE YOU PROCESS OUR APPLICATION
9. We invite you to review the notes on the final page of the form for supporting information, if you wish to. WE HAVE
Otherwise, we would sincerely appreciate if you could please complete and return the form.
WALGA considers that no valid access application currently exists as section 12(1) of the FOI Act is not yet met (including as the scope is not currently specific to documents, nor limited to a particular timeframe). As you would be aware, an access application must be for access to existing documents, not for answers to questions. To assist you to rectify this, we suggest that you could:
• Indicate whether you are seeking a particular type or category of document. If you are merely seeking a fact or statistic, it may be possible to deal with your request outside of an access application.
• Provide a date range for documents of interest. A date range enables WALGA to both limit searching to a defined period, and confidently establish that all documents within the scope for that period are identified in accordance with the FOI Act.
• Indicate whether you would consent to the removal of third-party information from any documents to potentially reduce the need for third party consultation.
As it may be possible to deal with some requests without the need for an access application, WALGA generally prefers to evaluate that option before seeking payment of an initial application fee.
Finally, please be aware that certain notices, or any application that you deem as being refused, may be subject to an internal review process in accordance with section 39 of the FOI Act.
WALGA will continue to assist you as required but requests that you provide clarification of the relevant details listed above, ideally by way of the form provided.
Kind Regards,
Information Management Team | WALGA

From: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 16 May 2026 10:14 AM
Dear FOI WALGA
We note that under the FOI Act as we understand it:
• a party making an FOI cannot be required to use a particular form supplied by the subject body, in this case WALGA; our application is required only to be in writing: Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA) (FOI Act) s.12(1)(a)
• a signature of a party making an FOI request is not required on a FOI application as the FOI Act specifically provides for an application only to be in writing: FOI Act s.12(1)(a) and an original signature is not required: see Electronic Transactions Act 2011 (WA) s.8(2) & s.9 & s.10
• any address to which correspondence can be sent is required for a person making an application on behalf of an incorporated association, not a residential address: FOI Act s.12(1)(c)
• the documents we seek are quite clearly articulated in our FOI application 8 May 2026.
If our FOI request does not comply with FOI Act statutory requirements, WALGA must help us to make it compliant: FOI Act s.11(3).
Accordingly, unless our application is not compliant as advised by you with sufficient specificity in a timely manner, we will consider our application 8 May 2026 is valid and the date from which FOI Act s.13)((2)&(3) 45 days runs, and simply requires payment of the fee; or we will treat it as a deemed refusal and seek external review in the absence of the timely provision of your bank details.
Please provide your bank details as requested 8 May 2026, and your website link to the WALGA FOI Information Statement: FOI Act 96.
Yours faithfully Sandra Boulter LGEMA Chair

From: FOI Sent: Wednesday, 13 May 2026 11:12 AM
To: [email protected]
Dear Ms Boulter
We refer to your email of 8 May 2026 and the attached unsigned letter.
Should you wish to make an application, could you please complete, sign, and return the attached form, providing sufficient detail regarding the documents you wish to access.
Kind Regards,
Information Management Team | WALGA
From: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, 8 May 2026 2:25 PM

08 May 2026 WALGA Chief Executive Officer
Dear Mr. Sloan
Information Request
I am writing to request access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA).
On behalf of LGEMA, I request information about WALGA legal costs from in-house, Departmental (DLGIRS) lawyers and external lawyers associated with the recent litigation in Local Government Elected Members Association (WA) Inc v Western Australian Local Government Association [2026] WASC 102 (Court proceedings).
Can you please provide an itemised list of WALGA’s legal costs, including invoices, as follows:
• Solicitor and counsel fees pre commencement of Court proceedings
• Solicitor and counsel fees for and during Court proceedings
• Solicitor and counsel fees after the Court proceedings substantive decision, and
• the source of monies for payment of all these fees.
Please advise me about how to pay the $30 FOI fee, at your earliest convenience.
Yours faithfully Sandra Boulter LGEMA Chair

22/05/2026

Operational Matters
An EM cannot interfere in operational matters outside of a Council meeting.
An EM can bring to the attention of Council any operational matter they are concerned about.
Council can interfere in ANY operational matter.
Where a CEO is improperly using the “that’s operational” argument to avoid an issue, then their attention can be drawn to the Dowerin CCC report.