What’s new or changing?
- Supplementary guidance materials have been published on the Office of Local Government’s (OLG) website to support the implementation of the 2025 Model Code of Meeting Practice for Local Councils in NSW (2025 Model Meeting Code).
- The supplementary guidance materials include:
- Guidelines on the closure of council and committee meetings to the public (Closed Meetings Guidelines)
- Livestreaming council and committee meetings and public forums: A Guide (Livestreaming Guidelines)
- Model public forum rules (Public Forum Rules)
- The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) previously published with Council Circular 25-20 2025 Model Meeting Code have also been updated to reflect common questions and issues raised by the sector following the prescription of the 2025 Model Meeting Code.
What will this mean for council?
- The Closed Meeting Guidelines have been issued under 10B(5) of the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act). This provides that, in deciding whether part of a meeting is to be closed to the public, the council or committee concerned must have regard to any relevant guidelines issued by the ‘Departmental Chief Executive’ of OLG.
- The Livestreaming Guidelines is an updated version of the webcasting guidelines that were issued when councils were first required to webcast their meetings. As with the webcasting guidelines, these have been issued under section 23A of the Act meaning councils must take them into consideration when livestreaming their meetings and publishing recordings of them on their websites.
- The Model Public Forum Rules are based on the non-mandatory best practice public forum rules which were previously included in the Model Meeting Code but have now been omitted. Councils may adopt the best practice public forum rules as a standalone policy document or include them in their adopted code of meeting practice.
Key points
- The supplementary guidance materials have been designed to assist councils to understand and correctly apply the mandatory provisions of the 2025 Model Meeting Code and provide best practice guidance in areas that are no longer regulated under the Model Meeting Code.
Where to go for further information
- The supplementary guidance materials and updated FAQs are available on the Model Code of Meeting Practice for Local Councils in NSW webpage on OLG’s website at www.olg.nsw.gov.au.
- For more information, contact the Council Governance Team by telephone on 02 4428 4100 or by email at olg@olg.nsw.gov.au.
Brett Whitworth
Deputy Secretary, Office of Local Government
