Code of Conduct for Councillors

Code of Conduct for Councillors

The Code of Conduct is issued by the Minister for Local Government and applies to all Tasmanian councillors. The Code of Conduct outlines the standards of behaviour expected of councillors in respect to all aspects of their role as elected representatives. The Local Government (Code of Conduct) Order 2024 can be viewed on the Tasmanian Legislation website.

The Local Government Act 1993 (the Act), provides a local government Code of Conduct Framework for Tasmanian councillors. The framework provides a consistent, effective, and enforceable means to address councillor misconduct.

Lodging a dispute regarding a Councillor’s behaviour 

Councillors represent the views of the community, so at times they may hold and express views that are different, and opposing, to their fellow Councillors. The democratic process means that there may be active debate that should be considered and respectful.

However, this debate may become a conflict or dispute. Where this happens, the parties should use their best endeavour to resolve the issue or dispute in an informal and courteous manner.

Where the parties have been unable to resolve the issue or dispute themselves, or it is not appropriate, then the dispute resolution process can then be applied. The process is to be approached by the parties in good faith to find a resolution.

The City of Launceston's Dispute Resolution Policy applies to disputes with, and between, Councillors. Matters of dispute include those under the Code of Conduct and behaviour of Councillors towards each other, Council employees and community members more broadly.

To lodge a dispute, please complete and return the Dispute Resolution Form(PDF, 122KB) . The application will also need to be accompanied by the application fee. Please refer to the form for the current rate (the fee is indexed annually). The fee may be waived if you are in financial hardship (we take that to mean you are on income support payments - you may be asked to provide evidence that you are in receipt of a Centrelink or Veterans Affairs payment).

The City of Launceston's Dispute Resolution Policy is in place to support the resolution of disputes before a Local Government Code of Conduct complaint.