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A consultation process is now open, inviting feedback on draft regulations and orders that would require local governments to establish a communications agreement between their council and the CEO.

The changes are part of the implementation of the Local Government Amendment Act 2023 (2023 Amendment Act) reforms.

• each local government must have a communications agreement which deals with the matters required by the Act and regulations 
• a local government may adopt a communications agreement by the CEO and council both agreeing to its terms
• if a local government does not adopt or is unable to adopt a communications agreement, the default communications agreement set out in a Ministerial order applies. 

The communications agreement supports governance within each local government by setting out minimum expectations for formal communications between council members and employees of the local government.

A similar approach is used at state government level, where communications agreements are in place between each WA Government Minister and the agencies that support them.  

More information about the proposed reforms is available in the Communications Agreement Consultation Paper.

Draft Local Government Regulations Amendment Regulations (No.3) 2024 (PDF 276 KB) and the Draft Local Government (Default Communications Agreement) Order 2024 (PDF 271 KB) are also available to inform consultation responses.  

The consultation is open until Friday 25 July 2025 and feedback will inform the next stage in drafting these provisions. 

If you have further questions about the reforms, please contact the local government reform team at actreview@dlgsc.wa.gov.au