Role of the department
The department monitors and provides advice to assist local governments in making their local laws. It works closely with the Western
Australian Local Government Association and the Joint Standing Committee
on Delegated Legislation to ensure that proposed local
laws comply with legislative requirements.
The Act requires
that copies of proposed laws be forwarded to the Minister for Local
Government and other relevant State ministers to fulfil these requirements. The department examines the proposed local laws on behalf of the minister and gives specific consideration to:
- whether the proposed local law is adopted under the correct Act of Parliament
- whether the proposed local law conflicts with the Act and any other law
- matters raised previously by the Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation, and
- State government policy issues.
Role of the Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation
The
Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation is a committee of the
Western Australian Parliament consisting of eight members, with equal
representation from the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly.
Once
a local law is gazetted, it is referred to the committee to consider under its terms of reference. Where the committee finds
that a local law offends one or more of its terms of reference, it will
usually seek a written undertaking from the local government to amend or
repeal the instrument in question.
Where a local government does
not comply with the committee’s request for an undertaking, the committee
may, as a last resort, resolve to report to the Parliament recommending
the disallowance of the instrument in the Legislative Council.
A
local law will cease to have effect from the date on which it is
disallowed. Where the local law amended or repealed another local law
the earlier local law will be revived on and after the day of
disallowance. (nb: check wording of this sentence, something is missing)
Local laws process
In making a local law, a
local government must follow the procedure set out in Division 2, Part 3
of the Act. The procedural steps are outlined in the local laws process
flow chart.
Statutory procedures checklist
Section 3.12 (1) of the Act
states that the local law making process must be followed in the
sequence in which it is described. This is outlined in the
statutory procedures checklist.