Local laws, Council policies and delegations

Local laws

Local laws provide local governments with powers to manage issues within their district, which helps meet the specific needs of their community. Local Laws are subsidiary legislation made by local governments under delegated powers from the Local Government Act 1995, Health Act 1911, Cat Act 2011, Dog Act 1976 and various other Acts.

Public Notice of Adoption of Local Law

The City of Rockingham Fencing Local Law 2020 will come into effect on 9 April 2021. Published in the Government Gazette on 26 March 2021, No. 55.

The purpose of this local law is to provide what constitutes a ‘sufficient fence’ for the purposes of the Dividing Fences Act 1961 and to state the materials to be used and safety measures to be undertaken in relation to some types of fencing. The effect is that fencing in the district will need to comply with the definition of a ‘sufficient fence’ as stipulated in the local law and its other provisions.

The City of Rockingham Fencing Local Law 2020 may be viewed under the Fencing section below.

Michael Parker

Chief Executive Officer

Council policies

Council policies are developed to meet the needs of Council and are adopted by the Council. These policies are wide ranging across many of the City's services and responsibilities, and reviewed periodically. A list of our policies is available below.

Code of Conduct

The Local Government (Model Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021 were established on 3 February 2021 and provides the legislative requirements in respect to the conduct of council members, committee members and candidates.

The Code comprises three Divisions relating to conduct:

• Division 2 - General Principles
• Division 3 – Behaviour
• Division 4 – Rules of Conduct

Complaints related to breaches of Division 3 – Behaviour are dealt with by the local government. The CEO is the complaints officer and complaints should be submitted within one month of the incident on the Code of Conduct Breach Form.

Complaints related to Division 4 - Rules of Conduct are dealt with by the Local Government Standards Panel – An overview of the complaint process and the complaint form can be found at the Department of Local Government Sport and Cultural Industries. Any complaint for Division 4 should be on the appropriate form and sent to the CEO as the complaints officer.

The City of Rockingham Code of Conduct 2009 remains the standard for behaviour of employees. The CEO is required to review this code by May 2021. Any complaints regarding the behaviour of employees should be directed to the CEO.

Delegations

Local governments are required to make numerous decisions every day.

​In practice, in order to enable local governments to focus on strategic issues and reduce the amount of meeting time required, local governments are able to delegate many of those decisions so we can respond more effectively to the community and provide for timely, consistent decision making.

​The Delegated Authority Register provides information about where the power to delegate is derived from, including legislation and policies of Council. The register is reviewed annually in accordance with the Local Government Act 1995.