NSW Minister Can Sue Councillors for Misconduct; Court Can Ban Councillors for Up to 5 Years or Fine Them; Corrupt People Banned from Running for Office

Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment (Councillor Conduct Proceedings) Bill 2026

17 Sep 2026: MPs in the first house are debating whether this bill is a good idea in principle.

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

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Topics

anti-corruption court procedures criminal justice employment rights government accountability local government public safety

Introduced by: The Hon Ron Hoenig MP (ALP)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

The Local Government Minister and the Chief Executive of the Office of Local Government can start legal proceedings against a councillor in the Land and Environment Court for breaking conduct standards.
The Chief Executive of the Office of Local Government no longer has to give a councillor a formal notice or a chance to be heard before starting court proceedings based on a departmental report.
The Land and Environment Court can order a councillor to be disqualified from office for up to 5 years, suspended from office, or forced to pay compensation or a civil penalty of up to 454 penalty units (2026: $49,940).
People are barred from holding or running for civic office if they have been convicted of serious wrongdoing in New South Wales, or a similar offence elsewhere, or found by the Independent Commission Against Corruption to be corrupt within the last 7 years.
Serious wrongdoing is defined as corrupt conduct or an indictable offence that carries a jail term of 5 years or more.
If a councillor fails to follow a performance improvement or compliance order, it is legally treated as misconduct.
The Local Government Minister can issue a compliance order that stops a councillor from doing their job or receiving pay for up to 3 months until they take required action.
People who are not state officials must get permission from the Land and Environment Court before they can start public interest proceedings against a councillor.
If a councillor is facing criminal charges for the same conduct as a public interest proceeding, the public interest case is paused until the criminal case is finished.
Evidence given by a councillor in public interest proceedings cannot be used against them in a criminal trial, unless the criminal trial is specifically about whether the councillor lied during those proceedings.
Council employees must get permission from the Industrial Relations Commission before they can apply for stop bullying or sexual harassment orders against a councillor.
The Industrial Relations Commission must check if an employee is already seeking a remedy under local government laws before granting permission for bullying or sexual harassment orders.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Tim James LIB

“I lead for the Opposition on the Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment (Councillor Conduct Proceedings) Bill 2026 and confirm at the outset that the Opposition supports its broad intent and many of the changes proposed by the Government.”

Official source →

Karen McKeown ALP

“I support the Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment (Councillor Conduct Proceedings) Bill 2026. The bill delivers essential reform to protect councils, staff and communities from the harm caused by serious misconduct. The bill is not just about improving processes.”

Official source →

Jenny Leong GRN

“I speak on behalf of The Greens in debate on the Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment (Councillor Conduct Proceedings) Bill 2026. The significant change that we are debating regarding councillor conduct proceedings will give the Land and Environment Court responsibility for some of those conduct matters.”

Official source →

Julia Finn ALP

“I support the Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment (Councillor Conduct Proceedings) Bill 2026. The bill presents a clear step forward in reforming the councillor conduct framework and delivering on our commitment to strengthen the culture of accountability and transparency in local government.”

Official source →

Edmond Atalla ALP

“I make a contribution to debate in support of the Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment (Councillor Conduct Proceedings) Bill 2026. The bill is an important milestone in the New South Wales Government’s commitment to strengthening the councillor conduct framework, improving accountability and restoring community confidence in local government.”

Official source →

Ron Hoenig ALP

“The bill is essential in order to deal with serious misconduct occurring in local governments. I often hear in upper House estimates, but never heard in this House until today, that somehow or other the Kellar report was a magical document that was the solution to what everybody identifies as a broken system of councillor conduct.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment (Councillor Conduct Proceedings) Bill 2026

Mr RON HOENIG, Minister for Local Government — 2026-08-04

The primary objective of this bill is to transfer the jurisdiction for councillor misconduct matters from the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal to the Land and Environment Court, to introduce a new category of public interest proceedings and empower the Land and Environment Court to impose stronger penalties on councillors who have contravened a law or code of conduct, where the court is satisfied this would in the public interest.