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Members of the public are entitled to have access to the majority of council documents.
Inspection of council documents is generally free, although you may have to pay reasonable photocopying charges if you want to have your own copy.
Section 12 of the Local Government Act 1993 specifies which council documents must be available free of charge for people to inspect at council offices during business hours.
These documents include:
- Council codes, plans, policies and reports - such as their code of conduct, management plan, policies about the payment of expenses, annual report and auditor’s report.
- Registers and returns - such as councils registers of investments and delegations and returns about candidates’ campaign donations.
- Agendas, business papers and minutes - from council and committee meetings- except for any parts of the meeting that are closed to the public.
- Planning and development documents - such as building and development applications, records of building certificates and approvals granted, leases and licenses for community land, and environmental planning instruments.
Many of these documents will be available on this website and can be found by using the search function at the top of every page.
A Council may also allow you to access other documents - but this will be a matter for each council to decide, taking into account whether or not they consider it is in the public interest.
Each Council is required to have a designated Public Officer and this person is responsible for assisting people to gain access to council documents.
You can access a Councils website through the Department of Local Government’s website. Select local government directory, then local Councils, the name of your Council and then their web address.
If you think a Council document should be on their website, you can ask the Council to put it on.
You can also use the Freedom of Information act 1989 to apply to access Councils documents if you can’t obtain them under section 12 of the Local Government Act.
When accessing Council documents, you need to be aware of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 which helps to protect personal information and the privacy of individuals.
Councils are required to develop a privacy management plan under the Act and comply with other legislation regarding public access to information. If you are refused access to documents on the grounds of privacy, you should read a document called ‘Privacy, you and your local council’ which is provided on the Department of Local Government’s website. It provides a brief overview of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act and answers some frequently asked questions.
This information has been taken from the Department of Local Governments "How to Access Council Information" flyer.
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