A new behavioural standards panel will be able to suspend councillors for repeated and serious misbehaviour

Misbehaving councillors will be at risk of being suspended for three months without their allowance.

Misbehaving councillors will be at risk of being suspended for three months without their allowance, if they’re found to be in breach of new behavioural standards.

The state government has released the new standards for all elected members as part of the new council term and introduced an independent panel to deal with complaints.

The behavioural standards panel will deal with complaints of council members that cannot be resolved at a council level, particularly repeated and serious misbehaviour.

Local Government Minister Geoff Brock. Picture: Dean Martin

The panel aims to stamp out in-house fighting and minor squabbles between elected members and staff, without the need of ratepayers money.

Currently, ratepayer money is used to pay lawyers to investigate complaints, even if minor.

Local Government Minister Geoff Brock said the panel would have “wide-ranging” powers and could suspend a member for up to three months, with or without their allowance.

“Councils across the state will benefit from having a clear path to escalate serious matters, with the independent panel vested with strong powers to hold elected members behaving poorly to account,” Mr Brock said.

“These behavioural reforms set the tone for a new term of council, particularly for first-time members, who should expect to represent their community in a supportive environment, without harassment or bullying.”

As part of the new council term, all elected members will also have to do mandatory training and will have clear standards of expected behaviour.

This includes:

– Maintain respectful relationships and not bully, or sexually harass other members or staff.

– Act in a way that generates community trust and confidence in the council.

– Provide accurate information and ensure the community are not knowingly misled.

The South Australian Ombudsman will still investigate complaints of allegations councillors have breached integrity requirements, such as conflict of interest or improper management of gifts and benefits.

Lord Mayor of Adelaide Jane Lomax-Smith. Picture: David Mariuz

Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith, who ran an election campaign on restoring confidence and creditability in the council, welcomed the new guidelines and panel.

“Our new Council is committed to working for the good of the city,” she said.

“Our Council induction program is comprehensive and includes a workshop facilitated by the Leaders Institute of South Australia.

“I am confident that our first workshop will allow us to find ways to work collaboratively, find common ground and the motivation to serve the community.”

It follows a 2021 report into the council’s culture finding it was “dysfunctional, frustrating and aggressive”.

In the past four year term, the council spent $130,000 to investigate 21 code of conduct complaints – nine of which were substantiated.