Husband and wives of council workers get caught up in new reforms of gifts and benefits code for local government staff

NEW measures for council workers mean gifts for husbands and wives will now have to be declared.

Council staff will have to declare gifts and benefits valued at $50 or more - down from $100 - and also any gifts received by relatives under a code of conduct overhaul.

GIFTS to the husbands and wives of council employees will have to be declared in a toughening of accountability aimed at boosting confidence in local government.

A new staff code of conduct for SA’s 69 councils will take effect in April. New rules govern gifts, hospitality spending and online registers. But the Local Government Association says it was refused the chance to have a say.

The State Government drafted the code in consultation with the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption and the SA Ombudsman. Measures include:

COUNCIL employees must provide details on a publicly accessible register of any gift or benefit valued at $50 or more, down from the previous threshold of $100.

HOSPITALITY receivedwhile performing council duties has to be recorded on gift registers, and a giftor benefit received by a person related to a council employee is to be treated as if it was received by the employee.

COUNCIL bosses must publish online a register of gifts and benefits received by employees.

It comes as one of the state’s largest council’s, Onkaparinga, has come under scrutiny over credit card expenditure including ratepayer funds used to buy gifts, electronics and team-building exercises including an Adelaide Oval roof climb.

Australian Services Union secretary Joseph Scales, who represents council employees, said workers welcomed the code but the union would monitor its implementation. He backed “clearer, more focused” regulation but was wary of “unintended consequences”.

A government spokeswoman said the LGA was consulted and the new rules were “significantly simplified” compared with the previous code.

The LGA said it had concerns over the meaning of “benefits” and how employees could calculate the value of hospitality to determine if it met the $50 threshold. It said the code no longer exempted hospitality at “meetings, forums, and events where food and beverages are served”.