queanbeyan %,y · 2016. 3. 1. · information asset registers to: - provide a central website to...

Queanbeyan%,y City Council

Submission Draft Report: Review of reporting and compliance burdens on LocalGovernment

18 February 2016 SF140725

1. IntroductionQueanbeyan City Council welcomes the opportunity to make a submission on the draft report on theReview of Reporting and Compliance Burdens on Local Government. Council commends IPART onundertaking such a thorough review and welcomes the recommendations they are proposing as itbelieves it will greatly assist in addressing an important issue which impacts directly upon the LocalGovernment Sector.

Council generally supports the thrust of the document's recommendations which it believes willdeliver real savings to the entire Sector and will set in place processes to address current short-comings which impact upon councils' bottom-line.

Council has structured its submission into two Sections consis ng of:• General Comments on the report• Specific Comments on each of the recommendations which are set out in the table below.

2. General CommentQueanbeyan City Council welcomes the acknowledgement that the State Government needs to workin partnership with Local Government to address this issue. As Council has noted previously in itssubmission on the Issues Paper, we strongly believe that this matter is NOT a Local Governmentproblem but rather a NSW State Government problem which primarily centres around coordination(not operating in isolation) and applying common standards for the collection of information. Totruly succeed we believe there needs to be a major culture change within the State Governmentsector, particularly in respect working together and adequately engaging with local government.

In terms of General Comment on the content of the Draft Report, Queanbeyan City Council notesthe following:

• Council supports the move to align information requests with Councils' reporting cycle• Council supports making use of greater automated data collection and making greater use of

portals to avoid duplication. We believe that systems should be made as simple and cost

effective as possible to minimise the cost burden on collecting and reporting information foror on-behalf of the NSW State Government. Also, we believe it will be critical for theseportals to be adequately resourced at the State level to ensure they can function properly.

• Council supports changing the way the State develops regulatory proposals that devolveresponsibilities to councils so as to ensure that the impacts on councils are properlyconsidered in line with IPART's previous recommendations as proposed in the LocalGovernment Comp/iance and Enforcement review (Oct 2013). State Government agencieshave a long history of using legislative mechanisms to impose responsibilities upon councilsand then walking away from them, thus leaving councils to pick up the costs. This has beena particularly irksome aspect of cost shifting. We strongly advocated the establishment ofsome form of 'gatekeeper within the State Government to oversee this process as we sawthe lack of coordination by State Agencies as being a critical problem and a major cause forcost shifting. We are pleased to see the Draft Report agreeing with this approach andrecommending that the Office of Local Government pick up this 'gatekeeper role. Ifimplemented, it will be important that the Office of Local Government is sufficientlyresourced to perform this important role.

• Council is pleased to see acknowledgement of the provisions Intergovernmental Agreementto Guide NSW State-Local Government Re/ations on Strategic Partnerships(Intergovernmental Agreement) which stipulates that there is in place an agreement thatbefore a responsibility (ie a service or function) is devolved to councils, local government isto be consulted and the financial impact is to be considered within the context of thecapacity of local government. This puts in place the concept of subsidiarity which has beenrecognised by both Federal and State Government as far back as 1991 in officialcommuniques. Both Federal and State Government have been paying lip-service to theconcept and principles underpinning subsidiarity but have been very reticent to implementthese. In many respects they have tended to see subsidiarity as a process to allow them tocost-shift, when in actual fact, its underlying principles stress that funding sources andfunding abilities should always accompany the transfer of function or responsibility. Thechallenge will be for the State Government, when it adopts the Final Report to acknowledgethis short-coming on its part and to implement processes which ensure that LocalGovernment is treated as a 'true partner in service delivery and that it has access toadequate funding to deliver a service or responsibility.

• Council welcomes and supports the move to allow for the review of fees and charges toincorporate CPI increases. One of the biggest problems the sector has faced is that Stateagencies set a fee and then walk away from them. The result is that the fee does not reflectthe 'true cost' of collecting and administering it. This has resulted in an effective cost-shift toratepayers as the true value of the fee diminishes over time. Allowing councils to index thesefees will greatly assist in reducing the impost on ratepayer funds.

• Council notes that IPART has deemed the impact of GIPA fees as falling outside of theparameters of this review because it has a wider impact then just upon councils. However,Council requests that there needs to be an examination of the costs associated with theGovernment's requirements pertaining to access to information. Although the GIPAlegislation applies to all governmental organisations within NSW the administration of thispiece of legislation does have a significant impact upon the reporting and compliance costsof councils. This is particularly so within the area of development applications. Councilrequests that IPART recommend that a review of GIPA compliance costs be undertaken.

3. Specific Comments relating to the recommendations

Recommendation Comment1 That the Department of Premier and Cabinet(DPC) revise the NSW Guide to BetterRegulation to include requirements for Stateagencies developing regulations involvingregulatory or other responsibilities for localgovernment, as part of the regulation-makingprocess, to:- consider whether a regulatory proposal

involves responsibilities for localgovernment

- clearly identify and delineate State andlocal government responsibilities

- consider the costs and benefits ofregulatory options on local governmentassess the capacity and capability oflocal government to administer andimplement the proposed responsibilities,including consideration of adequate costrecovery mechanisms for localgovernment

- take a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to develop ng theregulatory proposalcollaborate with local government toinform development of the regulatoryproposal

- if establishing a jointly provided serviceor function, reach agreement withlocal government as to the objectives,design, standards and sharedfunding arrangements, and

- develop an implementation andcompliance plan.

Council strongly supports thisrecommendation as it advocates a 'whole-of-governmenf approach builds in meaningfulconsultation and treats the sector as a partnerwith delineated responsibilities.

2 That the NSW Government maintain aRegister of local government reporting, planningand compliance obligations that should be usedby State agencies in the regulation-makingprocess to manage the volume of regulatoryrequirements imposed on councils and to avoidcreating unnecessary or duplicativerequirements.

Council supports this approach as it creates acentral register which contains all the relevantinformation on council obligations. This shouldassist in avoiding duplication and providing acentral coordination point for information.

However, we believe there could be an issuewith the on-going maintenance of the registerwhich will need to be addressed to ensure itfunctions properly.

3 That the NSW Government removerestrictions on fees for statutory approvals andinspections to allow for the recovery of efficientcosts, subject to monitoring and benchmarking

Council strongly supports thisrecommendation

4 Where fees continue to be set by statute, thatthe relevant NSW Government agency reviewsthe level of the fees every 3-5 years andamends the relevant legislation to allow thesefees to increase annually in line with CPI or anindex of fee related costs


Recommendation Comment5 That if statutory fees are capped below costrecovery to ensure affordability or for otherpolicy reasons, then the NSW Governmentshould reimburse councils for the shortfall inefficient costs

Council supports this recommendation andnotes its noble intent. However, it asks howdoes IPART envisage the operation of theprocess which will allow for this reimbursement?More work needs to be done to clearly set out aprocess to allow for the reimbursement to bequantified and given back to councils. Councilsuggests that one possibility which could beconsidered is to provide the reimbursement viaproperty based fees councils already collect onbehalf of the Government (eg. the Fire ServicesLevy). Councils could be given a percentage ofthe administration fee.

6 That the Department of Premier and Cabinetamend the Good Practice Guide to GrantAdministration, to:- recognise Local Government as

separate from non-governmentorganisations

- remove acquittal requirements foruntied grants

- explicitly address ongoing maintenanceand renewal costs when funding newcapital projectsrequire Agencies to rely on existingcouncil reporting to assess financialstability and management performanceof councils

- lengthen acquittal periods for ongoinggrant programs to four years, anduse Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) arrangements, rather thanrequiring councils to reapply annually,and

- provide for a streamlined acquittalprocess for grants of less than $20,000in total, examples of streamlininginclude:o not requiring further external financialaudito using risk-based controls andrequirements, ando confining performance measurementto outcomes consistent with thepurpose of the grant.

Council supports this recommendation andbelieves it will help simplify the Grants process.

7 That the Department of Finance, Services andInnovation use the NSW ICT Strategy andInformation Asset Registers to:- provide a central website to consolidate

Local Government reporting portals,searchable data sets, reports andpublications

- facilitate council use of the centralwebsite, and

- facilitate sharing of Local Governmentdata and information between StateGovernment agencies.

Council supports this recommendation andnots that it will be critical for the Government toadequately resource the establishment andmaintenance of these portals.

Recommendation Comment8 That the Office of Local Government introducea "gateway framework, using a cost-benefitmethodoloqy, to assess new State agencyproposals for reporting and data collection fromLocal Government.

Council strongly supports thisrecommendation which proposes to increasethe role of the Office of Local Government as a'gate-keeper. Howevor, it will be critical that ElieOLG is adequately resourced to perform thisrole.

9 That the Department of Planning andEnvironment, including through the Office ofLocal Government, review public notice printmedia requirements in the Local GovernrnentAct 1993, the Local Government (General)Regulation 2005, the Environmental Planningand Assessment Act 1979, and theEnvironmental Planning and AssessmentRegulation 2000 and, where the cost to councilsof using print media exceeds the benefit to thecommunity, remove print media requirementsand allow online advertising, mail-outs and otherforms of communication as alternatives.

Council supports this recommendation. TheLocal Government Acts Taskforce (LGATF) andIndependent Local Government Review Panel(ILGRP) both acknowledged that councils needto be freed up from having to use traditionalprint media to inform their publics. Both panelsacknowledged that new forms of media providebetter mechanisms for communications.Councils need to be given flexibility to utilisethese media to provide efficient and effectiveservices to their communities.

10 That the Department of Primary IndustriesWater (DPI Water) undertake central waterplanning for Local Water Utilities (LWUs) toensure that water supply and demand optionsare considered in the context of catchments,replacing the water planning LWUs currentlyundertake individually through Integrated WaterCycle Management Strategies.

Council supports this recommendation

11 That the NSW Government enable LWUswith sufficient capacity to be regulated under theWater lndustry Competition Act 2006 as analternative to their current regulation under theBest-Practice Management of Water Supplyand Sewerage Framework and section 60 of theLocal Government Act 1993.


12 That DPI Water amend the Best-PracticeManagement of Water Supply andSewerage Guidelines to:— streamline the NSW Performance

Monitoring System to ensure eachperformance measure reported is:o linked to a clear regulatory objectiveo used by either most Local WaterUtilities (LWUs) or DPI Water forcompliance or meaningful comparativepurposeso not in excess of the performancemeasures required under the NationalWater Initiative, ando not duplicating information reportedo other State agencies.

— reduce the number of performancemeasures and/or the frequency ofreporting for small LWUs with fewerthan 10,000 connections 61

— align trade waste reporting with otherperformance reporting, on a financial


Recommendation Commentyear basis, subject to consultation withLWUs, LGNSW and the WaterDirectorate, and

— implement a risk-based auditing regimetor LWU wanting to pay a dividendto their council's general fund.

13 That NSW Health determine a standardisedservice report template to be used bytechnicians undertaking quarterly servicing ofaerated wastewatertreatment systems, in consultation with councils.


14 That the Local Government (General)Regulation 2005 be amended to require servicereports to be provided to councils using thetemplate determined by NSW Health as astandard condition of approval to operate anaerated wastewater treatment system.


15 That the Department of Planning andEnvironment (DPE):— Implement a data sharing model with

the Australian Bureau of Statistics inrelation to building approvals in NSW.Introduce a consolidated data request ofcouncils for the purposes of theLocal Development PerformanceMonitoring (LDPM), Housing Monitor,State Environmental Planning Policy(Affordable Rental Housing) 2009(Affordable Rental Housing) and StateEnvironmental Planning Policy No1 — Development Standards (SEPP 1variations).

— Fund an upgrade of councils' softwaresystems to automate the collectionof data from councils for the purposes ofthe LDPM, Housing Monitor, AffordableRental Housing and SEPP 1 variations.Publish the data collected from councilson Affordable Rental Housing andSEPP 1 variations data.

— Seek agreement with the Land &Environment Court to obtain appealdata directly from the Court.

— Remove the administrative requirementfor councils to report to DPE onpolitical donations or gifts under section147 of the Environmental Planning &Assessment Act 1979.


16 That the Environmental Planning andAssessment Act 1979 be amended to enablezoning and development standards informationunder section 149(2) of the EnvironmentalPlanning and Assessment Act 1979 to beprovided through the NSW Planning Portal.


Recommendation Comment17 That the Environmental P/anning andAssessment Regulation 2000 be amended tospecify the information that can he provided bycouncils in accordance with section 149(5) ofthe Environmental Planning & AssessmentAct 1979.


18 That DPE amend the NSW Planning Portalto provide for online:— payment of fees and charges by

applicants and for the Planning ReformFund fee to then be automaticallydirected to DPEzoning and development standardsinformation under section 149(2) of theEnvironmental Planning & AssessmentAct 1979

— joint applications for developmentapprovals and construction certificates,and

— information under section 149(5) of theEnvironmental Planning &Assessment Act 1979 to be accessiblevia a link to council websites


19 That DPE manage referrals to Stateagencies through a 'one-stop shop' in relationto:— planning proposals (LEPs)

development applications (DAs), and— integrated development assessments

(IDAs).


20 That DPE develop suites of standardiseddevelopment consent conditions and streamlineconditions that require consultant reports orsubsequent approvals, in consultation withcouncils, State government agencies andother key stakeholders.


21 That the NSW Government streamline thereporting requirements for the IntegratedPlanning and Reporting (IP&R) framework in therevised Local Government Act.

Council strongly supports thisrecommendation and welcomes the elevation ofIntegrated Planning & Reporting in the latestround of Local Government Act amendments.Council believes that IP&R is the engine whichwill drive councils' interactions with theircommunities and sets in place a definedframework which ensures councils arecontinually adapting to the changing aspirationsof their communities.

22 Ahead of the next IP&R cycle (2016), that theOffice of Local Government:— provide councils with a common set of

performance indicators to measureperformance within the IP&R framework

— conduct state-wide communitysatisfaction surveys and release theresults to allow comparisons betweencouncils and benchmarking

Council supports these recommendations inprinciple. However, it does caution againstcreating KPIs and Community SatisfactionSurveys which create a 'league table' withinlocal government where councils are directlycompared to each other. We believe it is moreimportant to tie KPIs directly back to theCommunity Strategic Plan which sets out thecommunitys long term aspirations. This means

Recommendation Comment— provide guidance to councils on the

form and content of the End of TermReport and its relationship to localcouncils' Annual Reports

— clarify tor councils the purpose, formand content of the State of theEnvironment report and clarify itsrelationship to the End of Term Report

— work with the Office of Environment andHeritage, the NSW EnvironmentProtection Authority and other relevantagencies to develop performanceindicators for councils to use, and

— where relevant, amend the IP&RGuidelines and Manual to incorporatethis material.

that we need to be measuring 'quality of life'issues rather than 'quantitative' ones (such askms of roads sealed etc). A more meaningfulmeasure is to ascertain whether communitiesare moving closer to or further away from theirlong term aspirations as identified within theirCommunity Strategic Plan. This means weneed to find out whether the quality of life isgetting better or worse for residents and theirperception of such. Such measurements will beof far greater value in assisting Councils with thedevelopment of policy directions within theirDelivery Programs.

Queanbeyan City Council is in the process ofimplementing this approach via the developmentof its 'State of the City Report which will formthe core of our End of Term Report. Thisdocument will provide a measure of theeffectiveness of Council plans and interventionsso that the Governing Body can use this toassist with the development of policies duringtheir electoral term.

23 That the Office of Local Government removerequirements for councils to report more in theGeneral Purpose Financial Statements than isrequired by the Australian accounting standards,issued by the Australian AccountingStandards Board, except for requirements whichare unique and high value to local governmentsuch as Note 21 and Special Schedule 7.


24 That clause 163(2) of the Loca/ Government(General) Regulation 2005 be amended to allowthe Office of Local Government to determine thecouncils for which the threshold for formaltendering would be increased to $250,000,with this threshold to be reviewed every fiveyears.

Council strongly supports thisrecommendation. Such a move will simplify thetender process and bring it into line with StateGovernment requirements.

25 That section 377(1)(i) of the LocalGovernment Act 1993 be amended to allow theCouncil to delegate the acceptance of tenders.


26 That the Department of Planning andEnvironment, through the Office of LocalGovernment, review the requirements in theLocal Government Act 1993 for Ministerialapprovals; those that are not justified on thebasis of corruption prevention, probity orprotecting the interests of the State beremoved.


27 That the Office of Local Governmentintroduce guidelines that specify maximumresponse times for different categories ofapprovals.


Recommendation Comment28 That the Department of Planning andEnvironment, through the Office of LocalGovernment, review all approvals requiredunder section 68 of the Local Government Act1993 in order to:— determine the activities for which a

separate local council approval undersection 68 is necessary

— revise the regulatory frameworks withinNSW legislation to removeduplication

— place as many approval requirementsas possible in specialist legislation,and

— where appropriate, enable mutualrecognition of approvals issued byanother council.


29 That the Local Government Act 1993 beamended to transfer current requirementsrelating to the length of time for temporaryappointments under section 351(2) to the LocalGovernment (General) Regulation 2005 or therelevant awards.


30 Extend the maximum periods of temporaryemployment from 12 months to four years withinany continuous period of five years, similar toRule 10 of the Government Sector EmploymentRules 2014.

Council strongly supports thisrecommendation. This will provide councils withgreater flexibility in respect of employment. It issuggested that this responsibility needs to bedelegated to the General Manager within theAct.

31 That section 31 of the Public lnterestDisclosures Act 1994 be amended to requirecouncils to report on public interest disclosuresin their annual reports and remove therequirement for an annual public interestdisclosures report to be provided to the Ministerfor Local Government.


32 That section 125 of the GovernmentInformation (Public Access) Act 2009 beamended to allow councils to lodge annualreports of their obligations under the Act withinfive months after the end of each reporting year.


33 That the Office of Local Government assistthe Information and Privacy Commission tocirculate to councils information related to theGovernment Information (Public Access) Act2009.


34 That the Building Professionals Boardinclude information on travel charges forcertification services in regional areas whendeveloping an indicative fee schedule.


35 That the Building Professionals Board or theproposed Office of Building Regulation (inconsultation with Department of Planning andEnvironment, Fire & Rescue NSW and local


Recommendation Commentgovernment) design the new online system forsubmitting annual fire safety statements (AFSS)to allow councils to identify buildings in theirarea that require an AFSS, and where follow upor enforcement action is required.36 That the Environmental Planning andAssessment Regulation 2000 be amended toclarify what constitutes a 'significant fire safetyissue'.


37 That section 121ZD of the EnvironmentalPlanning and Assessment Act 1979 beamended to allow councils to delegate authorityto the General Manager to consider a report bythe Fire Brigade, make a determination andissue an order, rather than having the reportconsidered at the next council meeting.

Council supports this recommendation.Council believes that General Managers canbetter deal with this matter via delegation ratherthan requiring a specific report to come back toCouncil for adoption.

38 That the NSW Government transfer Crownreserves with local interests to councils, asrecommended by the NSW Crown LandsManagement Review and piloted through theLocal Land Program Pilot.


39 Consistent with its response to the CrownLands Legislation White Paper, that the NSWGovernment ensure that Crown reservesmanaged by councils are subject to LocalGovernment Act 1993 requirements in relationto:— Ministerial approval of licences and

leases, andreporting.


40 That the NSW Government streamline thestatutory process for closing Crown roads,including the arrangements for advertising roadclosure applications.


41 That the NSW Government reduce thebacklog of Crown road closure applications toeliminate the current waiting period forapplications to be processed.


42 That the NSW Government streamline theprovisions of the Local Government Act 1993relating to plans of management for communityland to align public notice and consultation withcouncils' community engagement forIntegrated Planning and Reporting purposes.

Council supports this recommendation.Council notes that this is an initiative that issupported in the final reports of the ILGRP andthe LGATF.

43 That Roads and Maritime Services providegreater support for councils to develop thecompetency to conduct route accessassessments and process heavy vehicleapplications. This support should be focused ondeveloping the competency and skills withincouncils to perform these regulatory functions


Recommendation Comment44 That the impounding Act 1993 be amendedto treat caravans and advertising trailers in thesame way as boat trailers when consideringwhether they are unattended for the purposes ofthe Act.

Council supports this recommendation.Council notes that this is not a major issuewithin its LGA but acknowledges it is one for anumber of councils within metropolitan areaswhich is a major source of conflict withresidents. However, we believe it is important togive councils adequate authority to deal with thisproblem.

45 That the Office of Local Government'sredesign and modernisation of the centralRegister of Companion Anima/s includes thefollowing functionality:— online registration, accessible via

mobile devices anywhere— a one-step registration process,

undertaken at the time of microchippingand identifying an animalthe ability for owners to update changeof ownership, change of addressand other personal details onlineunique identification information inrelation to the pet owner (ie, owner'sdate of birth, driver licence number orMedicare number)

— the ability to search by owner detailsthe ability for data to be analysed byLocal Government Area (not just byregions)

— the ability for data to be directlyuploaded from pound systems, andcentralised collection of registration feesso funding can be directly allocated tocouncils.

Council supports this recommendation andwelcomes any initiative which will streamline theCompanion Animals Act requirements.

46 That the Companion Animals Act 1998 andCompanion Animals Regulation 2008 beamended to require unique identificationinformation in relation to the pet owner (ie,owner's date of birth, drivers licence number orMedicare number), to be entered in the registerat the time of entering animal identificationinformation and when there is a change ofownership.


47 That the NSW Government review howcouncils are currently applying Alcohol FreeZone (AFZ) and Alcohol Prohibited Area (APA)provisions in response to alcohol related anti-social behaviour and clarify the rationale andprocesses for declaring AFZs and APAs in theLocal Government Act 1993 and MinisterialGuidelines on Alcohol-Free Zones.

Council supports th s recommendation

48 That the NSW Government provide anefficient process for consultation and decisionmaking on temporary and events-based alcoholrestrictions


Recommendation Comment49 That the Graffiti Control Act 2008 beamended to allow councils to prosecuteindividuals and organisations that commissionor produce bill posters that are visible from apublic place within their local government area.


We trust this provides IPART with adequate feedback on their draft Report and thank the authorityfor taking such a positive approach to this review. We hope that all the recommendations are actedupon as they will deliver significant savings to councils.

Yours sincerely,

aul SpyveActing Director Economic & Community DevelopmentQueanbeyan City Council

PO Box 90, NSW 2620

Tel.

E-mail:

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