What does the local government do

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Levels of government
How does local government work?
Who does what?
The system of local government
Minister for Local Government
Local Government Victoria
Federal Government
Local Government Peak Bodies
Union services
How are these services funded?
Code of Conduct
Working as part of a team
Working as a mayor
How do councillors and staff work together?

Type in your address in our interactive map and locate your council area.

The functions that all councils are required to perform include:

Provision and maintenance of street infrastructure such as roads, footpaths and kerbing
Administration of planning and building legislation, dog and cat management laws, food safety regulation and litter and nuisance requirements
Emergency management and fire prevention functions
Waste disposal services
Representative functions such as preparing strategic plans for the council area and providing support to elected members.

The functions that many councils choose to perform include:

Provision and maintenance of infrastructure that contributes to the amenity of the council area such as parks and gardens, playgrounds and skate parks, hiking and cycling infrastructure, sports grounds and swimming centres, jetties and boating facilities, camping grounds and caravan parks, and community wastewater systems
Environmental management functions including additional waste and recycling services and stormwater management services, coastal protection, wetlands and landcare
Community support including library and public health services, child and aged care services, youth and disability services, arts and cultural activities, and provision of community centres and options for community transport
Economic development programs focused on employment creation, business support, regional development, tourism and promotion including by providing Visitor Information Centres, and running and supporting local festivals and events.

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Governments are groups of people given responsibility for looking after various aspects of our lives and community. Governments are formed through fair and democratic elections. Voters choose which person they wish to represent them at all levels. Voting is compulsory for people over the age of 18.

Levels of government

In Australia, there are three levels of government:

The Federal Government looks after the whole of Australia. Their responsibilities include defence, telecommunications, postal services and immigration.
State Governments look after individual states and territories. Victoria’s state government looks after services such as education, health, water supply, police and transport.
Local Governments (such as the City of Greater Dandenong), look after specific areas within each state. Each local government area varies in size and population. These organisations, known as Councils, look after services such as waste, leisure centres, parks and gardens, pet registrations and more.

The Role of Local Government pamphlet - 533KB

How does local government work?

In local government, an independent group of people called Councillors work with and for their local community to make decisions on how the local area is managed and how resources are used. The community votes for the Councillors to represent them at elections, which are held every four years.

Every year, one Greater Dandenong councillor is voted by the others to become mayor for the next 12 months.

Find out who your local councillors are.

Who does what?

Victoria has 79 councils. Each council plans and delivers services in health, planning and building control, business and economic development, waste and environmental management, and human and community services.

Councils have expanded as the needs of communities extend and interdependence with other levels of government continues to grow.

Councils are also a significant contributor to the Victorian economy, employing over 50,000 people, spending more than $7 billion on service delivery and $2 billion on infrastructure annually and managing over $70 billion in public assets.

It is of noted that some parts of Victoria are not incorporated into local government areas. This includes French Island and a number of Alpine Resort Management Boards.

For more information about each council area, find your council.

The system of local government

In Australia there are three tiers of elected government – local, state and federal. Statutory responsibility for local government lies with a State or Territory Government, and thus the roles and responsibilities of local councils vary from state to state. In Victoria, the legal basis for councils is established under the Constitution Act 1975 and the Local Government Act 1989 and Local Government Act 2020.

Minister for Local Government

The Minister for Local Government is the minister responsible for overseeing the system of local government in Victoria. The Minister acts as an advocate for local government issues within state government and supports and monitors the system of local government with the assistance of Local Government Victoria. The Minister is not directly involved in the detailed management of individual councils.

The Minister for Local Government is responsible for administering the following principal Acts:

Local Government Victoria

Local Government Victoria is a division of the Victorian Government's Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR).

Local Government Victoria supports and advises the Minister for Local Government in administering the Local Government Act, and providing councils with advice about a range of matters including governance. Local Government Victoria also administers funding for some council activities. Local Government Victoria does not become involved in the detailed management of individual councils.

The administration of the Victoria Local Government Grants Commission is located within Local Government Victoria. The Commission allocates financial assistance grants provided by the Federal Government to councils.

Federal Government

The Australian Government, while not directly involved in the regulation or administration of local government, does support local government through a number of programs including the provision of funding through financial assistance grants as well as encouraging innovation in local government through the National Awards for Local Government.

Local Government Peak Bodies

Victorian councils have four main representative bodies:

Union services

For union services information visit the Australian Services Union.

Local government plays a central and indispensable role within our federal system of government and is recognised in the Victorian Constitution as a distinct and independent tier of government. It is the level of government closest to the people and gives people a say in matters affecting their local area. Councils are governments – they provide a vehicle for the expression of local democracy.

This section includes:

Local governments create and enforce local laws, manage services and activities which are adapted to the needs of the community they serve.

Example of services that councils provide include:

local roads and infrastructure
parks maintenance and pools
water and sewerage
waste collection
animal management (e.g. pet registration)
urban planning, building services and protection of heritage buildings or vegetation
local laws for advertising signage, food businesses, large community events and other matters
parking management
community facilities such as meeting halls, libraries and malls management
immunisation services
complaints about neighbours.

How are these services funded?

There are six main ways that local governments raise money to provide infrastructure and services to communities:

rates and charges
fees, permits and registrations
profits from council-owned businesses including childcare centres, public housing, sporting and recreational facilities and transport services
grants and subsidies
loans
developer contributions and charges levied on land being developed and used to pay for water and sewerage, roads and public recreation spaces.

Councils must document the processes used to raise revenue. These documents are publicly available and include the corporate plan, operational plan, revenue policy, revenue statement and budget, and annual report.

Code of Conduct

A Code of Conduct (PDF, 150KB) outlines how behavioural standards align with the local government principles and assists all councillors in being aware of their obligations as elected representatives.

Under the Code of Conduct, the standards of behaviour are summarised in ‘the three Rs’, being:

Responsibility
Respect
Reputation

Each standard of behaviour includes several examples to guide councillors in complying with the Code of Conduct. By adhering to the behaviours set out in the Code of Conduct, councillors will increase public confidence in local government and its decisions.

The Code of Conduct provides a set of values that describe the types of conduct councillors should demonstrate.

These include:

make decisions in the public interest
ensure effective and economical delivery of services
represent and meaningfully engage with the community
clearly and accurately explain council decisions
accept and value differences of opinion
exercise good governance
develop open and transparent processes and procedures
meet the community’s expectations for high level leadership.

The Code of Conduct reinforces the five local government principles:

transparent and effective processes, and decision making in the public interest
sustainable development and management of assets and infrastructure, and delivery of effective services
democratic representation, social inclusion and meaningful community engagement
good governance of, and by, the local government
ethical and legal behaviour of councillors, local government employees and councillor advisors.

Working as part of a team

Local government decisions are taken by a majority vote of all the elected councillors. Each councillor in the council chamber has an equal vote (even the mayor has a single vote). That means a decision by a majority of votes is considered a decision of local government. In the case of a tied vote, the mayor, acting as chairperson, can exercise a casting vote.

The collective will and decision-making of council is paramount and an individual councillor's views are secondary to the majority view. If you find yourself in the minority on a particular topic, once a majority decision is taken by council, you should not seek to undermine the decision because you did not personally vote in favour of it. If you are in the council chamber and you choose not to vote on a matter you are deemed to have voted in the negative (i.e. against the proposal).

It is important to remember that you are elected to represent the overall public interest of the whole local government area.

Working as a mayor

As mayor you have the same responsibilities that other councillors have, plus additional roles.

In all councils other than the Brisbane City Council, the mayor is the chairperson who presides over the council meetings and is responsible for managing the conduct of the participants at these meetings. Under the City of Brisbane Act 2010, Brisbane City Council appoints a chairperson from its councillors (other than the mayor or deputy mayor) at its first meeting after the office of the chairperson becomes vacant. The chairperson then presides over all meetings of the council.

The mayor is also responsible for:

working with the other councillors to prepare the annual budget
leading, managing and providing strategic direction to the chief executive officer
directing the chief executive officer in line with council’s approved policy position or decisions
conducting an annual performance appraisal of the chief executive officer
ensuring the council promptly provides the Minister for Local Government with information when it is requested
participating as a member of each standing committee
representing the local government at ceremonial and civic functions.

As mayor, you are the most visible and high-profile councillor in the local government and the person viewed as responsible for the performance of the council.

If you nominate as a mayoral candidate, you cannot nominate as a councillor candidate as well.

How do councillors and staff work together?

The Local Government Act 2009 clearly distinguishes between the roles and responsibilities of the executive (elected councillors) and the administrative (council employees) areas of local government. This is sometimes referred to as the separation of powers.

The primary role of councillors is to focus on policy development and strategic delivery of services in the public interest. Local government decisions are made to direct the operational work and realise the planned goals that are set out in the local government's corporate plan.

Councillors are responsible for: