Council Meetings

A review of the reports or documents that have been considered under the provision of sections 90(3) and 91(7) of the Local Government Act will is conducted every 6 months. Orders that operate for more than 12 months must be reviewed annually and the Council must assess whether the grounds for non-disclosure are still relevant and, if so, provide the relevant grounds and reasons for the minutes and/or documents remaining confidential.

The Confidential Items Register includes confidential items for the years that still have items being kept in confidence. Revoked items are also included in this register. For a full list of the register dating back to 2007/08, please contact Council's Governance Staff

This Register will be updated periodically when new items are added or revoked.

Confidential Items Register as at December 2017

If a member of a Council has a material conflict of interest in a matter to be discussed at a meeting of the Council or Council Committee the member must inform the meeting of the material conflict of interest and leave the meeting room.

If a member has an actual or perceived conflict of interest in a matter to be discussed at a meeting of the Council or Council Committee, the member must inform the meeting of the actual or perceived conflict of interest and if the member proposes to participate in the meeting in relation to the matter how the member intends to deal with the actual or perceived conflict of interest.

If a member discloses a material conflict of interest the following details must be recorded in the minutes of the meeting and on a website determined by the CEO:

• the member’s name;
• the nature of the interest as described by the member;
• if the member took part in the meeting, or was in the Chamber during the meeting under an approval from the Minister, the fact that the member took part in the meeting or was in the Chamber during the meeting.

If a member discloses an actual or perceived conflict of interest in a matter to be discussed at a meeting of the Council the following details must be recorded in the minutes and on a website determined by the CEO:

• the member’s name;
• the nature of the interest as described by the member;
• the manner in which the member dealt with the actual or perceived conflict of interest;
• if the member voted on the matter, the manner in which he or she voted;
• the manner in which the majority of persons who were entitled to vote at the meeting voted on the matter.

Declarations Of Interest at Council and Committee Meetings 2017/18

Deputations need approval in advance of the meeting.  A written request to the Chief Executive Officer including a summary of the deputation should be received, no later than 2 weeks prior to the meeting date. There is 5 minutes set aside for each deputation.

The Public Open Forum has a time limited of up to 20 minutes.  This session provides an opportunity for people in the gallery to make a statement to Council or to ask questions.

The time available will be allocated to the speakers on an equal basis with the provisions of a maximum 5 minutes per speaker.  Any extension will need the leave of the Council. Therefore, if there are five (5) people that want to participate in the Public Open Forum then a maximum of 4 minutes each will be allocated.

The Mayor will ask at the meeting for the names of people wishing to participate in the Public Open Forum.

Council will receive and consider Petitions at Meetings and recommend they are presented in the correct format.

A Petition to Council must:

1. be legibly written, typed or printed;
2. clearly set out the request or submission of the petitioners;
3. include the name and address of each person who signed or endorsed the petition; and
4. be addressed to Council and delivered to the principal office of the Council.

If a petition is received in the Form Required, the Chief Executive Officer shall place a statement as to the nature of the request or submission, and the number of signatures or the number of persons endorsing the petition:

1. on the agenda for the next ordinary meeting of Council; or
2. on the agenda for the next ordinary meeting of an appropriate Committee if, in the opinion of the Mayor and the Chief Executive Officer, such action would expedite the nature of the request or submission contained in that petition.

The Chief Executive Officer must, at the request of either:- 

(a) the Principal Member of Council; or 
(b) at least 3 Members of Council; or
(c) a Council Committee at which at least 3 Members of Council vote in favour of the making of the request, call a Special Meeting of Council. 

The Chief Executive Officer must be provided with an Agenda for the Special Meeting at the time that a request is made (and if an Agenda is not provided then the request has no effect). 

Special Council Meetings may be held at any time and are generally held in the Council Chamber, Gawler Administration Centre 43 High Street Gawler East. 

Meetings are open to the public - and the public will only be excluded when considered proper and necessary i.e. the need for confidentiality outweighs the principle of open decision making. 

Agendas for Meetings are required to be available to each Member of Council at least 4 hours before the commencement of Meetings. We will endeavour to have Agendas (excluding confidential information) available on this Website in the same timeframe. 

Minutes of Meetings are required to be available to each Member of Council within 5 days after Meetings. We will endeavour to have Minutes (excluding confidential information) available on this Website in the same timeframe.

A number of committees have been established to streamline the consideration of Council business in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act (Section 41).

• Corporate & Community Services Committee - held bi-monthly on the second Tuesday of the month at 7pm
• Infrastructure & Environmental Services Committee -  held bi-monthly on the second Tuesday of the month at 7pm
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Performance Management Panel
• Elderly Centre Advisory Committee
• Gawler Heritage Collection Committee
• Gawler Youth Advisory Committee
• External Funds Committee

Meetings are open to the public - and the public will only be excluded when considered proper and necessary i.e. the need for confidentiality outweighs the principle of open decision making.

• Audit Committee (Section 126 of the Local Government Act 1999)
• Council Assessment Panel (Section 82 and 83 of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016)
• Building Fire Safety Committee (Development Act)
• Gawler River Floodplain Management Authority (Section 43 under the Local Government  Act 1999)
• Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority (Section 43 under the Local Government Act 1999)

Meetings are open to the public - and the public will only be excluded when considered proper and necessary i.e. the need for confidentiality outweighs the principle of open decision making.

• Gawler Urban Rivers Biodiversity Working Group
• Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Group

Members of the public are welcome to attend.

For further details, contact the Governance Team on 8522 9211.