At its meeting on 17 June 2025, Council endorsed the Code of Meeting Practice for public exhibition.
Council meeting
What is Code of Meeting Practice?
The Code outlines the procedures for the conduct of Council and Committee Meetings.
The Local Government Act 1993 requires councils to adopt a code of meeting practice that is consistent with the Model Code of Meeting Practice prescribed by the Office of Local Government, within 12 months of an ordinary election of councillors. Prior to adopting the code of meeting practice, councils must place the document on public exhibition for 28 days and invite submissions for 42 days.
The Office of Local Government (OLG) released a Consultation Draft of a new Model Code of Meeting Practice in December 2024. It is expected that the OLG will release the final Model Code of Meeting Practice later this year, though the timeline has not yet been provided.
Council has until September 2025 to adopt a Code of Meeting Practice that is consistent with the current Model Code of Meeting Practice. To meet this statutory timeframe, the current Inner West Council Code of Meeting Practice is placed on public exhibition, with no changes, and submissions are being invited. Officers will prepare a further report to Council once the new Model Code of Meeting Practice is issued, to recommend that a new Code be placed on public exhibition.
The purpose of this Code of Meeting Practice is to provide a clear and consistent framework for how meetings are conducted.
The Code sets out eight meeting principles under which Council and committee meetings should be conducted.
| Transparent: | Decisions are made in a way that is open and accountable. |
| Informed: | Decisions are made based on relevant, quality information. |
| Inclusive: | Decisions respect the diverse needs and interests of the local community. |
| Principled: | Decisions are informed by the principles prescribed under Chapter 3 of the Act. |
| Trusted: | The community has confidence that Councillors and staff act ethically and make decisions in the interests of the whole community. |
| Respectful: | Councillors, staff and meeting attendees treat each other with respect. |
| Effective: | Meetings are well organised, effectively run and skillfully chaired. |
| Orderly: | Councillors, staff and meeting attendees behave in a way that contributes to the orderly conduct of the meeting. |
The Code applies to all meetings of Councils and committees of Councils of which all the members are Councillors (committees of Council). Council committees whose members include persons other than Councillors may adopt their own rules for meetings unless the Council determines otherwise.
Have your say
You can provide feedback by:
- Completing the form below
- Emailing to George.Georgakis@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
- Posting to c/o George Georgakis, Inner West Council, Po Box 14, Petersham NSW 2049
- Calling us on 02 9392 5560
Other ways to provide feedback:
- Call a FREE Interpreter or the National Relay Service, Monday to Friday between 9am-4pm and provide our phone number 02 9392 5560
- Free Interpreter call TIS National on 131 450
- Voice relay call 1300 555 727
- TTY call 133 677
- SMS relay call 0423 677 767
Last day to provide feedback is 3 August 2025.
Complete form
To complete the survey please create an account to join, or login to an existing account. The Your Say Inner West account is separate from other Council accounts.
What happens next?
Following the public exhibition period a report including your feedback will be brought back to Council for consideration to adopt. All those who provided feedback will be notified when the report will be considered by Council.
