Supporting good governance

At the Council Meeting on Tuesday 16 December, Council adopted an update to the City of Whittlesea Governance Rules. 

The Governance Rules, which were last updated in June 2024, set out the rules around meeting procedures, disclosure of conflicts of interest, elections and other matters for Council to ensure the principles of good governance are adhered to when making decisions on behalf of the community. The Governance Rules are made in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.  

The changes to the rules include:  

• Rule 21 Notices of Motion (NoM) requiring at least three Councillors to sign a NoM prior to be submitted with the CEO  

• a Councillor cannot be the signatory for more than two NoMs at any one meeting 

• increased speaking times for Councillors when speaking to a motion, and officers introducing a report  

• clarification around when a Councillor has a right of reply  

• clarification around lodgement of electronic petitions or joint letters. 

 
The proposed changes were open for community consultation from 19 November to 2 December 2025, with 57 responses received, noting that 14 of these were identical. The Council considered community feedback in adopting rules that demonstrate a commitment to effectively balancing representation with efficient and best-practice decision-making. 
 
The updated Governance Rules can be found on Council’s website at whittlesea.vic.gov.au  

Quotes attributable to the City of Whittlesea Mayor, Councillor Lawrie Cox: 

“The amendments to the Governance Rules were developed in response to the recent Commission of Inquiry report into the City of Whittlesea and other Council monitor recommendations and we are committed to ensuring that our Rules represent good governance practices.  

“We thank the community for taking the time to review the proposed changes and sharing their views. We have carefully considered all of the feedback received, and feel that by adopting changes, it will promote collaboration, improve transparency and ensure efficient decision-making of Council.”