Congrats to King's Bithday Honours recipients

I hope you all made the most of the public holiday over the long weekend and were able to take some time away from any council-related duties.

I know so many of our communities are still recovering from recent disasters and the work of those councils and their communities is still 24/7. As we now move into recovery and reconstruction, LGNSW will continue to represent the interests of councils that need State and Federal support now more than ever.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to congratulate all those community members right across the State who were recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours Lists.

In particular, I wanted to acknowledge those who were recognised for their service to the local government sector. While none of us do this job for the awards, it is nice when this terrific service is recognised by others.

If there’s someone at your council or, indeed, in your community you feel is worthy of recognition through the Order of Australia, please consider nominating them by visiting the Governor-General’s website.

Proposed legislation in NSW Parliament

It has been a busy period at NSW Parliament, with a number of Bills introduced that impact our sector to varying degrees.

These include:

The Community Housing Providers (Adoption of National Law) Amendment Bill 2025, which aims to streamline the regulation of affordable housing in NSW, and ensure that affordable housing dwellings are being genuinely used for that purpose. The Bill will also establish a NSW Government-run register of all affordable housing dwellings across our state.

LGNSW called for this state-wide register in our evidence to the parliamentary inquiry into essential worker housing – this will be a good outcome for communities.

The Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2025 seeks to make a number of changes, including mandating the use of the NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) for council elections, enshrining in legislation a pre-poll duration of five business days (in line with LGNSW’s long-standing policy position), changing countback provisions for casual vacancies, requiring the NSWEC to consult with councils when preparing for elections. LGNSW is closely reviewing the Bill to understand its implications for our sector.

LGNSW supports the NSWEC as an independent and trusted agency for running fair elections. We know, though, that the costs of council elections have continued to escalate over recent electoral cycles, and the use of a monopoly provider will do nothing to reduce the costs of elections.

Councils are now receiving their final invoices from the NSWEC for the 2024 local government elections and I have been alerted to some extraordinary instances of sharply increased costs being imposed on councils. I have sought a meeting with the NSW Electoral Commission to better understand the reasons for these increases and understand what action is required to keep costs as low as possible.

The Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 came before the lower house on Tuesday 3 June and was referred for an inquiry by the upper house on Thursday 5 June. LGNSW remains supportive of a system that is fair and sustainable for employees and employers and supports moves towards better prevention of injury. Our team will keep you updated on this item as the inquiry commences in coming weeks.

Beachwatch funding Restored

I am pleased that the NSW Government has committed to funding the Beachwatch water quality program for the next two years, thereby reversing efforts to shift the costs onto councils.

LGNSW has repeatedly highlighted this as a concerning example of cost shifting onto our sector. We have regularly joined with other groups, particularly the Sydney Coastal Councils Group, in raising this issue time and again with the NSW Government and in State and Federal financial sustainability inquiries.

State-owned Sydney Water is responsible for sewerage management and treatment in the Beachwatch region, and this water monitoring program should remain State-funded. It was illogical to shift the burden onto councils that do not have responsibility for sewerage management/treatment, and do not have any legal responsibility for monitoring water quality at ocean beaches.

This is a great outcome for councils and communities and we look forward to working with the State Government to secure the funding arrangements in the longer term.

Bluett Awards – open now

A reminder that applications for the AR Bluett Memorial Awards are now open.

The Bluett Awards, the most prestigious and longest-running in local government, recognise excellence and progress, with the winning councils to be announced at the LGNSW Annual Conference later this year.

Applications close on 1 August 2025.

Further information

Sincerely,

Phyllis "signature" version 2.