Central Coast Council's Code of Meeting Practice, Code of Conduct and Public Forum Policy have been reviewed and are on public exhibition for your feedback.

The draft Code of Meeting Practice aims to ensure Council meetings contribute to good public decision-making and increase Council's transparency and accountability to its community.

The Code of Meeting Practice is based on the Office of Local Government’s suggested Model Code of Meeting Practice that applies to all meetings of councils and committees of councils of which all the members are councillors (committees of council).

Council is required to adopt a Code of Meeting Practice within the first 12 months of a Local Government election of Councillors. Changes to the previous Code of Meeting Practice are minimal.

The draft Code of Conduct sets the standards of behaviour expected for Council officials, promoting fairness, respect and safety in all Council activities. The policy helps ensure decisions are made in the public interest, protects against conflicts of interest, and outlines how complaints and misconduct are handled to maintain trust and transparency in local government.

The Code of Conduct assists Council officials to:

• understand and comply with the standards of conduct that are expected of them
• enable them to fulfil their statutory duty to act honestly and exercise a reasonable degree of care and diligence
• act in a way that enhances public confidence in local government

Council is required to review its Code of Conduct within the first 12 months of a Council election of Councillors. Changes to the previous Code of Conduct are minimal.

The draft Public Forum Policy outlines how members of the community can speak directly to Council about items on the agenda of upcoming Council meetings. It sets clear rules on frequency and structure, requesting to speak, limits on the number of speakers and expected conduct.

The policy aims to make Council decision-making more transparent and inclusive by giving residents a structured opportunity to share their views before decisions are made.

Changes to the previous Public Forum Policy include:

• Clause 4.18 regulating how speakers will be determined when speaker numbers exceed the number allowed in Clause 4.13
• Clause 4.7 now requires speakers to make an application by 12noon on the day prior to the public forum in lieu of 10am on the day of the meeting.

To have your say on these draft policies you can:

• View the draft policies
• Complete the above submission form for each policy you wish to comment on
• Email: engageme@centralcoast.nsw.gov.au or
• Write to Council: PO Box 20, Wyong NSW 2259.

Submissions close Thursday 31 July 2025.

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