Hawkesbury City Council spent $75,000 last financial year handling complaints under the official "Code of Conduct," yet ratepayers remain in the dark about the specifics. Despite the considerable time and money involved, the process is cloaked in secrecy, with no details provided about who was investigated, the nature of the breaches, or the outcomes.  

Eleven complaints were lodged against councillors or the general manager in the year ending August 31, 2024, according to Hawkesbury Council documents. Of these, seven were referred to a conduct reviewer, with five resolved at a preliminary stage. Four out of five investigations were discontinued, and one councillor was formally censured for breaches of multiple clauses of the Code. The matter was escalated to the Office of Local Government under the misconduct provisions of the Local Government Act.  

The censured councillor was found to have violated standards prohibiting conduct likely to bring the council into disrepute, intimidate or verbally abuse others, or constitute harassment or bullying, among other breaches. Despite the severity of these findings, the identity of the councillor and the specific circumstances remain undisclosed, consistent with the confidentiality provisions of the complaints process.  

Hawkesbury’s handling of misconduct complaints reflects wider issues in the governance of local councils across New South Wales. While the Model Code of Conduct is intended to establish minimum standards for councillor behaviour, a 2022 review commissioned by the former state government found the framework deeply flawed. 

The report criticised the system for lacking consistency, timeliness, and independence and noted the Office of Local Government’s limited capacity to address ongoing problems effectively. Despite operating for over a decade, the current framework has failed to reduce the volume of complaints or improve public confidence in the process.  

Statewide, there were 1,143 complaints against councillors in the 2022/23 financial year. While some councils manage their conduct issues effectively, others have become repeat offenders. The State Government says the current code of conduct framework is overly complex, distracts from robust democratic debate and is being increasingly weaponised for political reasons. 

Changes proposed to streamline the Code would see minor complaints about councillor misbehaviour dealt with by a councillor’s peers and leave serious matters relating to conflicts of interest to be examined by the Office of Local Government.