Newsroom

A principles-based Act

Get involved

Implementation guidance

The Local Government Act 2020 received Royal Assent on 24 March 2020.

The new Local Government Act 2020 is the most ambitious reform to the local government sector in over 30 years. The Act will improve local government democracy, accountability and service delivery for all Victorians.

The Local Government Act 2020 will be proclaimed in 4 stages:

  • Stage 1 - 6 April 2020
  • Stage 2 - 1 May 2020
  • Stage 3 - 24 October 2020
  • Stage 4 - 1 July 2021

The first phase of reforms was proclaimed on 6 April 2020.

Sector engagement

Local Government Victoria is currently working with councils in a sector-led approach of co-design and consultation to develop products and materials that are customisable and scalable for individual council’s needs.

Visit EngageVic to contribute to the development of guidance material that will support councils in meeting the new requirements of the Act.

Key dates

Tuesday 1 September 2020


To allow councils to comply with the requirements by the 1 September 2020 time frame, there is a grace period of 4 months. To clarify, 1 September is the hard deadline and includes the 4 month grace period because it’s an extension of when the provision commences.

  • Governance rules
  • Expenses policy
  • Delegated Committees
  • Asset Committees
  • Audit & Risk Committee
  • Public Transparency transparency

Thursday 17 September 2020

  • Mandatory candidate training

To allow councils to comply with the requirements for the following time frames, there is a grace period of 6 months. To clarify, the dates below are the hard deadlines and already include the 6 months grace period which is an extension of when the provision commences.

Friday 24 February 2021

  • Councillor Code of Conduct

Monday 1 March 2021

  • Community Engagement policy

Friday 30 April 2021

  • Gift policy

Wednesday 30 June 2021

  • Councillor Induction Training – within 6 months after the Oath is taken
  • Annual budget
  • Revenue and Rating Plan

Sunday 31 October 2021

  • Financial plan
  • Council plan
  • Community vision
  • Annual report

Friday 31 December 2021

  • CEO employment and remuneration policy
  • Workforce plan
  • Recruitment policy
  • Staff Code of Conduct
  • Complaints policy
  • Procurement policy

Thursday 30 June 2022

  • Asset Management plans

Page last updated: 15/06/20