Councillors currently attend four scheduled meetings each month: the Concept Forum, Agenda Briefing Forum, Ordinary Council Meeting, and Strategic Workshop. This does not include any special Council meetings that may be called. Currently, these meetings are all held on a Monday evening – this means our current Councillors have a meeting every Monday night. Some meetings start at 6pm, others at 7pm and typically they finish between 8pm–10pm.

The meeting structure and calendar for all Council meetings for the following year are determined by Council at the November or December ordinary council meeting. At this meeting, there is opportunity for Council to consider the nature of meetings it holds and when they are held which means in 2026 the meeting structure may be different to what it has been in 2025.

If elected to a committee, you will be required to attend those meetings. The City currently has three committees – each meet once per quarter (usually one committee meeting per month) during business hours. Other than the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee which is a statutory requirement, Council has discretion over the number of Committees it establishes. Appointments as a committee member are decided by Council at an ordinary council meeting – Councillors can nominate which Committees they want to be be involved in (not all Councillors are members of all Committees).

The decision about how many Committees to establish, the purpose of the Committee, when it meets and the membership of the Committee is decided by Council at the October Ordinary Council Meeting, after the election. This means the Committee structure in 2026 may be different to what it has been in 2025.

Ordinary Council Meeting agendas are typically around 190 pages. Reading and preparation for a meeting differs for every person but would usually take 2–4 hours, not including attachments. We recommend you review some of our past Council agendas to get familiar with the agenda content, and gauge how long you think it would take you to prepare for a meeting.

Yes. Ordinary Council Meetings are currently held on most Monday evenings, and Councillors are often invited to attend events during the day, in the evenings, or on weekends to represent the City.

No. Elected Members are unable to work overseas, and they are only allowed to join meetings via Teams under special requirements.

Yes, sometimes. Councillors may be required to travel for training, conferences, or regional representation. Because of our regional location, this travel usually requires overnight stays.

Councillors represent the community, actively participate in meetings, liaise between Council and residents, and help determine the City’s strategic direction.

Section 2.10 of the Local Government Act states:

2.10. Role of councillors

(1) A councillor —

(a) represents the interests of the electors, ratepayers and residents of the district and takes account of the interests of other persons who work in, or visit, the district; and

(b) participates in the deliberation and decision-making of the local government at council and committee meetings; and

(c) facilitates communication with the community about council decisions; and

(d) facilitates and maintains good working relationships with other councillors, the mayor or president and the CEO; and

(e) acts consistently with section 2.7(3) to (5); and

(f) maintains and develops the requisite skills to effectively perform their role.

In addition to this, the Local Government Act 1995 sets out a number of roles, responsibilities and requirements that Councillors must adhere to. Training is provided to Councillors in relation to this.

Yes. Councillors are often invited to attend local events and may be asked to deliver speeches or represent Council at official functions.

In 2024/25, Councillors were invited to:

• Around 55 optional daytime events (9am–5pm)
• Around 25 optional evening events
• Around 40 weekend events
  Attendance is shared across Councillors and not every event requires every Councillor.

Councillors engage directly with community members and seek advice or information from the City’s leadership team when needed.

Councillors generally liaise only with the CEO and directors, rather than with other City employees and have legislated restrictions on their interactions with staff (eg. Councillors cannot direct staff in any way).

All new Councillors must complete five mandatory training courses when they are first elected. This is provided by WALGA, and more information can be found on WALGA’s website.

The City provides training opportunities throughout the year and can arrange additional courses on request (subject to a financial threshold for each Councillor).

No. Experience is not required — support and training are provided.

Any Australian citizen aged 18 or over who is enrolled to vote in the district and has completed the mandatory candidate induction.

When nominating, the Returning Officer (a person appointed by the WAEC to oversee the election, who is independent of the Council and the City administration) undertakes a number of checks to ensure that a candidate is eligible.

Not necessarily. Candidates must be enrolled to vote in the district, which can include property owners who live elsewhere.

Yes. Business owners and property owners who are enrolled as electors in the district are eligible.

Yes. Councillors receive a sitting fee, IT allowance, and subsidies for travel, training, and may be eligible for a childcare rebate.

The City publishes remuneration details for each financial year in its Annual Report which can be found here.

Remuneration is set by the independent Salaries and Allowances Tribunal and Council endorsement.

Councillors are elected for a four-year term. Each election, half of the Council’s seats are declared vacant and available for election for four years. This system means that there is always an overlap of Councillors who are new compared to Councillors who have been elected for at least two years.

Councillors are accountable through legislation, transparency measures, public reporting, and oversight mechanisms.

A Councillor who misses three consecutive Ordinary Council Meetings without approved leave by Council decision is automatically disqualified.

Currently, information that is published on the website and/or in other publications such as the Annual Report includes:

• Meeting attendance records
• Annual and Primary Returns
• Travel and training information
• Gift register
• Political associations (if any)
• City email and phone number
• Year elected to Council
• Age bracket
• Country of Birth
• Gender
• Linguistic Background
• If you identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander

The City publishes information that it is required under legislation to publish, as well as on occasion additional information for transparency purposes which is notified to or determined by Council through its policies or decisions.