Code of Practice for Meeting Procedures
at General Meetings of the Local
Government Association
July 2014
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ECM 598098
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Local Government Association
Code of Practice for Meeting Procedures at General Meetings of the Local Government
Association
Adopted by the Board 17 July 2014
1.
Commencement
This Code of Practice is adopted under clause 121 of the Constitution and will operate at all
general meetings commencing with the Annual General Meeting in October 2014.
2.
Guiding Principles
2.1
The LGA is committed to principles of honest, open and accountable government
and encourages active member participation at general meetings.
2.2
The following principles will be applied with respect to the procedures at all general
meetings:
2.2.1 procedures should be fair and contribute to open, transparent and informed
decision-making; and
2.2.2 procedures should encourage appropriate member participation in the affairs
of the LGA; and
2.2.3 procedures should be sufficiently certain and consistently applied to give the
members confidence in the deliberations at and the decisions of the meeting.
3.
4.
Minutes
3.1
The minutes of the proceedings at a meeting will be submitted for confirmation at
the next general meeting.
3.2
No discussion on the minutes will occur before confirmation except as to their
accuracy.
Questions
A question may be asked by a member at a meeting with the consent of the Chair (see
clause 45 of the Constitution).
5.
Decisions
5.1
All decisions at a meeting will be made by way of a motion moved and seconded.
5.2
A motion will lapse if it is not seconded.
5.3
The right of a member to give notice of a motion is set out at clause 25 of the
Constitution.
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ECM 598098
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Code of Practice for Meeting Procedures at General Meetings of the Local Government Association
Local Government Association of South Australia – Adopted July 2014
5.4
Only business which complies with the requirements of clause 28.3 of the
Constitution will be decided at a meeting.
5.5
A recommendation made by the Board is a motion to the meeting but may only be
moved and seconded by Board members.
5.6
A member moving or seconding a motion will speak to the motion at the time of
moving or seconding it.
5.7
A member may only speak once to a motion for no longer than 5 minutes except:
5.7.1 as the mover speaking in reply; or
5.7.2 with leave of the Chair;
5.8
A motion is subject to a maximum of two amendments.
5.9
Only a member who has not spoken to a motion may move or second an
amendment to the motion.
5.10 An amendment will lapse if it is not seconded.
5.11 A member who moves, seconds or speaks to an amendment is taken to have
spoken to the motion to which the amendment relates.
5.12 If an amendment is carried, it does NOT become the motion – rather, the motion
continues as the amended motion.
5.13 A motion or amendment may be varied or withdrawn:
5.13.1 at the request of or with the consent of the mover; and
5.13.2 with the consent of the seconder; and
5.13.3 with the leave of the meeting
5.14 A division will be taken at the request of a member in accordance with the procedure
set out at regulation 17 of the Meeting Regulations. For the avoidance of doubt, a
division may only be called on a motion (not on an amendment).
5.15 Any member who has not spoken in the debate may move a formal motion in the
form of a formal motion set out at regulation 12(14) of the Meeting Regulations (and
no other formal motion to a different effect will be recognised by the Chair).
5.16 In all other respects a formal motion will be considered and dealt with in accordance
with the requirements set out at regulation 12(15) – (18) inclusive of the Meeting
Regulations.
6.
Short Term Suspension
6.1
If the Chair considers that the conduct of the meeting will benefit from the
suspension of the operation of this Code of Practice for a period of time to allow or
facilitate informal discussions the Chair may implement such suspension.
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Code of Practice for Meeting Procedures at General Meetings of the Local Government Association
Local Government Association of South Australia – Adopted July 2014
6.2
7.
8.
9.
10.
A period of suspension may be brought to an end by the Chair or by a motion
carried at the meeting.
Points of Order
7.1
The Chair may call to order a member who is in breach of this Code of Practice or
the Constitution.
7.2
A member may raise a point of order by drawing the attention of the Chair to the
alleged breach.
7.3
In all other respects the procedure for dealing with a point of order is that set out at
regulation 28 of the Meeting Regulations.
Conflict of Interest
8.1
The conflict of interest provisions for elected members set out in the Act apply to a
meeting as if it were a meeting of a council and as if the member was a member of
the council at that meeting.
8.2
For the avoidance of doubt, where a member would have a prescribed interest in the
matter before the meeting if he/she were at a council meeting, the member is
required to act in a manner that is consistent with section 74 of the Act.
Other Matters
9.1
If any provision of this Code of Practice is found to be inconsistent with any matter
within the Constitution, the Constitution will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
9.2
This Code of Practice will be reviewed annually by the Board. It may be altered,
revoked or substituted at any time by the Board
9.3
This Code of Practice is a public document.
9.4
The ruling of the Chair on any application of this Code of Practice is final and binds
the meeting.
9.5
Wherever this Code of Practice provides for leave of the meeting, this will be
obtained by a show of hands and a ruling by the Chair as to whether leave has been
granted.
9.6
In any instance where this Code of Practice is silent or incapable of applying to the
issue, the procedure at the meeting will be determined by the Chair, having regard
to clause 122 of the Constitution.
Dictionary
‘Act’ means the Local Government Act 1999.
‘amendment’ means a proposition to refine a motion by adding, removing or changing words
in a motion but not so as to change the substantive proposition of the motion.
‘Board Member’ means a member of the Board of the Local Government Association.
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Code of Practice for Meeting Procedures at General Meetings of the Local Government Association
Local Government Association of South Australia – Adopted July 2014
‘Chair’ means the person presiding at a meeting.
‘Constitution’ means the Constitution of the Local Government Association of South
Australia which has been in operation from 1 May 2013.
‘meeting’ means any general meeting of the Local Government Association (comprising the
Annual General Meeting, the Ordinary General Meeting or a Special Meeting as defined in
the Constitution).
‘Meeting Regulations’ means the Local Government (Procedures at Meetings) Regulations
2013.
‘member’ means the Delegate (or Deputy Delegate) of an Ordinary Member as defined in
the Constitution.
‘point of order’ means a point raised to draw attention to an alleged breach of this Code of
Practice or the Constitution in relation to the proceedings of a meeting.
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