Governance - Investigations

What does the Governance Team do?

The Governance Team provides residents, community members, ratepayers, local businesses, staff, Councillors and other Council stakeholders with an impartial service to address concerns or complaints about administrative conduct, unethical behaviour by Council, corrupt conduct, misconduct or maladministration.

The Governance Team also assists Council with policy development and review and training in relation to good governance and administrative conduct.

All operations are underpinned by principles of procedural fairness, accountability and transparency.

What can the Governance Team investigate?

The Governance Team can investigate or refer for investigation matters including:

  • Council administrative processes;
  • Failure to comply with Council’s Code of Conduct, policies or procedures;
  • Council’s lack of attention to matters, or review of Council’s complaint handling procedures;
  • Allegations of poor administration, maladministration, corruption, or other alleged improper conduct by Council or Council officials;
  • Anonymous complaints if sufficient verifiable evidence and details are provided; or
  • Matters referred by Councillor’s, the Chief Executive Officer or members of staff.

All general requests for service will be referred to the appropriate business unit.

The Governance Team may in the first instance refer a complaint to the appropriate business unit for advice.

What can’t the Governance Team investigate?

The Governance Team is unable to investigate matters:

  • That have not firstly been reviewed or investigated by the proper business unit (as required);
  • That are not part of Council’s functions or businesses;
  • That require initial referral to external agencies including but not limited to:
    • NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (the ICAC)
    • NSW Office of Local Government
    • NSW Ombudsman
    • NSW Police
  • Where adequate details of the complaint are not available to allow proper investigation;
  • That are frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith or are trivial in nature.

إذا شعرت بأنّ المجلس قد تعامل معك بشكل غير عادل، يمكنك الاتصال بقاضي المظالم الداخلي للحصول على المشورة. قاضي اﻟﻣظﺎﻟم اﻟداﺧﻟﻲ ھو من ﮐﺑﺎر اﻟﻣﺳؤوﻟﯾن ﻓﻲ اﻟﻣﺟﻟس وﯾﺗﻣﺛل دوره اﻟرﺋﯾﺳﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻘﯾﯾم ﺷﮐﺎوى العملاء والتحقيق فيها.

للحصول على مزيد من المعلومات، اتصل بالرقم 1300 36 2170  أو لخدمة الترجمة الكتابية والشفهية اتصل بالرقم 13 14 50.

यदि आपको लगता है कि काउंसिल ने आपके साथ अनुचित तरीके से बर्ताव किया है, तो आप परामर्श के लिए  इंटरनल ओम्बड्ज़मन (आंतरिक लोकपाल) से संपर्क कर सकते हैं। इंटरनल ओम्बड्ज़मन एक अनुभवी, वरिष्ठ काउंसिल अधिकारी है जिसका मुख्य भूमिका में उपभोक्ता की शिकायतों का आकलन और इनकी जांच-पड़ताल करना है।

Fऔर अधिक जानकारी के लिए, कृपया 1300 36 2170 पर फोन करें या अनुवाद एवं दुभाषिया सेवा (Translating and Interpreting Service) को 13 14 50 पर फोन करें।

Ако сматрате да је Општина неправедно поступала са вама, можете да се обратите интерном омбудсману (заштитнику грађана) за савет. Интерни омбудсман је искусан, виши службеник Општине чија је главна улога да обави процену и спроведе истрагу по жалбама странака.

За више информација, позовите 1300 36 2170 или Службу преводилаца и тумача (Translating and Interpreting Service) на 13 14 50.

Si usted considera que la Municipalidad le ha tratado injustamente, puede solicitar asesoramiento del Ombudsman interno. El Ombudsman interno es un funcionario superior de la Municipalidad cuya responsabilidad principal consiste en evaluar e investigar las quejas de los clientes.

Si desea mayor información llame al 1300 36 2170 o al Servicio de Traducción e Interpretación al 13 14 50.

Nếu cảm thấy mình bị Hội đồng Thành phố đối xử không công bằng, quý vị có thể liên lạc với Giám sát viên Nội bộ (Internal Ombudsman) để được hướng dẫn. Giám sát viên Nội bộ là nhân viên cấp cao và kinh nghiệm của Hội đồng Thành phố, giữ nhiệm vụ chính yếu là xem xét và tìm hiểu về các khiếu nại của khách hàng.

Muốn biết thêm thông tin, hãy gọi số 1300 36 2170 hoặc Dịch vụ Thông Phiên dịch số 13 14 50.

The Governance Team deals with the following complaints:

  • Customer complaints about Council processes, unreasonable delays or lack of action by Council staff;
  • Customer complaints alleging misconduct, fraud, corruption or maladministration involving Council staff and Councillors;
  • Complaints referred by the Mayor and Councillors;
  • Privacy complaints.

The  Governance Team cannot change Council decisions but can make recommendations to the Chief Executive Officer and the elected Council to change a decision, process or policy.

The Governance Team also reviews public interest disclosures made by Council staff and Councillors.

For more information, contact 1300 36 2170.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Your complaint must be made in writing either by using Council’s My Request Form or by posting it to the Governance Team, Liverpool City Council, Locked Bag 7064, Liverpool, NSW 1871.

Please provide the following information:

  1. The reason for your complaint;
  2. The background to your complaint and any relevant information;
  3. The solution you are seeking;
  4. Copies of any relevant letters or emails.

Before making your complaint, you can contact the Governance Team on 8711 7000 for advice or assistance.

The only exceptions to written complaints are to report fraud, corruption or an urgent matter of public safety, in which case please contact the Governance Team on 1300 36 2170.

Cost

There is no charge for making a complaint.

Where possible, you should try at first to resolve your issue with relevant Council staff before making your written complaint.

You can contact the Governance Team at any stage but if a member of Council staff is already handling your matter, it is likely that your complaint will be referred back to that Council unit to give Council staff the opportunity to resolve the issue.

After making a complaint, you will receive an acknowledgement within five working days and an indication of whether an assessment of your complaint will go ahead.

You will receive feedback on an assessment of your complaint within 10 working days.

If an assessment of your complaint reveals evidence supporting your complaint, the matter will then progress to an inquiry.

Within 20 working days of receiving the complaint, the Governance Team will aim to complete the inquiry and inform you of the outcome of the inquiry into your complaint.

No. If you wish to appeal a parking infringement notice, contact Revenue NSW on 1300 138 118.

No. The NSW Land and Environment Court deals with appeals regarding development approvals. Contact the Court Registry on (02) 9113 8200.

No, the Governance Team cannot overrule any decision made by Council. If, after an inquiry into a
matter, the Governance Team finds that a Council decision, policy or process is flawed and should
be changed, the Governance Team can recommend that the Chief Executive Officer or the elected
Council should change a decision, process or policy.

No, the Governance Team cannot provide legal advice or intervene in legal action taken by Council. If necessary, the Governance Team will explain legislation and Council policies relating to a decision subject to a complaint.

The Governance Team will not inquire into any anonymous complaint unless the matter involves a risk to public safety or allegations of corrupt conduct, serious misconduct, maladministration or waste.

During an assessment or inquiry, the Governance Team makes every effort to maintain confidentiality. However, it is not always possible to obtain information without disclosing a complainant's identity to limited Council staff.

If the Governance Team refers your complaint to the relevant Council manager, then it is likely that your complaint may not remain confidential. The Governance Team will inform you in writing if this happens. Your complaint will be dealt with only by relevant members of Council staff who are bound by the Code of Conduct to respect confidentiality.

You are welcome to contact the Governance Team on 1300 36 2170 to discuss a matter of concern. However, you must make a complaint in writing before it can be assessed.

After making a written complaint, it may be necessary for the Governance Team to meet with you, in which case you will be contacted about an appointment.

The Governance Team will not review any findings if a complainant does not agree with the outcome or a decision has not been favourable to them.

If you are dissatisfied with the findings or outcome of an inquiry made by the Governance Team you can submit a written complaint using the NSW Ombudsman Online Complaint Form.

You can make a complaint about Council to an external agency, such as the NSW Ombudsman, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the Information and Privacy Commission, and the Office of Local Government.

If you do make a complaint to an external agency but also make a complaint to the Governance Team, please inform the Governance Team because it is likely your inquiry would be stopped by the Governance Team so the external agency can make inquiries without duplicating efforts.

The Governance Team will not deal with matters which involve a staff dispute, grievance or disciplinary procedure.

However, the Governance Team can deal with complaints by Council staff which may involve:

  • A privacy issue or complaint;
  • A Code of Conduct complaint referred by the Chief Executive Officer;
  • A confidential public interest disclosure made under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994.