Archived Projects

South Australia's Strategic Plan 2004

Two key targets for the Office for State/Local Government Relations in South Australia's Strategic Plan 2004 were:

Target 5.5 - Increase voter participation in Local Government elections in South Australia to 50% within 10 years; and
Target 5.7 - Align State and Local Government Strategic Plans within 12 months of the release of South Australia's Strategic Plan and agree joint initiatives.

Significant work was undertaken by the Office for State/Local Government Relations in conjunction with the Local Government Association (LGA) to progress these targets.

On Target 5.5, the State Government, through the Office for State/Local Government Relations, and the Local Government Association cooperated in the development of strategies designed to improve voter turnout, and to encourage the nomination of candidates, in the November 2006 Local Government elections

On Target 5.7, in October 2004 the Minister's State/Local Government Forum sponsored a State-Local Government workshop on South Australia's Strategic Plan to further the alignment of strategic planning between the two spheres. This gave rise to several areas of activity, including a project undertaken by the LGA, called Making the Connections.

South Australia's Strategic Plan 2004 - Objective 5 'Building Communities' Consultation Forum

On 25 May 2006 the Office for State/Local Government Relations, in conjunction with a number of State agencies, coordinated a consultation forum on Objective Five of South Australia's Strategic Plan, 'Building Communities'. Over 130 participants, representing a range of community organisations, attended to discuss and provide comments on both the overall issue of building communities and how it may be best expressed in the next edition of the Plan.

The participants discussed specific issues currently contained within this objective: women in leadership, participation in civic life and democratic processes, State and Local Government strategic planning and regional issues. A summary of the day is available below, along with a complete record of all discussion. Dr Elspeth McInnes, Lecturer in Sociology at the University of South Australia, provided the keynote address for the day. A copy of Dr McInnes' speech is also available here.

Executive Summary

Record of Discussion

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Rate Setting Improvement Project 2002

The Rating Improvement Project jointly undertaken by the Office for State/Local Government Relations and the Local Government Association has positioned Local Government to better respond to rating issues, particularly the challenges caused by large and uneven valuation increases.

The attached document Flexible Approaches to Rate Setting – A Guide was developed during the course of the Rating Improvement Project from the wealth of materials that became available. This document is a comprehensive guide to rate setting and provides a valuable resource for council members and staff.

Also available is the Rating Improvement Project’s Steering Committee Report.

Flexible Approaches to Rate Setting

Identifying Rating Improvement Opportunities - Steering Committee Report

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Managing Community and Social Impacts and Communicating Rating Decisions – Good Practice Approaches 2004

Improvements to council rate setting and communication practices is an ongoing process, and the Local Government Association of SA (LGA) and the Office for State/Local Government Relations continues to offer support and assistance to councils in this regard.

Managing Community and Social Impacts and Communicating Rating Decisions – Good Practice Approaches builds on the resources prepared for the “Flexible Approaches to Rate Setting – A Guide, December 2003”, and has been prepared for insertion as a separate section in that manual.

The new section responds to local experiences from the 2003/04 Rating Year and the support needs expressed by councils since that time, and has been developed in consultation with participating councils at regional Workshops held in March 2004.

In particular, this section highlights some of the key considerations and suggests good practice approaches to the following aspects of council rating decisions:

assessing community and social impacts
applying rate relief options; and
communicating rating decisions

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State/Local Government Partnerships Program

From mid 2000 to February 2002 the State/Local Government Partnerships Program was in place with the objective of coodinating the development of new and better ways for State and Local Government to work together to improve service delivery to the community.

The Partnerships Program was developed by the previous State Government as the principal avenue for advancing the third phase of the Government's Local Government reform program, following the structural (boundary) reform program and the comprehensive rewrite of the Local Government legislative framework.

Outcomes of the program included:

a State/Local Government scoping Study - the final report for Partnering for effective government - Competitive advantage for South Australia (PDF) was released in March 2001;
development of a Roads Infrastructure Database. Read more about the Roads Infrastructure Database...
a project aimed to increase the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Local Government, with a particular focus on the electoral processes (refer below);
a "Regional Workforce Accommodation Solutions" study;
a publication "Partnership Stories Worth Telling" (PDF) to document and promote the range of partnership arrangements and initiatives involving State and Local Government.

Indigenous Initiatives

Strategic directions: 2000 - 2005

Review project and strategy report entitled "Local Councils belong to Aboriginal People 2" August 2000 (ZIP)

Local Councils Belong to Aboriginal People 2, June 2000 (PDF)

Appendices: Local councils belong to Aboriginal people 2 - Aug 00 (PDF)

The approach in South Australia continues to be characterised by collaboration between the Office for State/Local Government Relations and the Local Government Association of South Australia and a concentrated effort on supporting councils.Reports on collaborative projects that involved Office for State/Local Government Relations funding follow.

Examples of Working Together in South Australia (2000) – a booklet that profiled, for the first time in SA in a consolidated document, the many practical examples of interaction between councils and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities/people. Funded by the Office for State/Local Government Relations. Click here to view.

Framework for Governance (2001) - a ‘generic framework' developed in association with the Nepabunna Community Council, which explored the nature of ‘local government type services', the principles of good governance and relevant cultural issues. Funded by the Office for State/Local Government Relations.

Local Government General Elections – in 2003 a package of material distributed to councils containing a resource guide for councils, a poster for display in council offices, and three brochures providing information on Local Government, the responsibilities of being a Councillor, voting in elections and how to get on the electoral roll. Funded by the National Office of Local Government and the Office for State/Local Government Relations. These resources were updated for the 2006 Council Elections. Click here to view.

Local Government/Aboriginal Service Agreement Case Study Guide (2005) – offers practical information to councils on developing an agreement. The guide features an Alliance agreement developed by The Coorong District Council and the Raukkan Community Council. The guide is the result of cooperative work between the State and Local Government and builds on a two-day residential workshop that explored the notion of service agreements and approaches to application in SA. The guide also offers information for councils on protocols, days of significance and the Aboriginal Flag. Click here to view.

Joint Media release

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Archived Circulars/Legislation

In transition circulars
These in transition circulars were prepared by the Office for State/Local Government Relations between September 1999 and May 2000 to assist Councils implement the Local Government Acts and provide a source of background information.

13 May 2000
Meeting procedures and accountability requirements for Councils, Committees and Subsidiaries

12 December 1999
Members allowances and benefits

11 December 1999
Local Government Land - Community land and roads

10 December 1999
Checklist for commencement of Local Government Acts

9 December 1999
Delegations - Chapter 4

8 October 1999
Revision of voters rolls for May 2000 Council Elections

7 October 1999
Meetings - Chapter 6

6 October 1999
Future of Committees and Controlling Authorities - Chapter 4 and Schedule 2

5 October 1999
By-laws - Chapter 12

4 October 1999
Rates and Charges - Chapter 10

3 September 1999
Parliamentary debate - Amendments to the Local Government (Elections) Bill 1999 - in summary

2 September 1999
Parliamentary debate - Amendments to the Local Government Bill 1999 - Chapters 7-14 - in summary

1 September 1999
Parliamentary debate - Amendments to the Local Government Bill 1999 - Chapters 1-6 - in summary

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