Letters to the Editor
21 January, 2026
Letter to the Editor : New Code Of Meeting Practice
The Code of Meeting Practice contains the rules that Councillors must follow at the monthly Council meetings. It is akin to the rules that govern a cricket or soccer match.
New Code Of Meeting Practice
Dear Editor
Sarah James’ article on the new Code of Meeting Practice gave readers an insight into what to expect in 2026.
The Code of Meeting Practice contains the rules that Councillors must follow at the monthly Council meetings. It is akin to the rules that govern a cricket or soccer match.
The new Code was adopted by Wingecarribee Council at its 10 December 2025 meeting. It came into force on 1 January 2026. The new Code is also applicable to all NSW Councils, with some minor variations between Councils.
As Sarah’s article describes, of all the new changes, the significant one is that all NSW Councillors are no longer allowed to engage in briefing sessions. In Wingecarribee Council, this appears as clause 3.33 in its Code of Meeting Practice. The Code is available at: https://www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/files/assets/public/v/2/council/codes/code-of-meeting-practice.pdf.
The official reason why briefing sessions have been banned is contained in the report entitled Councillor Conduct and Meeting Practices, A New Framework, September 2024. The report noted that:
‘Closed council briefing sessions are being used to make decisions away from the public view. Members of the public impacted by the council’s decision have no idea what the councillors have been told or what has been discussed.’
It appears that the Minister for Local Government, Mr Ron Hoenig, is determined that Councillors must be open, accountable and transparent in their decision making. Having private sessions outside of chamber, where decisions are made, is unacceptable to the Minister.
So this raises the key question, what constitutes a briefing session? Unfortunately, a ‘briefing session’ is not defined in the Dictionary of the Local Government Act 1993. A search on the AUSTLII legal database did not find any rulings in the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
A City of Parramatta Council report described a briefing session as ‘sessions often held prior to Council making a resolution in a Council Meeting.’ It goes on further to state that the briefings session provides an opportunity for background information or context, and ‘presents options that supports a resolution or action in Council.’
It appears that the Independent Commission Against Corruption or ICAC has a strong interest in briefing sessions. In its report into Hurstville City Council, ICAC addressed the features of a briefing session when it made 4 recommendations when Councillors informally get together:
1) that there are clear objectives for the gathering.
2) that a record is kept.
3) that Councillors not at the gathering need to be informed as to what happened.
4) that the gathering does not make decisions.
These are stringent characteristics, and their objectivity makes them easily enforceable. It also makes briefing sessions easily definable. ICAC’s strong interest in briefing sessions is possibly due as it sees them as transgressions against transparency and accountability.
Will Councillors abide by the ban on briefing sessions, or will they meet in private (or on Zoom), agree to how they will vote on the business items and agree to keep their ‘mouths shut’? If so, residents would be none the wiser.
It is not too idealistic to believe that local government exists to serve communities through open and accountable processes. When Councillors receive additional information behind closed doors, or when caucusing predetermines outcomes, then the monthly council meetings become performance, rather than a genuine forum for democratic decision-making.
Councillor decisions must be formed collectively, on the public record, in front of a gallery of residents and on information equally available to both Councillors and residents. Surely this is a minimum requirement of decision-making by our elected representatives. Minister Ron Hoenig thinks so.
Dr Raymond Khoury PhD
Colo Vale
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