Date: 26 June 2026
New South Wales councils will be subject to mandatory livestreaming requirements and tighter conduct rules at meetings, following the commencement of the Local Government (General) Amendment (Meetings) Regulation 2026.
The regulation was issued following the disallowance of the 2025 Model Code of Meeting Practice by the NSW Legislative Council on 26 May 2026. Because the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 prevents a replacement model code being prescribed within four months of a disallowance, the Government moved to secure key policy objectives through this separate amendment regulation.
Under the new rules, meetings of councils and committees whose members are all councillors must be livestreamed, with recordings retained on council websites for the remainder of the council term or twelve months, whichever is longer. The requirement does not apply to joint organisations or county councils, though both may choose to livestream if they resolve to do so.
The regulation also prohibits councillors — other than the mayor or a meeting chairperson — from meeting staff prior to council or committee meetings to discuss agenda items. Where a councillor seeks further information about an agenda matter, that information must be provided in writing and, where practicable, published on the council’s website before the meeting. Exceptions apply to confidential matters under section 10A of the Local Government Act 1993.
Chairpersons’ powers to manage disorder have also been strengthened. Councils are required to formally authorise the presiding officer to exercise expulsion powers at their first meeting following each ordinary election and after adoption of any new meeting code. A councillor who fails to remedy disorderly conduct may be expelled from successive meetings until the matter is resolved.
The regulation takes effect on publication on the NSW Legislation website. Councils do not need to amend their existing codes of meeting practice — new provisions automatically prevail over any inconsistent provisions in an adopted code.
County councils also gain new flexibility under the regulation, with the option to hold meetings where some or all members attend remotely by audio-visual link, consistent with arrangements already available to joint organisations.
Source: Office of Local Government, Circular No 26-09, 25 June 2026.