CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Local Government, Small Business and Customer Service Committee - Local Government (Empowering Councils) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 - Call for submissions

Please find below information about the parliamentary committee inquiry into the Local Government (Empowering Councils) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025.

Local Government (Empowering Councils) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025

On 20 November 2025, Hon Ann Leahy MP, Minister for Local Government and Water and Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers, introduced the Local Government (Empowering Councils) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill into the Queensland Parliament and referred to the Local Government, Small Business and Customer Service Committee for consideration.

The committee is required to report to the Parliament by Friday, 30 January 2026.

Documents relating to the committee’s inquiry, including the Bill, explanatory notes and introductory speech, can be viewed on the committee’s webpage.

About the Bill

­­­­­­

The objective of the Bill is to:

• empower councils by:

  • providing that senior executive employees of a local government are appointed by a panel of the local government, rather than solely by the chief executive officer (CEO)

  • providing that Brisbane City Council appoints its senior contract employees, rather than the CEO

  • facilitating local government access to essential State-owned quarry materials, and

  • clarifying Indigenous local government rating powers and provide a framework to facilitate Indigenous local government rating in the future.

• empower mayors by:

  • reinforcing that the mayor is the official spokesperson of a local government, and

  • clarifying that the mayor is the default chairperson of ordinary and special meetings of a local government, and committees for which the mayor is the chairperson. This role includes managing the conduct of the participants at the meeting.

• improve the councillor conflicts of interest and register of interests frameworks

• reduce unnecessary red tape and regulation

• provide certainty to councillors about matters relating to remuneration, leaves of absence, vacation of office, and eligibility

• promote good governance and decision-making

• enhance safeguards for local government election candidates and participants, and

• make various minor, administrative and/or technical amendments.

Call for submissions

The committee invites submissions addressing any aspect of the Bill from all interested parties. Guidelines for making a submission to a parliamentary committee are available here. Please ensure your submission meets these requirements.

The closing date for written submissions is 12:00pm on Tuesday, 16 December 2025

How to make a submission

Click here to make a submission.  Through this link, you can write your submission or upload a file containing your submission.

If you are unable to provide a written submission, please contact the secretariat to discuss other options.

Submissions must include:

• the author’s full name

• if the submission is made on behalf of an organisation, the level of approval (e.g. a local branch, executive committee or national organisation), and

• at least two of the following:

  • email address

  • mailing address, and

  • daytime telephone number.

Please ensure your submission includes the above or it may not be considered by the committee.

Please note: Your name and submission may be published on the committee’s inquiry webpage, which will mean it can be viewed on the internet. You can request for your name to be withheld from your published submission, or for both your name and your submission to be kept confidential (i.e. not published). Decisions about whether and how submissions are published are at the discretion of the committee.

Public briefing

The committee will hold a public briefing to hear from the Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers on Wednesday, 10 December, 2025.

Public hearing

The committee will hold a public hearing on Friday, 16 January 2026 . Details will be posted on the committee’s webpage.

Other information

Further information about the inquiry process will be provided on the committee’s webpage as it becomes available.

Visitors to parliamentary public briefings/hearings are advised that they may be filmed by broadcast media and/or be included in photos taken by Parliamentary Service staff for purposes including posting on the Parliament’s website or social media sites. The Queensland Parliamentary Service is committed to protecting the images collected for this purpose in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009.

If you have any questions, please contact the committee secretariat on 3553 6657 or by return email.

Yours sincerely,

Local Government, Small Business and Customer Service Committee