Delegations and Authorisations

What is a delegation?

Delegations empower employees, delegated committees, community asset committees and contractors (under the Building Act 1993) with the authority to exercise powers, duties and functions on behalf of Council.

Delegations are essential because:

• it is not practical for Council and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) alone to exercise the many statutory powers given to Council; and
• delegation facilitates the achievement of good governance by empowering delegates to make decisions on behalf of the Council and the CEO.

 

Why do we need delegations?

How well Council deals with its delegations is vital to its efficiency to minimise risk and maximise possibilities. From a practical management perspective, it is essential for Council to devolve decision-making from a central source of authority. This enables decisions to be made on the front line, by employees, committees (*) or contractors with the required specialised knowledge, and in a timely manner. However, decisions made without proper authority can put Council at risk, both legally and financially.

(*)  At present, Council does not have any delegated committees or community asset committees.

 

Instruments of delegation

Council has adopted the following instruments of delegation derived from our subscription to the Maddocks delegation service, which has become the standard practice of most councils for administering delegations and authorisations.

The instruments are:

• S5 - (PDF, 124KB)Instrument of Delegation from Council to the CEO(PDF, 124KB). This delegates all of Council’s powers, duties and functions which are capable of delegation, subject to some exceptions and limitations, to the CEO;
   
• S6 – (PDF, 3MB)Instrument of Delegation from Council to members of Council staff(PDF, 3MB) relating to Council powers, duties and functions within various Acts and Regulations (or specific parts of those Acts or Regulations), which contain a specific power of delegation. This delegates certain powers directly from Council to Council staff due to the legislation referred to containing specific powers of delegation;
   
• S7 – Instrument of Sub-Delegation from CEO to Council staff. This sub-delegates Council powers, duties or functions contained in Acts or Regulations which do not include a specific power of delegation;
  
  
• S11 - Instrument of Appointment and Authorisation.  (PDF, 176KB)Under section 224 of the Local Government Act1989, appoints the officers to be authorised officers for the administration and enforcement of specific Acts which are included in this document.
  
  
• S12 - Instrument of Delegation from the Municipal Building Surveyor to relevant Council Staff or Contractors(PDF, 689KB)
   
• S13 – Instrument of Delegation from CEO to staff. This instrument allows the CEO to delegate his or her powers, duties and functions existing under all Victorian legislation. This differs to the S7 Instrument in that it does not relate to Council powers, duties and functions, but those vested in the CEO personally;

• S14 – (PDF, 325KB)Instrument of Delegation from CEO to staff (Vicsmart).(PDF, 325KB) This provides for the CEO to delegate his or her powers as a responsible authority under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 in relation to VicSmart planning applications. S18 – Instrument of Sub- Delegation from Council to members of Council staff under the Environment Protection Act 2017. The Environment Protection Act 2017 (the new EP Act) and Environment Protection Regulations 2021 came into effect on 1 July 2021. Under the new EP Act the scope of local government’s role as a regulator has not changed, but there are changes to the laws and powers of local governments, including a new delegation of powers from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to councils. The S18 sub-delegates Council’s powers (delegated to it by the EPA) to members of Council staff; and

• S18A - Instrument of Sub- Delegation from the  CEO to members of Council staff under the Environment Protection Act 2017. The S18A allows the CEO to sub-delegate powers (delegated to it by the EPA) to members of Council staff.

These instruments will be updated every 6-12 months to ensure that they include the latest changes to legislation.