South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts91A—Conduct of council during election period
(1) A council must,
within 6 months of the commencement of this section, prepare and adopt a
caretaker policy governing the conduct of the council and its staff during the
election period for a general election.
(2) Subject to this
section, the caretaker policy must, as a minimum, prohibit the making of a
designated decision during the election period.
(3) If a council
considers that there are extraordinary circumstances which require the making
of a designated decision during the election period, the council may apply in
writing to the Minister for an exemption from the application of this section
to the designated decision specified in the application.
(4) If the Minister is
satisfied that there are extraordinary circumstances, the Minister may grant
an exemption from the application of this section to the designated decision
specified in the application subject to any conditions or limitations that the
Minister considers appropriate.
(5) A
designated decision made by a council in contravention of this section or the
caretaker policy of the council is invalid.
(6) Any person who
suffers any loss or damage as a result of acting in good faith on a
designated decision made in contravention of this section or a caretaker
policy is entitled to compensation from the council for that loss or damage.
(7) The caretaker
policy of a council is to be taken to form part of each code of conduct
required to be prepared and adopted in relation to council members and staff
under the Local Government Act 1999 or the City of Adelaide
Act 1998 .
(8) In this
section—
"designated decision" means a decision—
(a)
relating to the employment or remuneration of a chief executive officer, other
than a decision to appoint an acting chief executive officer; or
(b) to
terminate the appointment of a chief executive officer; or
(c) to
enter into a contract, arrangement or understanding (other than a
prescribed contract) the total value of which exceeds whichever is the greater
of $100 000 or 1% of the council's revenue from rates in the preceding
financial year; or
(d)
allowing the use of council resources for the advantage of a particular
candidate or group of candidates (other than a decision that allows the equal
use of council resources by all candidates for election),
other than a decision of a kind excluded from this definition by regulation;
"election period" in relation to an election, means the period commencing
on—
(a) the
day of the close of nominations for the election; or
(b) if a
council has specified a day (being a day that falls earlier than the day of
the close of nominations) in its caretaker policy—the specified day,
and expiring at the conclusion of the election;
"prescribed contract" means a contract entered into by a council for the
purpose of undertaking—
(a) road
construction or maintenance; or
(b)
drainage works.