Release of Confidential Council Reports
In order to contribute to an environment of open and transparent decision-making, we will keep the number of matters considered in confidential Council to a minimum. In doing this, we will balance the need for Council to consider certain matters in confidential business, against the fundamental principle of open decision making.
Council will, at times resolve to close a meeting to members of the public to deal with confidential business as defined in the Act. Where possible, we will limit the period of confidentiality by incorporating either:
- a sunset provision, after which the information will no longer be confidential; or
- where it is not possible to stipulate a date after which the information is no longer confidential, specify a particular event, the occurrence of which removes the confidentiality restrictions.
A Confidential Report Register is maintained detailing the following information in respect to each Confidential Report considered by Council:
- Council meeting name and date;
- Title of the report;
- Nominated disclosure date; and
- Date released to the public.
The Confidential Report Register lists confidential items from August 2020 (when Council adopted its Public Transparency Policy CP067) and is updated within two weeks following a Council meeting.
Where a sunset provision or specified event has been reached, the Council Resolution as contained within the minute document will be made available on Council’s website within two weeks of the specified sunset provision or event.
In addition, a panel consisting of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Corporate will review the Confidential Report Register once each quarter to determine whether the information contained in the reports should be released.
Where the panel determines that a confidential decision should be released to the public, where a sunset provision or specified event has not been specified, a report will be prepared for the next Ordinary Meeting of Council seeking a resolution to release the Council Resolution as contained within the minute document. A copy of the Council Resolution will be made available on Council’s website within two weeks of Council’s resolution to release the information.
A six monthly report will be prepared and presented to Council outlining the confidential items and the status of each item, including if they remain in confidential or have been released to the public.