Council’s local laws

What’s a local law?

Council has the power to make local laws to maintain community health and safety.

Local laws control certain activities in your Local Government Area and cover issues such as:

animal and pest management
noise standards
dealing with community health hazards
setting visitor protocol.

Local laws set rules about the use of roads, Council facilities and public infrastructure. They also outline when you need a permit to carry out an activity in your community, such as holding a festival or operating a business.

Related pages

Local Law Permits

Model local laws vs. subordinate local laws

We have Model Local Laws and Subordinate Local Laws.

A Model Local Law gives the local government the ability to make rules about issues that affect your community.

A Subordinate Local Law sits below the Model Local Law and sets out the rules created by the local government.

For example, ‘Model Local Law No. 2’ gives Council the power to restrict the number of animals that can be kept on an allotment. Subordinate Local Laws specify the limit on the number of animals.

The Model Local Law says that Council can regulate the issue of Animal Management, while the Subordinate Local Law sets the rules about Animal Management.

Approval process

A Model Local Law is approved and gazetted by the Minister as being suitable for adoption by all councils.

If there’s inconsistencies between the Subordinate Local Law and the Model Local Law, the Model Local Law is applied. Local laws must be consistent with State and Commonwealth legislation.

Our responsibilities

We’re required to let the public and the Minister know whenever a local law is made, changed or repealed (cancelled).

Local laws must be recorded in a Local Laws Register and we maintain this.

The Local Government Act 2009 states that there are certain issues that Council cannot regulate. These include:

network connections (eg. internet)
election advertising
development processes
anti-competitive provisions
swimming pool safety.

Who will assist our communities with Local Laws?

Locally employed Environmental Health Workers are the appointed Authorised Persons for our Council.

The role of an Authorised Person is to enforce Council’s Local Laws and they’re chosen by the Local Government and must wear their ID badges when exercising their powers.

If an ID Badge is unavailable when exercising powers, the Authorised Person must come back to show the ID Badge to the person(s) affected.

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Local laws we follow

Model Local Laws
- Model Local Law No. 1 (Administration) 2010 (PDF) - This local law covers the administration, implementation and enforcement of Council’s local laws.
- Model Local Law No. 2 (Animal Management) 2010 (PDF) - This local law regulates the keeping and control of animals in Council’s local government area.
- Model Local Law No. 3 (Community and Environmental Management) 2010 (PDF) - This local law regulates certain risks and threats to the environment and public health, safety and amenity.
- Model Local Law No. 4 (Local Government Controlled Areas, Facilities and Roads) 2010 (PDF) - This local law regulates access to and use of local government controlled areas, facilities and road.
- Model Local Law No. 7 (Indigenous Community Land Management) 2010 (PDF) - This local law regulates the use of trust areas under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities (Justice, Land and Other Matters) Act 1984, including entry to communities, scientific research and use of parks, reserves and camping sites.
Subordinate Local Laws
- Subordinate Local Law No. 1 (Administration) 2019 (PDF) - This subordinate law sets out requirements for local law permits. It also repeals the previous (2013) Subordinate Local Law No. 1.
- Subordinate Local Law No. 2 (Animal Management) 2019 (PDF) - This subordinate law regulates keeping, controlling, impounding and selling animals, and dangerous animal declarations. It also repeals the previous (2014) Subordinate Local Law No. 2.
- Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community and Environment Management) 2019 (PDF) - This subordinate law deals with local pests, fires and fire hazards, community safety hazards and noise standards. It also repeals the previous (2014) Subordinate Local Law No. 3.
- Subordinate Local Law No. 4 (Local Government Controlled Areas, Facilities and Roads) 2019 (PDF) - This subordinate law sets health and safety restrictions on the use of local government controlled areas and roads. It also repeals the previous (2011) Subordinate Local Law No. 4.
- Amending Subordinate Local Law No. 1 Waste Management 2021 - This subordinate law amends Subordinate Local Law No. 4 to set restrictions on the disposal and storage of commercial and construction waste.
- Subordinate Local Law No. 4 consolidated version in force from 1 July 2021 - This consolidated subordinate law sets health and safety restrictions on the use of local government controlled areas and roads, and incorporates the 2021 amendments that set restrictions on the disposal and storage of commercial and construction waste.
- Subordinate Local Law No. 7 (Indigenous Community Land Management) 2019 (PDF) - This subordinate law sets rules for visiting and living in trust areas (Council’s visitor protocol), regulates the use of camping sites, and designates airport reserves and helipads. It also repeals the previous (2013) Subordinate Local Law No. 7.
Interim Local Laws
- There are currently no interim (temporary) local laws.
Local Law notices