124. Experience in, and an understanding of, Local Government.

My experience in local government

As a Business Support Officer for (Local Council) for over five years I have a solid
understanding of Local Government and how it operates.

In my role, I support financial and business coordinators in the (Local Council) Health
Services team. This role requires a solid knowledge of work area functions of the
other (Local Council) services and understanding of how the business units work
together to deliver frontline public health services in the municipality.

My understanding of local government

Local government is the third tier of the Australian political system and at the time of
writing there are 79 councils in Victoria. Local government is established under
State legislation, in Victoria this is the Local Government Act 1989, along with
various Regulations made under that Act that governs the establishment and
operation of councils.

Local government provides and maintain a wide diversity of public buildings,

amenities and services and works in partnership with the local community, state and
federal government programs.

Local governments consist of an arm of democratically elected councillors

responsible for governing a particular geographic area in the best interests of the
local community. The councillors set the overall strategic direction for the
municipality through long-term planning and decision-making, creating plans and
policies to achieve this. Progress is tracked through monitoring and reporting
processes.

In (My Council) the head councillor is the Mayor, (Mayor’s Name) who is elected by
the Council.

The operational arm of Local Government consists of the council staff who
implement the decisions, plans and policies set by the councillors. This is my role as a
Business Support Officer. In addition to delivering council services, council staff
provide expertise that help the councillors create policy decisions. Council staff are
accountable to the councillors through the Chief Executive Officer, who is appointed
by the councillors. Our Chief Executive Officer is (Name).