Local government public records
Queensland local governments have the same recordkeeping requirements for work-related information, data and public records as Queensland Government public authorities under the Public Records Act 2023 (PR Act).
Public records that document or relate to the administration of council business or are made for a purpose of the council are public records.
They are public records regardless of the format of the public record or where the public record is made, received or stored. A public record's content determines whether it is a public record.
Recordkeeping basics you need to understand
- Get started with public records management
- Council public records: a guideline for mayors, councillors, CEOs and government employees
- Recordkeeping examples for mayors and councillors (PDF, 218KB)
Your council must:
- Meet its mandatory obligations under the PR Act, and the Local Government Act 2009
- Have regard to the Records governance policy
- Use the Local government sector retention and disposal schedule, and the General retention and disposal schedule to retain public records for the required minimum retention period
- Have policies and procedures in place to capture and manage the local government public records made by mayors and councillors.
The advice below will help your council meet its recordkeeping responsibilities for some common types of public records. If a record made or kept by a mayor or councillor does not directly relate to the administration of council business, it is not a public record.
The diaries of local government mayors and councillors relating to council business are public records and need to be managed by council. Diaries include paper diaries, and digital diaries using programs or apps such as Outlook, or Google Calendar.
Calendar or diary entries that do not record any significant or work-related information, data and public records, or are already captured in other public records (e.g. meeting agendas, minutes, file notes, reports) are likely classified as transitory or short-term value in the General retention and disposal schedule.
Sentencing details can be found under section 13 of Local government sector retention and disposal schedule.
Exiting CEOs, mayors and councillors
You will need to export and capture the diaries or calendars of any CEOs, mayors or councillors that are leaving the council and retain them for the required minimum retention period.
The file format used needs to be fit for purpose and appropriate for how long the file needs to be kept.
Sentencing details can be found under section 13 of Local government sector retention and disposal schedule.
Learn more about file formats for long-term digital public records.
Notebooks can be considered drafts or working notes, so long as any relevant information that needs to be kept is captured elsewhere (e.g. notes from a council meeting where council keeps minutes).
Where unique public records have been captured into mayors' and councillors' notebooks, and not captured elsewhere, you will need to:
- Have processes in place to identify public records and capture them into your recordkeeping system
- Ensure mayors and councillors are made aware of the procedure and their responsibilities under it.
You may need to capture and keep the entire notebook depending on your processes and the format of the notebook.
Sentencing details can be found under section 13 of Local government sector retention and disposal schedule.
Wherever possible, private accounts should be avoided for work related information. Work-related information, data and public records made or received in private accounts or on personal devices are required to be transferred to official council accounts. Best practice is to transfer within 20 calendar days of creation or receipt.
Find out more about managing emails and managing public records in private accounts.
You can read more information about other requirements (in addition to recordkeeping) that councils and councillors must meet on the department's local government website.
Your council's official social media accounts will contain public records, which must be managed appropriately by your council.
Mayors and councillors may also have official social media accounts or private accounts (e.g. Instagram, Facebook, X) containing public records that need to be kept by council.
The Public Records Act 2023 does not restrict the use of private devices or accounts for official business. However, the Councillor Code of Conduct states councillors are required to use only official communication accounts for council-related business.
Find out more about managing social media public records.
You can read more information about other requirements (in addition to recordkeeping) that councils and councillors must meet on the department's local government website.
While election public records can be sentenced under section 13 of the Local government sector retention and disposal schedule, you should consult with the Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) to consider any ECQ requirements before disposing of these public records.
You can read more information about other requirements (in addition to recordkeeping) that councils and councillors must meet on the department's local government website.
The format of these meeting minutes should be based on your business need.
Where a council meeting is recorded using audio or video (e.g. live streamed), and official meeting minutes are also made, the recordings do not need to be kept as the official public record.
If the meeting or council proceeding minutes need to be signed by the mayor and/or councillors to verify they are a true and accurate account of the meeting, this should be done digitally if your processes allow. Otherwise they can be printed and signed, and this physical version will become your master set.
The master set of your council meeting proceedings are a permanent value public record and need to be managed as a permanent public record in readiness for transfer to QSA in the future.
Sentencing details can be found under section 13 of Local government sector retention and disposal schedule.
Find out more about managing public records of meetings and conversations and implementing digital signatures.
You can read more information about other requirements (in addition to recordkeeping) that councils and councillors must meet on the department's local government website.
Under the Local Government Act 2009, CEOs, mayors and councillors must:
- Declare all financial and non-financial interests, including the interests of specified persons related to them
- Update their register of interest within 30 days after the interest arises or changes.
Failure to update a register of interests within the required timeframe can result in an offence with a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units.
The disposal trigger of last action is the date the register was last updated or supposed to be updated.
If a register is not updated within the required 30 days, the registers still need to be retained for 10 years past the date it was supposed to be updated.
A failure to update a register of interest when changes arise does not mean that the register can be disposed of earlier.
Sentencing details can be found under section 13 of Local government sector retention and disposal schedule.
You can read more information about other requirements (in addition to recordkeeping) that councils and councillors must meet on the department's local government website.
Delegating powers
The Local Government Act 2009 and the City of Brisbane Act 2010 allow local governments to delegate their powers by resolution to:
- the mayor
- the CEO
- a standing committee or joint standing committee
- the chairperson of a standing committee or joint standing committee
- another local government for the purposes of a joint local government activity.
Brisbane City Council can also delegate its powers to the Establishment and Coordination Committee.
CEOs can delegate their powers to an appropriately qualified local government employee. However, there are certain powers that cannot be delegated by the CEO or mayor.
When a local government (except Brisbane City Council) delegates its powers to the CEO, the local government must review those delegations annually.
Your council's CEO must establish a register of delegations that records all delegations made by the local government, mayor and the CEO.
Sentencing details can be found under section 13 of Local government sector retention and disposal schedule.
You can read more information about other requirements (in addition to recordkeeping) that councils and councillors must meet on the department's local government website.
Local governments must keep and publish a councillor conduct register on their website in accordance with the Local Government Act 2009 and the City of Brisbane Act 2010.
The register must include:
- Orders made about the unsuitable meeting conduct of councillors at its local government meetings
- Decisions about the suspected inappropriate conduct of councillors referred to the local government
- Decisions about whether or not councillors engaged in misconduct or inappropriate conduct made by the conduct tribunal
- Complaints about the conduct of councillors dismissed by the assessor
- Decisions to take no further action in relation to the conduct of councillors investigated by the assessor.
When decisions are made about the conduct, the councillor conduct register must include specified details about the decision.
The public may inspect the register or purchase a copy of an entry in the register, from the local government (except where it is part of a public interest disclosure).
Sentencing details can be found under section 13 of Local government sector retention and disposal schedule.
You can read more information about other requirements (in addition to recordkeeping) that councils and councillors must meet on the department's local government website.
You can transfer both permanent and temporary value public records to your local library if the library is part of your council, particularly if they are of historical significance to your council and the local area.
You do not need disposal authorisation when moving public records within council.
You will need to ensure these public records:
- Continue to be managed as public records
- Remain in the physical custody and legal responsibility of your council.
It's important that roles and responsibilities for managing any public records are agreed and documented. This includes how information privacy issues, preservation and disposal of the public records will be managed.
If you wish to transfer local history public records to a local history or community group you need proper authorisation. Contact QSA if you have any further enquiries about your specific situation.
Other local history records
Some local history records and information may not be public records and do not need to be managed as such. This can include newspapers, images, brochures, books, and personal documents from council residents.
Any non-public records that are part of a library or local history collection are the responsibility of the library or local history group to manage as part of their collection.
They also remain private records even if they have been digitised for access and preservation purposes and stored on council servers or systems, or physically stored by council.
However, our advice on preserving public records can be used to help store, manage and care for local history collections.