Integrated Planning and Reporting Manual - Division of Local ...

6. THE ANNUAL REPORT
6.1 General overview
Local Government Act
Section 428
Council must prepare an annual report within five months of the end of the financial year.
The report will outline the council’s achievements in implementing its Delivery Program.
The annual report in the year of the ordinary election will also include an outline of achievements in
implementing the Community Strategic Plan.
The report must contain the council’s audited financial reports and any information required by the
Regulation or the Guidelines.
Section 428A
The annual report in the year in which an ordinary election of councillors is held must include a state of
the environment report relevant to the objectives for the environment established by the Community
Strategic Plan.
The Annual Report is one of the key accountability mechanisms between a council and its
community. As such, it should be written and presented in a way that is appropriate for each
council’s community.
Under the new framework, a number of changes have been made to annual reporting requirements.
The new Annual Report focuses mainly on a council’s implementation of its Delivery Program and
Operational Plan, as these are the plans that are wholly the council’s responsibility in the new
integrated planning framework.
The report also includes some information that is prescribed by the Local Government (General)
Regulation 2005. These requirements have been included in the Regulation because the
Government believes that it is important for community members to know about it – to help their
understanding of how their council has been performing both as a service provider and a community
leader.
There is no standard format for the Annual Report, but it could be presented as follows:
Section One could contain a report on progress against the Delivery Program
Section Two could contain the statutory information that is not directly relevant to the
Delivery Program and a financial summary
Section Three could contain the financial statements
State of the Environment Report (included in the year in which an ordinary election is held).
There is no requirement to present all the information in one document – it could be presented as a
set of documents, so long as it is clear that each document is part of a set. For example, if the
report is available electronically, it could be presented as four PDF files labelled “Annual Report
Section One, Two, Three & State of the Environment Report” on Council’s website.
If the report is presented as a set of hardcopy documents, Section One should contain a table of
contents that clearly explains there are other sections in the set.
Planning & Reporting Manual Page 107 of 115