Internal controls

Internal controls are a vital part of Wyong Shire Council's governance framework and are particularly important for ensuring internal systems and processes are undertaken in accordance with the best interests of current and future generations.

Our focus includes stringent controls on tendering and procurement, legal compliance, embedded risk management approach to all operations, and clear policies and procedures including those to prevent fraud and corruption.

Key documents

Charters, policies, procedures and protocols relating to our governance framework are the Code of Conduct, the Code of Meeting Practice, the Governance Committee Charter, the Internal Audit Charter and the Internal Ombudsman’s Charter.  The Code of Conduct   exists to help staff and Councillors understand the standards of conduct that are expected of them, enable them to fulfil their statutory duty to act honestly and exercise a reasonable degree of care and diligence and to act in a way that enhances public confidence in the integrity of local government.  The Code of Meeting Practice sets down protocols governing how Council and Committee meetings should operate.

Council's policies are supported by a number of other governance registers which cover:

Pecuniary and conflicts of interest
Gifts and benefits
Secondary employment
Access to information (GIPA)

Some of these items are subject to statutory reporting in Council's Annual Report.

Delegations

The power to delegate authority is vested in Council by legislation. The Delegations Register establishes the delegated authority from Council to the General Manager (and subsequently the organisation) The Delegations Register is reviewed each financial year in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act (1993)

Key governance roles

In addition to these internal controls, we have four full-time senior staff located in the Legal and Risk Unit with powers of independent investigation and review.

The Internal Ombudsman

The Internal Ombudsman acts as an intermediary between Council and an internal or external party, while representing community interests.  This fosters good practice in public administration,  to ensure Council operates in an accountable, lawful, fair, impartial, transparent and responsive manner. The Internal Ombudsman’s role and responsibilities are set down in a Charter.

If you have a complaint that relates to Council matters, employees or actions which are serious, systemic, unjust, unlawful, biased or that breach Council’s Code of Conduct, then you should contact the Internal Ombudsman on (02) 4350 5371. The Internal Ombudsman will determine the most appropriate course of action to investigate and resolve the issue.

The Public Officer 

The Public Officer helps people gain access to public documents of Council and answers requests about Council’s affairs. The Public Officer is also responsible for ensuring we comply with the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA).  

Contact our Public Officer on (02) 4350 5417 if you have questions on the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA) or would like to access Council records that you have been unable to find on our web-site. 

Further information can also be found on the Access to Information web-page.

Internal Audit 

The Internal Audit is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity. It helps Council accomplish objectives by through a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of Council’s risk management, internal control and governance processes. The role and authority of Internal Audit are set down in a Charter. Internal Audit activities are conducted in accordance with the Institute of Internal Auditors’ International Professional Practices Framework and Code of Ethics.

Legal Counsel

The General Counsel is a senior solicitor who provides legal advice and representation to Council and assists Council to comply with relevant laws and to promote good governance.

Governance Committee

Our Governance Committee is a strongly independent committee which provides an assurance role in respect to our governance arrangements, including risk, control and compliance.

This embraces, among other things:

  • Enhancing the ability of Councillors to fulfil their legal responsibilities
  • Adding to the credibility and objectivity of financial reports
  • Overseeing the application of appropriate accounting policies and procedures
  • Monitoring key financial and other risk exposures of Council
  • Supporting measures to improve management performance and internal controls
  • Ensuring that appropriate governance processes are in place across Council
  • Facilitating an open communication link between management, Internal Auditors, External Auditors and Council thereby enhancing the independence and
  • effectiveness of Council’s audit processes and the overall transparency of Council.
  • Promoting the need for accountability of management to Council, ratepayers, residents and other interested parties

Focus of the Committee should be on matters of significance in each area of its responsibilities.

See the pdf format Governance Committee Charter (39.63 KB)