LGAQ To Debate $200 ‘Complaint Fee’

May 26, 2021

Mt Isa City Council wants to charge people who lodge false or frivolous complaints against councils a $200 fee for unnecessarily running up ratepayer costs.

The Council voted recently to ask the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) to debate the idea at this year’s State Conference.

If complaints were upheld – fully or partially – the $200 fee would be refunded.

Complaints about operational matters such as fallen trees, potholes or missed garbage collections would not attract any fee.

Mt Isa City Council reckons it has notched up $105,000 in investigation costs for frivolous complaints over the past four months.

The complaints were lodged with regulatory bodies such as the Crime and Misconduct Division, the Office Of The Independent Assessor (OIA) or the Queensland Ombudsman.

So far, none of the complaints lodged this year have been upheld.

However the Council has had to pay $105,000 in investigation costs, along with its own internal costs for managing the complaints and providing material to investigators.

A spokesperson for the LGAQ said all motions put forward at the annual State Conference would be considered and debated.

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Editorial

by Dafyd Martindale

The problem of frivolous and vexatious complaints has also bedevilled the South Burnett Regional Council.

Since the March 2020 elections, Council has fielded 26 complaints about “serious matters”.

Only one of these was upheld, and no penalty was imposed.

The remainder were dismissed as frivolous, vexatious, outside the jurisdiction of the OIA, or lacking in substance.

For example, on May 5 this year the following complaint was lodged:

It is alleged a councillor has failed to carry out his duties in relation to a council policy.

It was further alleged a councillor was not a person of integrity nor is he worthy of the community’s support and respect and that the community has lost faith in the councillor as the councillor’s deplorable behaviour has brought the region and Council into disrepute.

This was dismissed by the OIA:

The OIA dismissed both matters on the basis that the complaint/s were vexatious and or not made in good faith pursuant to section 150X(b)(i) of the Local Government Act 2009 (the Act).

The allegations have previously been considered by the OIA and dismissed as a vexatious.

There were reasonable indications that the complainant in this matter was a fictitious identity. The complainant declined to provide proof of identity to confirm the veracity of the complaint.

Ratepayers have to shoulder the financial burden of investigating complaints, even those made by “fictitious identities” which are dismissed.

southburnett.com.au estimates these costs are about $10,000 per complaint, ie. more than $250,000 since the last Council election.

And while the names of complainants cannot be revealed by Council or the OIA, it is obvious from the nature of many they have originated from the same source.

• Related article: Councillor Cautioned Over Conduct
• External link: SBRC Complaints Register

  Council