All local government and standing committees meetings are open to the public unless the council has resolved that the meeting be closed, as councillors are accountable to their local community for their decisions and actions.
Voting at local government and committee meetings must be open and decisions are taken by a majority - i.e. by a majority vote - of the councillors who are present.
Local governments are required to meet at least once a month, although many larger local governments meet more frequently than this.
You can find out when your council meets by visiting its website. Local governments are required to publish, at least once a year, details of the days and times when both full council (i.e. comprising all councillors) and its standing committees will meet.
Agendas, minutes and the actual decisions taken by local government are arguably the most important records of local governments.
A list of items are to be discussed at a meeting will be available at your local government's public office or website. These items must be made available there at the same time the agenda for the meeting is made available to councillors (i.e. at least two days before the day of the meeting).
A quorum is the minimum number of councillors who must be present for a meeting to proceed and be considered valid.
A quorum of a local government is a majority of its councillors.
If a quorum is not present within 15 minutes after the time scheduled for a meeting, the meeting may be adjourned to a later hour or another day within 14 days of the adjournment.
The mayor presides at every local government meeting (other than at Brisbane City Council, where the local government elects a chairperson) at which they are present. If the mayor is not present, the deputy mayor chairs the meeting. In the absence of both the mayor and deputy mayor, the meeting may elect one of the councillors present to act as chairperson.
The minutes of local government meetings are a record of the business transacted at meetings and the decisions made by local governments.