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REVIEW OF NOOSA COUNCIL MEETING STRUCTURE

Executive Officer, Jonci Wolff · Office of the CEO & Mayor

Executive summary

This report presents the findings of the Council Meeting Structure Review, undertaken at the request of Councillors and informed by two Councillor workshops. While the current meeting structure has operated effectively in the past, it places significant demands on Councillors and staff, limits time for report review for Councillors, can create duplication in discussions, and can contribute to community uncertainty about decision-making processes. Four meeting models were assessed to improve efficiency, increase report review time, reduce duplication, enhance transparency, and support informed decision-making processes. Consolidating current meeting structure to one General Committee Meeting and one Ordinary Meeting per month (Option 2), has been identified as the most beneficial (recommended) option, as it best balances efficiency, transparency, report review time, and informed decision-making while reducing overall meeting demand.

Recommendation

That Council

  1. Note the report by the Executive Officer to the General Committee dated 16 March 2026 regarding the review of the Noosa Council Meeting Structure;
  2. Adopt Option 2, as detailed in the Report, as the Council Meeting Structure, with implementation to commence from 1 July 2026;
  3. Appoint all Councillors as Committee Members and appoint the Deputy Mayor as the Chair of the General Committee from 1 July 2026; and
  4. Approve the Council Meeting Schedule for July 2026 - December 2026 as provided in Attachment 1 to the Report (noting this supersedes the previously approved meeting schedule for 2026).

Report

REPORT PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to present the findings of the Council Meeting Structure Review, undertaken at the request of Councillors over the past four months. The review has been informed by discussions at two Councillor workshops (Attachment 3) and supported by benchmarking data from other Queensland councils. The report therefore seeks Councillors’ consideration and adoption of one of the proposed meeting structure options, noting that Option 2 has been identified as the recommended option as outlined in the report.

Background

Council’s current corporate decision-making framework is structured around the following meetings: • Two smaller Standing Committee meetings, each comprising three Councillors and the Mayor: Planning and Environment Committee (P&E) Meeting o Services and Organisation Committee (S&O) Meeting; o • One Standing Committee, comprising all Councillors and the Mayor (General Committee Meeting; GC); and • One Ordinary Meeting (OM), comprising all Councillors and the Mayor. The conduct of Standing Committee meetings and the Ordinary Meeting is governed by the Local Government Act 2009, the Local Government Regulation 2012, and Council’s Standing Orders. Under section 257 of the Local Government Regulation 2012, a local government must hold at least one meeting in each month. The current Committee System was established at the time of de-amalgamation from Sunshine Coast Council as the preferred model, designed to facilitate smaller Committees that enable portfolio-focused and efficient deliberation, support constructive and informal engagement between Councillors and staff, and promote consensus-based decision-making rather than reliance on majority voting. While it is acknowledged that this system has operated well over time, it has also been acknowledged that the current system: • places a high demand on Councillors in terms of meeting attendance; • provides limited time for Councillors to review reports, particularly where meeting agendas are large and complex; • requires substantial staff resources at each meeting, including Directors, Managers and report authors; • can result in duplication of business, with matters debated in small Committees are subsequently reconsidered at General Committee or Ordinary Meetings; and • can create procedural uncertainty for the community regarding which meeting to attend and when decisions are formally made, potentially affecting perceptions of transparency. A contributing factor suggesting that the current meeting system may warrant review is the increased number of Councillor workshops now conducted throughout the year compared to when the structure was first established. To some extent, the expanded workshop program has created overlap between workshops and small Standing Committee meetings, resulting in a degree of functional redundancy.

BENCHMARKING

Benchmarking undertaken in December 2025 across 15 Queensland councils with populations equal to or greater than that of Noosa Shire Council (Table 1) identified that 81% of the reviewed councils do not operate small Standing Committee meetings, and 69% meet only once per month, consistent with the minimum requirements of the Local Government Regulation 2012. The review also identified that two of the surveyed councils have recently restructured their meeting frameworks to discontinue small Standing Committee meetings, with Townsville City Council ceasing six committee meetings and Livingstone Shire Council discontinuing four committee meetings. Table 1: The Number of Formal Council Meetings Across Councils with populations equal to or greater than that of Noosa Shire Council Small General Ordinary Council Committee Committee Meeting Meeting Meeting

NOOSA COUNCIL

2 1 1

SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL

1

GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL

1

SCENIC RIM REGIONAL COUNCIL

1

TOOWOOMBA REGIONAL COUNCIL

6 1

LOCKYER VALLEY REGIONAL COUNCIL

1

BUNDABERG REGIONAL COUNCIL

1

LIVINGSTONE COUNCIL

1

ROCKHAMPTON REGIONAL COUNCIL

2 2

FRASER COAST REGIONAL COUNCIL

1

SOUTHERN DOWNS REGIONAL COUNCIL

1

WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL

1

GLADSTONE REGIONAL COUNCIL

2

TOWNSVILLE CITY COUNCIL

2

MACKAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

1

REDLANDS CITY COUNCIL

1 Further support for this benchmarking is drawn from data presented at the Councillor Workshop held on 12 February 2026. The review of meeting frequencies across all 77 Queensland councils identified that Category B councils (including Noosa Council) hold an average of approximately 20 formal council meetings per year. By comparison, Noosa Council currently convenes approximately

formal meetings annually. The data further indicated that the number of meetings conducted by Noosa Council also exceeds the typical number of meetings held by councils classified as Category C and higher. Collectively, this benchmarking indicates that Noosa Council’s current meeting frequency is significantly higher than that of comparable councils across Queensland and supports consideration of a review of the existing meeting structure to identify opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining effective governance and decision-making.

COUNCIL MEETING STRUCTURES CONSIDERED

Four Council meeting structures were presented, discussed and considered across two Councillor Workshops held in December 2025 and February 2026. These options were reviewed to explore opportunities to improve efficiency, allow greater time for report review, reduce duplication, and enhance transparency, while preserving appropriate opportunities for detailed consideration and debate to support informed decision-making. Example Meeting Schedules are attached to this report as Attachment 1 (Option 2) and Attachment 2 (Options 1, 3-4). Assessing these options against issues identified in the current meeting model, each option presents distinct advantages and trade- offs.

Option 1 (P&E, S&O, GC + OM): Retain the current Committee Meeting Structure, with a review of agenda distribution timeframes to determine whether extended report reading periods could better support Councillors in considering increasingly large and complex agendas. A review of internal report writing and approval processes found that agendas cannot be provided to Councillors any earlier than is currently practiced. Consequently, the issues that encouraged review of current meeting structure would remain unchanged under this option.

Option 2 (GC + OM): Discontinue the P&E and S&O Committee Meetings, reducing the formal meeting cycle to one General Committee Meeting and one Ordinary Meeting each month. Under this option, the General Committee Meeting would serve as the primary forum for detailed discussion and recommendations, ensuring whole-of-Council oversight with all Councillors present prior to formal adoption at the Ordinary Meeting. The potential benefits of this approach include: • Reducing the total number of formal meetings, easing pressure on Councillors and staff; • Eliminating overlap and duplication between small Committee Meetings and the General Committee Meeting; • Providing longer report review time (7 days) for Councillors for the General Committee Meeting agenda pack; • Simplifying the process for the community and improving clarity about when decisions are made; and • Retaining opportunities for debate and informed decision-making through the General Committee and targeted workshops.

Option 3 (P&E, S&O + OM): Discontinue the General Committee Meeting, retaining the P&E and S&O Committee Meetings and the Ordinary Meeting, with all Councillors attending both Standing Committee meetings to ensure whole-of-Council oversight prior to the Ordinary Meeting. Retaining two portfolio committees with full Councillor attendance and one Ordinary Meeting would preserve portfolio focus and structured discussion; however, it would result in only a modest reduction in overall meeting numbers and deliver limited improvement in report review time. This structure would, however, increase clarity of the decision-making process to the public and prevent duplication of discussion between P&E and S&O Committee Meetings and the General Committee Meeting.

Option 4 (OM + OM): Discontinue the P&E, S&O and General Committee meetings, and increase the number of Ordinary Meetings from one to two per month. Increasing to two Ordinary Meetings each month would enable more frequent formal decision- making and may provide greater clarity for the public, as each meeting would serve as a decision- making forum. Distributing reports across two meetings could also increase available reading time for Councillors and reduce duplication of discussions that can occur between committee and ratification meetings. However, this structure may place greater procedural pressure on Councillors and staff, and there is a risk that more complex matters could be deferred due to limited opportunity for pre-decision deliberation in Standing Committee meetings. It would also remove the opportunity to seek further information or refine reports between a committee discussion and the final decision-making meeting.

Comparison of Report Reading Time [full days incl. weekend days]: S&O Committee P&E Committee General Committee Ordinary Meeting Ordinary Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting #1 #2 Option 1 5 5 3 1 n/a Option 2 n/a n/a 7 2 n/a Option 3 6 5 n/a 2 n/a Option 4 n/a n/a n/a 7 7

CONCLUSION

In summary, feedback and discussion across the two Councillor Workshops indicated that consolidating to one General Committee and one Ordinary Meeting each month (Option 2, Attachment 1) may provide the most appropriate balance to address issues raised with current meeting structure. This model effectively addresses the key issues prompting the review, namely meeting demand, duplication, report review time, and community clarity, while maintaining a structured forum for robust debate and informed, transparent decision-making. Therefore Option 2 is the recommended option for adoption as the new Council meeting structure. Although the cessation of the P&E and S&O Committee Meetings would technically reduce formal opportunities for public participation (Deputations and Presentations), these mechanisms have not been utilised at P&E or S&O Committee Meetings in recent years. This reflects a clear community preference to present matters at forums attended by all Councillors, namely the General Committee Meeting and Ordinary Meeting.

Report details

Index: 27.60 - Council Meetings General