​Recent reforms to the Local Government Act 1995 (WA) have introduced a new regulation making power in section 6.14A, prompting regular questions about what members can and cannot fund or insure when legal issues arise. In response, we have prepared a FAQ guide to help members, councillors and Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee (ARIC) members navigate the changes in a practical way.

LGIS Scheme protections continue to play an important role in supporting reliable governance. Councillors and ARIC members are generally within the scope of a local government’s liability protections when they are acting in their official capacity for and on behalf of the council. This includes cover types that commonly respond to the types of risk that arise in governance and oversight settings, such as breach of duty allegations, statutory breaches, or claims connected to decisions and advice given in an official role.

The FAQ also helps clarify the difference between personal injury support and liability protections. Councillors and ARIC members are not covered under local government workers' compensation arrangements in the same way as employees. Instead, members may rely on other arrangements (such as personal accident benefits, where applicable) to provide limited support in certain circumstances.

Importantly, the FAQ places the recent section 6.14A reforms in context. Section 6.14A introduces a regulation making authority that can restrict when local government resources (including insurance) may be used for certain legal matters involving elected members. The intent is not to remove all access to representation or protection, but to set clear boundaries around specific costs or outcomes that councils cannot lawfully fund or insure. In practice, the changes introduced via regulation 19D are targeted, and councils can generally still fund or insure legal representation in many other situations, depending on the circumstances.

For local governments, the overall focus remains the same: