The Model Code of Meeting Practice for Local Councils 2018 requires that from 14 December 2019:
- all meetings of the council and committees of the council are to be webcast on the council’s website
- Councils must include supplementary provisions in their adopted codes of meeting practice that specify whether meetings are to be livestreamed or recordings of meetings uploaded on the council’s website at a later time. The supplementary provisions must also specify whether the webcast is to comprise of an audio visual recording of the meeting or an audio recording of the meeting.
- this does not apply to parts of a meeting that have been closed to the public under section 10A of the Act
- at the start of each meeting the chairperson is to make a statement informing those in attendance that the meeting is being webcast and that those in attendance should refrain from making any defamatory statements
- Councils are to specify the period of time the recording will be available on the Council's website and recordings of meetings may be disposed of in accordance with the State Records Act 1998.
The webcasting of Council meetings is covered by the General retention an disposal authority: local government records, under GOVERNANCE - Meetings (GA39, entry 13.6.6):
Records relating to administrative arrangements for meetings including records or correspondence relating to:
• meeting notifications
• catering arrangements
• venue bookings
• related correspondence
• tracking of actions due.
Note: this class covers audio-visual recordings of Council meetings for the purpose of facilitating public access to Council meetings (e.g. webcasts).
The disposal action for this class is to retain until administrative or reference use ceases. Councils are advised to conduct a risk assessment to determine the appropriate retention period for retaining the recordings of Council meetings on the website or other streaming platforms. This will be based on how long after a meeting the recordings are being accessed so this may not be able to be determined until a certain period of time after the practice of webcasting has been initiated. Councils are advised to include a statement advising users of how long the webcasts will be available.
The recordings of meetings created to support the preparation of meeting minutes is covered by GA39, entry 13.6.2 and are required to be retained until the minutes have been confirmed.
May 2019/updated November 2019