About Us
The Local Government and Planning Ministers Council met for the first time on Tuesday 15 July 2003 in Darwin.
It is made up of Local Government and Planning Ministers from across Australia and New Zealand as well as the President of the Australian Local Government Association. Members agreed that the Council would lead debate and decision making on key strategic policy matters for Local Government and planning in Australia and New Zealand that can be addressed at the national level.
The Council meets at least once per calendar year, chaired by the Australian Government, hosted on a rotation agreed to by all Council members. Extraordinary meetings may be held from time to time as a consequence of discussion and agreement amongst members. Generally, such meetings are hosted by the Commonwealth.
The Council is supported by the Local Government and Planning Joint Committee (Joint Committee) which comprises members of the Local Government Joint Officials Group (LOGJOG) and the Planning Officials Group (POG).
The LOGJOG comprises senior officers from the Commonwealth, State, Territory and New Zealand Local Government Departments and a senior representative from ALGA.
The POG comprises senior officials from the Commonwealth State, Territory, and New Zealand Planning Departments and a senior representative from ALGA.
The Development Assessment Forum (DAF) is an independently chaired group comprising the development industry, professions and the three spheres of government to harmonise and improve planning and development assessment systems. The DAF provides independent advice and recommendations to the Council on how to streamline the processes used for development approval and cut red tape without sacrificing the quality of the decision making. It also reports on its work, activities and strategic direction to the Council, and where appropriate, the Council provides direction to the Forum.