Department ofLocal Government, Water and Volunteers

Local Government Legislation (Empowering Councils) Amendment Regulation 2025

On 12 December 2025, the Local Government Legislation (Empowering Councils) Amendment Regulation 2025 (Amendment Regulation) came into force.

The Amendment Regulation supports the Queensland Government’s commitment to empower the local government sector, including through fit for purpose legislation.

It ensures councils are held to high levels of integrity and accountability, while enabling councillors to serve their community without unnecessary regulatory burden. The Amendment Regulation implements several reforms identified for early action by the local government sector.

The Amendment Regulation amends the City of Brisbane Regulation 2012 and Local Government Regulation 2012 to empower local governments by:

  • giving local governments the autonomy to decide whether to dispose of valuable non-current assets other than by tender or auction by resolution, without requiring intervention from the state
  • enabling local governments, other than Brisbane City Council, to grant concessions to ratepayers if satisfied the concession is appropriate, having regard to the cost of living in the locality, where the land is situated
  • increasing the thresholds for requiring tenders and quotes
    • for medium-sized contractual arrangements from $15,000 to $21,000,
    • for large-sized contractual arrangements from $200,000 to $280,000,
    • for valuable non-current asset contracts which are not for the disposal of land
      • plant and equipment from $5,000 to $7,000
      • another type of non-current asset from $10,000 to $14,000
  • ensuring that all local governments can change the discount period for the early payment of rates if there are extraordinary circumstances.

The Amendment Regulation also cuts unnecessary red tape by:

  • removing the requirement for the Minister to grant an extension of time by which a local government must adopt their annual report
  • removing the requirement for local governments to notify the Minister of reportable losses
  • removing the requirement to include an annual performance plan for each commercial business unit of a local government
  • removing the prohibition on councillors using discretionary funds in a local government election year (from 1 January to the conclusion of the election)
  • allowing local governments to not meet once in a month if impractical or unnecessary to do so, without requiring a Ministerial exemption

The amendments also clarify councillor remuneration by providing certainty to mayors and deputy mayors that their remuneration can only be decreased, by resolution, to be the same proportion of the maximum amount of remuneration payable as all other councillors of the local government are to receive.

More information

Please contact your Local Government Division regional office:

Key resources

Last updated: 12 Dec 2025