New South Wales Consolidated Acts

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1993 - SECT 234

234 When does a vacancy occur in a civic office?

(1) A civic office becomes vacant if the holder:

(a) dies, or

(b) resigns the office by writing addressed to the general manager, or

(c) is disqualified from holding civic office, or

(d) is absent from 3 consecutive ordinary meetings of the council (unless the holder is absent because he or she has been suspended from office under section 482) without:

(i) prior leave of the council, or

(ii) leave granted by the council at any of the meetings concerned, or

(e) becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his or her creditors or makes an assignment of his or her remuneration for their benefit, or

(f) becomes a mentally incapacitated person, or

(g) is dismissed from civic office, or

(h) ceases to hold the office for any other reason.

Note: See section 275 for the circumstances in which a person is disqualified from holding civic office.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) (d), a councillor applying for a leave of absence from a meeting of a council does not need to make the application in person and the council may grant such leave in the absence of that councillor.

(3) If the holder of a civic office attends a council meeting (whether or not an ordinary meeting) despite having been granted leave of absence, the leave of absence is taken to have been rescinded as regards any future council meeting.

(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent the council from granting further leave of absence in respect of any future council meeting.