FAQs

No.  The proposal from the Town of Gawler is to change council boundaries in nine specific areas, being portions of Concordia and Kalbeeba in Barossa Council, Hewett and portions of Gawler Belt and Reid in Light Regional Council, and portions of Evanston Park, Hillier, Bibaringa and Uleybury in the City of Playford.

No decision has been made yet about whether the proposal will proceed.  At the conclusion of the Inquiry, the Commission will receive a report from BDO.  The Commission may then recommend to the Minister for Local Government that the council boundary changes proceed as proposed, or the Commission may recommend that different boundary changes are made from those which have been proposed.  The Commission may also recommend that no changes be made to the existing council boundaries.  

The scope of the Inquiry has been set under: 

• the Local Government Act 1999 
• an approved Inquiry Plan (which the affected councils were consulted on)
• the Commission's Guidelines, in particular ‘Guideline 4 - Investigation of General Proposals Initiated by Councils’ and ‘Guideline 9 - Engagement and Consultation.’  

The Inquiry Plan considers topics across five matters:

• Financial Matters, including potential financial implications of the proposal on council's: 
  • operating revenue and expenses 
  • rates, fees and charges,
  • assets, 
  • grants, grant agreements and any significant contracts 
  • services and service levels, like waste management and road maintenance.
• Land Use and Planning Matters, including: 
  • land use patterns and planning studies, including of current and anticipate growth areas in the next ten years, and 
  • environmental and land management issues, like storm water
  • councils’ planning policies, processes and development controls
  • potentially impacted infrastructure agreements, and
  • councils’ capacity to manage significant future growth areas and facilitate effective and sustainable planning and development.
• Council Employee Matters, including:
  • identifying the types of council employees potentially impacted by the proposal
  • identifying any significant difference in workplace agreements and conditions and any workforce or human resourcing issues.
• Representation Matters, including
  • Identifying current and potential impacts on representation (elected member numbers) for areas impacted by the proposal, including any impact on ward quotas
  • considering previous changes to representation for the potentially affected councils and whether they are relevant.
• Community Matters, including:
  • community members’ identification as members of a particular community and whether a boundary change would result in a significant division of an existing community
  • economic communities of interest that could be affected by a boundary change
  • how community members in affected areas access council services and facilities
  • relationships between affected councils and social, recreational and sporting groups
  • councils’ capacity to offer their communities a reasonable range of services if the changes were implemented. 

Although the Investigator may be able to provide indicative information about the potential financial impacts of the proposal, the financial decisions of councils about how they rate are influenced by many factors determined by individual councils.  While specific conditions about rates may be implemented as part of proposed boundary change, further changes in rates beyond a period to which a condition may relate cannot be accurately predicted by the Inquiry process.  

Yes. The inquiry is compiling detailed information about services and facilities in both the affected areas and the wider areas of the councils that are part of this inquiry, and how these services are used by local residents. These services and facilities include roads, community facilities such as libraries and swimming pools and parks, gardens and recreational spaces.

This is important to understand the impact of a potential boundary change on the councils, particularly in relation to the impact on the councils’ finances. It is also important to inform the Commission’s understanding of the link between services that are used by community members and how the rates contributed by these local people support the ongoing provision of these services. 

Anyone who is interested in the proposal may provide feedback.  

Prior to public and stakeholder engagement, BDO requested the four councils that may be impacted by the proposal (The Town of Gawler, Light Regional Council, The Barossa Council, and the City of Playford) provide a list of stakeholders who they believe should be consulted. Each of these stakeholders was then invited to have their say about the proposal.  

In its final report, BDO will include information about how stakeholder feedback influences its report.

The public forums are open to all members of the public with an interest in the proposed boundaries change.   Information will be provided about all areas potentially impacted by a boundary change at each of the three public forums.  

While the Inquiry and stakeholder engagement is being undertaken in 2024, the Commission cannot provide timeframes for completion of the Inquiry.  The Commission must ensure that it has all of the information required to make a recommendation to the Minister.

The final Inquiry report, including its findings and recommendations, will be that of the independent Investigator, BDO.

The Commission will receive and consider the report of the Investigator.  As an independent body, the Commission can make recommendations that differ from those of the Investigator.  

Those recommendations could include that the proposal should proceed as proposed, that changes proceed differently from what has been proposed, or that no changes be made to the existing council boundaries.  Recommendations could also include specific conditions for recommended actions.  In line with its engagement principle that engagement is informed and transparent, the Commission will explain the reasons behind its recommendations.  

The Minister will make the final decision whether the proposal will proceed or not proceed.