Legislation & By-Laws
Legislation
The Local Government Act 1993 is the principal legislation governing Council’s operations.
This is an Act that provides for local government and councils to plan for, develop and manage municipal areas in the interests of their communities.
View the Local Government Act 1993.
Other Acts of Government include
- Dog Control Act 2000
- Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993
- Strata Titles Act 1998
- Litter Act 2007
- Food Act 2003
- Public Health Act 1997
- Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994
- Local Government (Highways) Act 1982
- Local Government (Building and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993
- Urban Drainage Act 2013
- Building Act 2000
- Burial and Cremation Act 2019
- Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005
Boundary fences are regulated through the Boundary Fences Act 1908. If you and your neighbour cannot come to an agreement, you may need to obtain independent legal advice.
Glamorgan Spring Bay Council does not get involved in matters between neighbours over boundary fences. Council will only become involved if the property is adjoining Council land or if the fence requires a planning or building permit.
Tasmania Legal Aid provides a useful fact sheet that outlines the responsibilities of each party and the processes to follow for seeking boundary fence contributions. This fact sheet can be found at the bottom of this page.
By-laws
Local councils are guided by laws and by-laws. Council by-laws take over where the laws leave off. While the Local Government Act 1993 provides general rules about many things, these aren’t always enough to make sure we can do our job successfully, so the law gives us the power to make by-laws.
To make a by-law, we have to follow a set of procedures. Each by-law has a life of no more than 10 years from the date it comes into effect.