Perth councillors and mayors confused about what constitutes a gift. Credit:Michaela Fox The new guidelines do not allow for gifts to be given to councillors or mayors from cousins or extended family members, so any birthday or wedding gifts exceeding $200 would have to be declared. One example of what "constitutes a gift" by the Department of Local Government included having to declare if elected members borrowed a trailer off a friend because it could have the value of more than $200. "The current situation facing elected members and relevant local government staff is a farce – not only are these new guidelines on gifts overly prescriptive on the declaration of irrelevant and personal gifts, the additional scope means many elected members may already be unknowingly in breach of the regulations," WA Local Government Association President Lynne Craigie said. She said the association has had to cancel a number of events because it was unsure whether meals provided by the association need to be declared.

"We recently cancelled an upcoming regional state council meeting to the Shire of Murchison as gifts in the form of meals, calculated cumulatively over the course of the year, are considered a 'prohibited gift' [if the total value is over $300] and as such receipt of such hospitality could be considered a breach," she said. "It was possible that as a result of attending the two day trip to hold our governance meeting at a regional site, a number of our state councillors could reach the threshold of a prohibited gift and so the trip has been cancelled." Cr Craigie said WALGA had called on Local Government Minister Tony Simpson to review the gifts provisions as soon as possible. She said in the meantime, WALGA would not be providing any catering at meetings attended by elected members until this issue was resolved. "By comparison, state politicians do not have to declare anything until gifts reach the $500 mark and there is no upper limit," she said.

"Nor do they have to provide anywhere near the same level of transparency in reporting those gifts that is currently being asked of councillors and local government staff." Two mayors, who didn't want to be named, told WAtoday they had instructed staff not to accept any gifts from families and friends, fearing elected members "could be breaking the rules." Fremantle CEO Graeme MacKenzie said the new requirements went beyond the intent of the transparency being sought by the legislation. "The Department of Local Government published guidelines on this which makes it clear that the expectation is for all gifts, other than those exempted must be published and this includes birthday gifts, wedding gifts etc given in a private capacity," he said. "I understand this is an interpretation provided by the State Solicitors Office.

"The City of Fremantle believes, as does most if not all of the local government sector, WALGA, as the peak local government body, has been in discussions with the minister on this matter who has confirmed the current interpretation but has indicated a willingness to review this particular aspect." Mr Simpson said the changes to the gift registration had highlighted there are significant gaps in the understanding the current provisions in the act. "Given these changes, the Department of Local Government and Communities considered it timely to provide an update and case studies to assist local governments in understanding the definition of a gift, and for elected members to be confident in their understanding of reporting requirements," he said. A spokeswoman for the Department of Local Government said there were some "gaps" in the guideline what currently constitutes a gift. "The Governance Roundtable [with membership from the department, Western Australian Local Government Association and Local Government Managers Australia (WA)] is currently working to identify areas of improvement in the legislation and/or guidance on the reporting of gifts and travel contributions," she said.

"This will inform work being undertaken in consultation with the sector to streamline and achieve greater consistency between the Local Government Act and Regulations. In the meantime, elected members should continue to observe current requirements and to seek advice if in doubt about their application in specific circumstances." Follow WAtoday on Twitter