EOI - Chair and Independent ARIC Members

Applications are invited from suitably qualified individuals for the appointment to the position of Chair for the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committees (ARIC) of an Alliance of six Councils in the Riverina region of New South Wales. Expressions of interest are also sought from suitably qualified persons who seek appointment to a position of Independent Committee Member of one or more of the six Councils which are a member of the Alliance.

The Councils of Bland, Coolamon, Cootamundra-Gundagai, Junee, Lockhart and Temora seek the services of suitably qualified persons to take on these unique roles to provide independent assurance and assistance on the governance, risk control and compliance frameworks for each of the Councils.

While each Council will have its own separate committee, it is anticipated that the appointed chair will preside over all six committees. Interested persons may seek appointment to more than one committee, however only the Chair will sit on all six committees.

Appointment of Chair

The appointment of Chair, to commence from 1 July 2024, will be undertaken in accordance with the Office of Local Government’s: Guidelines for Risk Management and Internal Audit for Local Government in NSW (the Guidelines). The appointment term for the Chair is up to four (4) years.

The appointment of chair will be required to satisfy the independence and eligibility criteria within the Guidelines. The chair will be required to possess strong leadership qualities, be able to lead effective committee meetings and maintain effective working relationships within the ARICs and the Councils.

The appointment panel will aim to ensure that the independent chair has recent and relevant experience in the areas of business, financial and legal compliance, risk management, internal audit and IT.

The committees’ meeting cycle will be on a quarterly basis. The term of the appointment will be for a period of 4 years, and subject to review, a further 4 years may be offered. A typical meeting will run up to 2 hours and requires pre-reading of business papers.

The chair is required to lead the development of the Committee’s 4-year Strategic Work Plan, its annual Operational Plan and annual reporting processes. The chair will also be required to hold meetings with the respective Councils, General Managers and the Internal Audit Coordinator who will facilitate audits across the six Councils.

The fees payable for the chair position will be $1500.00, per day excl. GST (inclusive of all preparation time).

Appointment of Committee Members

The appointment term for the independent external members is up to four (4) years, although the inaugural Committee will be offered a staggered term of between two (2) to four (4) years. This is to ensure continuity of knowledge, skills and experience by avoiding all members finishing their term at the same time.

Appointees may be reappointed by an Alliance Council upon further application at the expiry of the term for a total period of eight (8) years or two (2) terms. The fees payable for the independent external members will be $750.00, per day excl. GST (inclusive of all preparation time).

Superannuation and Insurances

Superannuation is paid in addition to the above set fee in accordance with the requirements of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992. ARIC committee members will be covered under Council’s insurance policies for public liability and professional indemnity.

Eligibility Criteria:

The ARICs’ chair and all independent voting members of ARIC must be independent to ensure they have no real or perceived bias or conflicts of interest that may interfere with their ability to act independently and can provide the Councils with robust, objective and unbiased advice about how the Council is functioning.

The chair and independent voting committee members must not:

1. currently be a Councillor of any NSW Council

2. be a non-voting representative of the board of the joint organisation

3. be a candidate at the last election of any of the Alliance councils being the Councils of Bland, Coolamon, Cootamundra-Gundagai, Junee, Lockhart and Temora

4. be a person who has held office in any of the Alliance councils during the previous term

5. be currently employed by any of the Alliance councils or joint organisation, or been employed during the last 12 months

6. conduct audits of any of the Alliance councils on behalf of the Audit Office of NSW

7. have a close personal or business relationship with a councillor or a person who has a senior role in any Alliance council that may lead to a real or perceived conflict of interest

8. currently, or within the last three years, provided any material goods or services (including consultancy, legal, internal audit and advisory services) to any of the Alliance councils which directly affect subjects or issues considered by the audit, risk and improvement committee

9. be (or have a close family member who is) a substantial shareholder, owner, officer or employee of a company that has a material business, contractual relationship, direct financial interest or material indirect financial interest with the Alliance councils or a related entity which could be considered a real or perceived conflict of interest, or

10. currently or have previously acted as an advocate of a material interest on behalf of the Alliance Councils or a related entity which could be considered a real or perceived conflict of interest.

Current staff of Council may serve as an independent member of another council’s audit, risk and improvement committee but not as its chair. They may only serve on another Council’s ARIC if they mee the independence and eligibility criteria for membership, their Council is not participating in a shared arranged with the other Council in relation to ARIC or Internal Audit Function.

Please Note: 

• A criminal record and financial status (bankruptcy) check of all independent members will also be undertaken before an appointment is made.

• Each Council will appoint their independent members after consideration of a report and recommendation by the selection committee, following assessment of applications.

• Members of the Audit Risk and Improvement Committee are subject to the Council's Code of Conduct and the ARIC Terms of Reference, which is available on Council's website.

Expressions of interest can be submitted in the following manner:

Completion of EOI form: AUDIT RISK AND IMPROVEMENT EOI Form

OR

Email:               council@blandshire.nsw.gov.au

For further information:

Contact:           Alison Balind at Bland Shire Council, (02) 6972 2266

Closing date:   8 May, 2024