New reporting framework for council planning and reporting
From 1 November 2026, councils must use eight mandatory activity groups in their planning and reporting. Find out what is changing and access guidance to help councils prepare.
The Local Government (Local Authority Reporting) Amendment Regulations 2026 come into force on 1 November 2026.
The regulations introduce eight mandatory groups of activities that councils must use when preparing long-term plans, annual plans and annual reports. As is the case now, councils must prepare funding impact statements (FIS) for each group of activities. This nationally consistent framework for council planning and reporting aims to improve transparency, accountability and comparability across local government.
This page provides information about the new framework and links to supporting guidance.
What is changing?
Under current arrangements, councils have flexibility in how they plan and report many of their activities. While this allows councils to tailor reporting to local circumstances, it can make comparisons between councils difficult.
The new framework establishes a common set of activity groups that all councils will use for planning and reporting purposes. This will make council information more consistent and easier for communities, councils and government agencies to understand and compare.
The changes relate to how councils plan and report their activities. They do not prescribe how councils organise services, set priorities or deliver services to their communities. Councils can continue to create additional local activity groups where these support local reporting and community needs.
The eight mandatory groups of activities
All councils will be required to report against the following groups of activities:
- Adaptation and emergency management
- Community and recreational facilities
- Governance, planning and reporting
- Parks and reserves
- Public regulatory services
- Roading and transport
- Waste management and minimisation
- Other
These groups are intended to collectively cover the broad range of council services, facilities and statutory functions.
What about water services?
Water supply, wastewater and stormwater are not included in the new reporting groups because councils now report on these activities under separate water services legislation. Flood protection activities will be reported within the adaptation and emergency management group.
Guidance for councils
MCERT has worked with local government practitioners, sector representatives and government agencies to develop the new reporting framework. The guidance is intended to support consistent implementation by setting out how activities could be allocated to the mandatory groups and providing practical examples.
Download the mandatory reporting groups of activities guidance
Download guidance (PDF, 572KB)
Download guidance (Word, 616KB)
What councils should do now
Many councils are already preparing their 2027-37 long-term plans. Councils should begin considering how the new framework may affect:
- activity groupings
- budgets and financial reporting
- performance measures
- funding impact statements
- annual plan and annual report structures
- internal reporting processes
Early consideration will help councils incorporate the new requirements into upcoming planning and reporting cycles.