Gifts and benefits policy, Wirrinbah Shire Council

Gifts and benefits policy for council staff, with a $50 threshold and register

A gifts and benefits policy has to tell staff which gifts they can keep, which they must decline, how to record what was offered and how a gift turns into a conflict of interest. This three page Australian policy for a Victorian council with 412 staff does that with a $50 threshold, a sample register, a declining script and the $500 rule from the Local Government Act 2020.

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Wirrinbah Shire Council

Gifts and benefits policy

Staff policy under the code of conduct for members of Council staff.

Governance and Risk
1 March 2027
Gifts and benefits policy, Wirrinbah Shire CouncilPage 2 of 3
Gifts and benefits policy, Wirrinbah Shire CouncilPage 3 of 3
1
Purpose and scope
Council staff decide permits, inspect premises, award contracts and enforce local laws, so a gift from someone they deal with can look like a reward or a down payment. Section 49 of the Local Government Act 2020 (Vic) requires the staff code of conduct to include a gift policy that sets a level above which gifts are disclosed, and a register to record them. This is that policy. It applies to all 412 staff, volunteers and contractors working on Council business. Councillors follow the separate Councillor gift policy.
2
The $50 threshold
A gift or benefit is anything of value offered because of your Council role: goods, vouchers, meals, tickets, travel, discounts or a favour. The rules depend on its value and on who is offering it:
1.
Under $50, such as a box of chocolates or a calendar: you may accept it once, and need not declare it.
2.
$50 or more: decline it. If declining would cause real offence, accept it on behalf of Council and declare it within 5 business days.
3.
Cash, gift cards, vouchers or anything that can be converted to cash: always decline, whatever the value.
4.
From anyone with a current tender, permit application, grant application or enforcement matter before Council: always decline, whatever the value.
5.
Several gifts from one person in a year count together; once their total reaches $50, declare them.
3
The gift register
Governance and Risk keeps the register. Every declared gift, accepted or declined, is recorded with its outcome. Recent entries look like this:
Date
Unit
Offered by and item
Value
Outcome
14 Jan 2027
Planning
Builder, wine hamper
$120
Declined, live permit application
22 Jan 2027
Libraries
Author, signed books
$65
Accepted for the library collection
3 Feb 2027
Works depot
Supplier, lunch for crew
$180
Declined, tender open
11 Feb 2027
Aged care
Client family, flowers
$55
Accepted, shared in the office
4
How to decline
Declining well keeps the relationship intact. Thank the person, give the rule as the reason so it is not personal, and offer what you can do instead. Staff may use these words:
Thank you, that is very kind. Council rules do not let me accept gifts from people we work with, so I will have to say no, but I really appreciate the thought. If you would like to say thanks, a note to my manager would mean a lot.
Suggested script for staff
5
Gifts and conflicts of interest
Under section 128 of the Act, a staff member has a material conflict of interest in a matter if they have received gifts worth $500 or more in total from a person in the 5 years before a decision that affects that person. Reasonable hospitality at an event attended in an official capacity is not counted. A staff member with a conflict must disclose it and take no part in the decision, as section 130 requires. The register is how staff and managers check the 5 year total before a decision.
6
Hospitality at events
Light refreshments at a meeting, a conference lunch included in a paid registration, or a meal at a community event you attend for Council are reasonable hospitality and need no declaration. Invitations to sporting finals, concerts or private dinners are gifts, and follow the threshold rules above.
7
Breaches and review
Accepting a gift against this policy, or failing to declare one, is a breach of the staff code of conduct and is dealt with under its disciplinary provisions. Anyone can raise a concern with Governance and Risk, and suspected corrupt conduct can also be reported to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC). A summary of the register goes to the Audit and Risk Committee each quarter, and this policy is reviewed every two years, next in March 2029.

Section by section

What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.

Cover
Contract cover with the council, title and the code of conduct it sits under.
1. Purpose and scope
Why gifts matter in a council, section 49 and the 412 staff covered.
2. The $50 threshold
Five numbered rules by value, type and giver.
3. The gift register
A five column table with four real outcomes.
4. How to decline
Three steps and a script in a quote block.
5. Gifts and conflicts of interest
The $500 over 5 years rule and exclusion from the decision.
6 and 7. Hospitality, breaches and review
What counts as reasonable hospitality, IBAC reporting and two yearly review.

How to adapt this document

First, set your own threshold and keep the source rules unchanged: tenderers, applicants and anyone under enforcement are refused at any value in every sector. Second, replace the register entries with ones from your own work; a hospital would show patient families, a school parents at the end of term. Third, if you are not a council, swap the section 128 clause for your own conflicts of interest policy and keep the idea of totalling gifts from one person over time.

Which law the terms follow

The policy follows the Local Government Act 2020 (Vic): section 49 requires the staff gift policy and register, section 128 defines a material conflict of interest including gifts of $500 or more from one person over 5 years, and section 130 requires disclosure and exclusion from the decision. Suspected corrupt conduct can be reported to IBAC, the Victorian anti corruption commission.

What makes this document work

Value and source both matter

The five rules do not stop at a dollar figure. A gift under $50 can be kept once, but cash and vouchers are always declined, and so is anything from a person with a live tender, permit, grant or enforcement matter, whatever it is worth. Rule 5 adds gifts from one person across a year.

The register shows real decisions

Four sample entries show the outcomes staff will face: a $120 hamper from a builder declined because of a live permit, signed books worth $65 accepted for the library collection, a supplier's crew lunch declined during a tender, and $55 of flowers shared in the aged care office.

The script makes declining easy

Most staff accept gifts because saying no feels rude. The quote block gives words that blame the rule, not the person, and offers an alternative: a note to the manager. A policy that tells people how to decline gets followed more than one that only says they must.

Questions people ask

Do Victorian councils have to have a staff gift policy?

Yes. Section 49 of the Local Government Act 2020 (Vic) requires the chief executive officer to set a code of conduct for Council staff, and that code must include a gift policy. The policy must require staff to disclose gifts above a specified level and provide for disclosed gifts to be recorded in a gift register.

Why is the threshold $50 when the Act mentions $500?

The $500 figure is the gift disclosure threshold that creates a material conflict of interest when gifts from one person reach it over 5 years. The Act leaves the staff declaration level to each council. A much lower figure, such as $50, catches gifts long before they become a conflict.

What should happen to a gift accepted on behalf of the council?

It belongs to the council, not the staff member. Common outcomes are adding it to a collection, sharing perishable items in the workplace, displaying it, raffling it for charity or returning it with a thank you note. Record the outcome in the register so anyone checking later can see what happened.

Is a conference lunch a gift?

Not when it is reasonable hospitality at an event attended for the council, such as a lunch included in a paid registration. Section 128 also leaves official hospitality out of the 5 year conflict total. Tickets to a sporting final or a private dinner are different, and follow the gift rules.

Who sees the staff gift register?

In this policy, Governance and Risk keeps it, managers use it to check conflicts before decisions, and a summary goes to the Audit and Risk Committee each quarter. Some councils also publish a summary. Councillors' gifts sit in a separate register under the Councillor gift policy required by section 138.

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