City of Perth faces yet another inquiry – this one with teeth
Western Australia’s Local Government Inspector Tony Brown has ordered a fresh, enforcement‑ready inquiry into the City of Perth after a five‑month monitor found ongoing dysfunction, fractured relationships and governance failures at the council.
OPINION & VOICES
The City of Perth is bracing for another formal inquiry after Local Government Inspector Tony Brown determined that previous interventions have not resolved deep‑seated governance problems at the council.
The move comes as the inspector is set to hand down the findings of a five‑month monitoring assignment and deliver an action plan aimed at keeping elected members in line.
The City of Perth has been under heightened oversight for several years, with past inquiries uncovering widespread cultural and systemic failures, poor governance, factionalism and instances referred to authorities for possible criminal behaviour.
In January 2026, Tony Brown appointed former Kwinana mayor Carol Adams as monitor to the City of Perth, making it the first local government to receive a monitor under his tenure.
The monitoring assignment followed controversy around a proposal by Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds for the council to spend up to $125,000 on an independent workplace culture review, a debate that exposed serious tensions between the council and the administration.
An explosive psychosocial review later found that staff were experiencing psychosocial harm, with some requiring medical intervention.
The city’s chief executive, Michelle Reynolds, was suspended after a special council meeting on May 19, following Mr Brown’s decision to put the council on formal notice to improve.
Carol Adams completed her five‑month appointment as monitor on June 19, 2026, but more than two months passed without a public announcement of the findings, outcomes or recommendations.
East Perth resident Vicki Raniszewski wrote to the inspectorate seeking clarity, noting that ratepayers had been told an outcome would come within about a month of the monitor finishing her work.
In an email to Ms Raniszewski, Local Government Inspector Tony Brown acknowledged the delay and said a public guidance note outlining lessons learned from the City of Perth monitoring assignment would be released after a closed‑doors meeting with the council.
“I acknowledge the delay in finalising the report and appreciate that this has been a source of frustration,” Mr Brown wrote. “Thank you for your continued patience as the process nears completion.”
On September 14, 2026, Mr Brown is expected to meet elected members at Council House, outline an action plan, and then address media outside the chambers.
Multiple outlets report that the inspector has concluded dysfunction and poor governance remain so severe that another inquiry – described as one “with teeth” – is now the only viable option.
While full details of the new inquiry’s terms of reference had not been published at the time of reporting, the description of it as an inquiry “with teeth” signals stronger enforcement powers than previous reviews.
Past inquiries into the City of Perth have led to hundreds of findings of poor governance, referrals of dozens of individuals and organisations to authorities, and ongoing police investigations into suspected criminal behaviour.
State officials have previously defended the cost of earlier probes, even as some legal actions related to those inquiries have hit dead ends in court.
East Perth resident Vicki Raniszewski, who pushed for transparency over the monitor’s report, said: “Carol Adams completed her appointment as Monitor on 19 June 2026. We are now more than two months beyond that date, yet there has still been no public announcement of the findings, outcomes or recommendations arising from that work.”
“For some time, the advice provided has effectively been that an outcome is ‘coming soon’. Ratepayers were reasonably under the impression that there would be some form of outcome or announcement within approximately one month of the monitor completing her appointment. That timeframe has now well and truly passed,” she added.
In correspondence seen by The West Australian, Mr Brown said: “A public guidance note outlining lessons learned from the City of Perth monitoring assignment will be released” after the council meeting.
He also wrote: “I acknowledge the delay in finalising the report and appreciate that this has been a source of frustration.”
On the day of the announcement, he is expected to present the action plan to councillors before speaking to media, but detailed on‑the‑record comments beyond his written correspondence had not been published at the time of reporting.
Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds has been described in recent months as “tight‑lipped” amid the council’s turmoil, offering limited comment on the issues in early interviews.
The council has also commissioned a legal risk assessment of a special council meeting linked to the period when the CEO was suspended, though it has refused to say which meeting was assessed or why.
Minutes of the audit, risk and improvement committee state only that the assessment was presented “for information purposes only”, with no further detail disclosed publicly.
A psychosocial review obtained earlier in 2026 found that City of Perth staff were suffering psychosocial harm, with some employees needing medical intervention due to workplace conditions.
The review contributed to the decision to place the council under formal monitoring and, ultimately, to the suspension of chief executive Michelle Reynolds after a special meeting.
Some councillors have reported contact from the suspended CEO since her suspension, though the nature and implications of that contact remain under examination.
Business News reported that Western Australia’s Local Government Inspector has said dysfunction and poor governance within the City of Perth council remain so bad that another inquiry is the only option.
Commentators note that this will be the second major inquiry into the City of Perth in eight years, underscoring persistent structural and cultural issues at the council.
The immediate next step is the release of the monitor’s action plan and the public guidance note on lessons learned from the City of Perth monitoring assignment.
From there, the newly announced inquiry with enforcement powers is expected to examine ongoing governance failures, fractured working relationships and any conduct that may warrant further regulatory or legal action.
Ratepayers and residents are likely to press for timely publication of findings, clear consequences for misconduct, and concrete steps to restore stable, transparent governance at the City of Perth.
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