A guide to the Amendments to the Local Government (Functions and General) Regulations) 1996 

The changes make the retention of GPs easier, by providing for tender exemption for varying and extending contracts for regional medical services.

Below is a short guide to the key changes:

Rural GP and dentists tender exemption

• Recognising the importance of maintaining medical and dental services in our regions, a tender exemption for renewing or extending a contract with a medical or dental service is being provided to regional local governments.
• This exemption means those local governments will be able to maintain the services of an existing doctor or dentist without needing to call for public tenders.
• This exemption is only available to local governments outside the Perth metropolitan area and City of Mandurah.

Novation of contracts

• An additional tender exemption is provided for where a local government novates a contract.
• As an example, in the context of a dental service, this means where the dental practice is sold to another dentist, the local government can novate the existing contract with the old dentist to the new dentist.
• This improves local government contract management, allowing novation of contracts to occur. Local governments should however make sure it is in their interest to novate he contract.
• This exemption is available to all local governments.

Dental leasing exemption

• An exemption from the property disposal requirements has been provided for the leasing of land for dental services.
• This is to align with the new exemption provided for regional medical and dental services.
• This exemption is however available to all local governments, like the existing medical services exemption is.
  

For more information contact actreview@dlgsc.wa.gov.au