The Western Australian Government has produced a set of investment guidelines for local government in response to the exposure of some local governments to offshore investments that have been impacted by the US sub-prime mortgage market.

WA Local Government Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich requested the Department of Local Government and Regional Development develop the guidelines last year to complement the existing investment legislation. The Minister recently sent a copy of the guidelines to all WA councils and has encouraged them to review their investment strategies to ensure they have a robust investment policy.

Ms Ravlich said the investment policy guidelines were intended to be a ‘best practice guide’ to assist local governments gain a better understanding of the various matters concerning investment, including information on complex financial instruments, independent financial advice and matters to be considered when developing an investment policy.

She also thanked the Western Australian Treasury Corporation for its assistance in developing the policy guidelines.

Copies of the investment guidlines are available at
www.dlgrd.wa.gov.au/Publications/Docs/GuidelineNo19_InvestmentPolicy.pdf