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Councils across Victoria are forking out millions in legal expenses each year, revealing the high costs of legal advice for local government and, in some cases, of internal disputes.

Fifty Victorian councils have spent about $64 million on legal expenses since 2021 according to Council Watch, which requested a breakdown of legal fees from the state’s 79 councils, 31 of which are in metropolitan Melbourne.

The biggest spenders were Yarra City Council and Kingston council, which have racked up close to $6 million and $4.5 million in legal fees respectively since 2021.

Yarra spent more than $4 million on lawyers in the 2021-22 financial year alone. It is unclear what the work was for, and the council did not respond to a request to provide details.

Council Watch only received the breakdowns from 50 councils. The 29 councils that did not provide the information included City of Melbourne, Boroondara, Brimbank, Port Phillip and Glen Eira.

Boroondara council told The Age it could not share its legal expenses because of “the confidential nature of City of Boroondara’s current contracts”, but it did confirm whether the costs were due to arbitration.

The City of Port Phillip provided The Age with its legal expenses, which

Council Watch president Dean Hurlston said residents had a right to know where and how councils spent their money.

“Councils are spending $30 million to $40 million in public money a year on legal fees. We understand some complex matters require some legal support, but what is the role of the numerous governance and legal experts hired by councils who are on the payroll?” Hurlston said.

“Some councils spent more time fighting us over FOI [freedom of information] semantics than providing the information in an open manner. This is public monies.”

Over two years, the Bayside and Stonnington councils spent $2.5 million and $2 million respectively, while eastern suburbs councils Whitehorse and Manningham spent $3.5 million and $2 million respectively.

Council Watch president Dean Hurlston says ratepayers have a right to know how councils spent their money.Credit: Simon Schluter

Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s fees were close to $3.5 million over two years.

In the west, Wyndham council spent close to $3 million. In the Yarra Ranges, legal fees jumped from $500,000 to nearly $1.5 million from 2021-22 to 2022-23.

“The legal expenses at Yarra, Whitehorse, Kingston, Mornington Peninsula and Wyndham just don’t pass any pub test,” Hurlston said. “Locals should demand better value from their councils.”

Kingston council chief executive Peter Bean said his council’s legal expenses were predominantly consumed by planning matters but issues such as public liability insurance, animal management, parking infringements, and even dog attacks required legal advice.

But the council’s legal expenses have increased in recent years because of advice required for large infrastructure projects, such as the state government’s Suburban Rail Loop, Bean said.

“Kingston is one of the most disrupted metropolitan councils for level crossing removals, and with that has come the challenge of accurate legal representation in the delivery of those outcomes,” he said. “It’s unfortunate we have to use funds in this way and not on infrastructure or service delivery.”

Bean also said Kingston’s housing strategy, which has dragged on for years, has finally been accepted by the planning minister after several amendments.

“We’ve just got some significant strategic documents out of the way which, again, we require legal representation on some of those things. I foreshadow that our legal expenses will decline over the next few years,” he said.

In Hume, one of the largest council areas in Melbourne, the council’s legal expenses were $3.5 million between 2021 and 2023.

A Hume council spokeswoman said the council delivered more than 100 programs and activities in 27 service areas.

“Given the breadth and diversity of services we deliver for this sizeable and diverse population, external lawyers are often required to represent council on legal matters to ensure our output for the community remains at a high standard,” the spokeswoman said.

But the council has also been paying for lawyers for ongoing internal arbitration brought by two Hume councillors, Trevor Dance and Carly Moore.

Hume council said it was still waiting on the final legal cost of this case, which has previously been reported to have exceeded $200,000.

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