Standing Rules and Orders of Council
Rule 29: Councillors' attendance and leave of absence
Rule 29(1) requires councillors to attend Council meetings and the relevant committee meetings that are obligatory. They are excused only if they ask for leave of absence at least 24 hours beforehand, if exceptional circumstances exist, or if the Code of Conduct requires them to withdraw. It is raised when the Speaker deals with applications for leave of absence at the start of a meeting. The quoted text is cut off, so the rest of the rule, which deals with how requests are made to Council, is unclear.
Plain-English summary written with AI from how the City's minutes quote and use the rule. The official text is not published by the City.
The rule's own words
29(1) Councillors must attend each obligatory (Section 79 and Council) meeting of the Council and the relevant Committees unless they request for leave of absence at least 24 hours before the meeting or exceptional circumstances exist, or that the Councillor is required to withdraw in terms of the Code of Conduct for Councillors in the Systems Act.
As quoted in the City's signed minutes.
How the minutes record it
The Speaker indicated she had only received one written submission for leave of absence, and asked Councillors to note Rule 29(1) of the Standing Rules and Orders of Council which stated: “29(1) Councillors must attend each obligatory (Section 79 and Council) meeting of the Council and the relevant Committees unless they request for leave of absence at least 24 hours before the meeting or exceptional circumstances exist, or that the Councillor is required to withdraw in terms of the Code of Conduct for Councillors in the Systems Act. For Council, such requests are to be put to the Presiding…
Signed minutes, Thursday, 28 August 2025