Noosa Council behind closed doors

Councils may shut the public out of a meeting, but only for reasons the law lists, and they must say which one they are relying on. Since 2014, 171 meetings have had business council marked confidential: 258 items in all. Pick a year to see every meeting, what was on the confidential list, and the ground given.

By year

One item is often counted more than once, and that is deliberate: a confidential report usually goes to a committee first and then to the ordinary meeting that ratifies it, and each is a separate meeting at which it was dealt with. Within a meeting, each item is counted once however many times the papers mention it.

The rise from 2023 is partly a change of source, not only of behaviour. From then on the items come from council's own item-by-item agenda; before it they are read out of the text of PDFs, which can miss an item. Compare years on the same side of that line.

Grounds given

The ground the minutes cite when the meeting is closed, counted once per meeting. The list changed in 2020: before it, grounds were in s 275(1) of the Local Government Regulation 2012; since, s 254J(3). The letters mean different things in the two lists — (e) was “contracts” and is now “legal advice or proceedings” — so each is shown with its meaning.

How this is compiled

From 2023, the items are council's own, from the agenda it publishes item by item, and each links to its place on our page for that meeting. Before that, they are read out of the text of council's agendas and minutes, where one item can be mentioned five times over (contents page, agenda, committee minutes, council minutes, closing motion); those are merged into one line. Every agenda since 2023 carries a “Confidential Session” heading whether it is used or not, so an empty heading is not counted: 91 meetings had one and nothing under it.

Nothing here comes from inside a closed session. It records that an item was taken behind closed doors and what reason was given, both of which council publishes. Court appeals are a recurring reason; those matters are tracked on the court cases page.

On the agenda

The 8 most recent of 154 agenda items and minuted decisions about closed doors since 2016, found by their titles. All of them →

1. 6 Oct 2026 CONFIDENTIAL - NOOSA REGIONAL GALLERY Detailed Business Case and CONSIDERATIONS General Committee, item 8.1 watch
2. 20 Aug 2026 confidential - Waste Supply Agreement Ordinary Meeting, item 13.1 watch
3. 16 Jul 2026 CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE - PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COURT APPEAL D927 OF 2025 - APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT PERMIT FOR BUILDING WORKS (DWELLING HOUSE) AND REFERRAL AGENCY PLANNING (BUILDING HEIGHT, GROSS FLOOR AREA, SETBACKS, AND CUT) AT 58 SEAVIEW TERRACE, SUNSHINE BEACH Ordinary Meeting, item 14.2 Court caseswatch
4. 16 Jul 2026 CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE - ERP CONTRACT RENEWAL Ordinary Meeting, item 14.1 Contractswatch
5. 16 Jul 2026 CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE - NOOSA PLAN 2020 DRAFT AMENDMENT 4 - EMPLOYMENT LAND (Referred from the General Committee Meeting dated 7 July 2026 - Item 8.1) Ordinary Meeting, item 12.2 watch
6. 16 Jul 2026 CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE - NOOSA PLAN 2020 DRAFT AMENDMENT 4 - EMPLOYMENT LAND Ordinary Meeting, item 11.1.10 watch
7. 7 Jul 2026 CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE - NOOSA PLAN 2020 DRAFT AMENDMENT 4 - EMPLOYMENT LAND General Committee, item 8.1 watch
8. 18 Jun 2026 CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE - PROPOSED LAND RATIONALISATION - LANYANA WAY LOT 2 ON RP889596 AND NOOSA DRIVE LOT ON RP884396 Ordinary Meeting, item 11.2.16