KINGSTON councillor Jane Agirtan has been stood down from council after making an appearance in court this week.
Agirtan attended Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 25 February and 7 April after being charged with breaching a personal safety intervention order. The matter will move to Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on 20 June.
The charge sheet read that Agirtan had allegedly failed to follow a direction to remove a social media post which referenced the alleged victim.
On Wednesday, 9 April, Kingston Council confirmed to The News that Agirtan had stood down effective immediately. Council CEO Peter Bean said Agirtan has “been stood down from her role as a councillor under section 229 of the Local Government Act.”
“As a result, Chiquita Ward councillor Agirtan must not perform the functions and duties of, or exercise the powers of a councillor, including attending council meetings, delegated committee meetings or attending council premises, until the conclusion of the court proceedings,” Bean said. “Under the Act, Cr Agirtan is stood down until the outcome of the court proceedings is finalised and next steps can be determined.”
The Personal Safety Intervention Order Act 2010 reads that the maximum penalty for breaching an order is a two year prison sentence or “level seven” fine. Under the Local Government Act 2020, the Chief Municipal Inspector has the power to refer a councillor to VCAT for an order to stand down if they are charged with a crime where the maximum penalty is at least 12 months imprisonment.*
The Local Government Act 2020 reads that before VCAT makes an order it “must have regard to the nature and circumstances of the charge”. The order “ceases to have effect if the relevant charge is withdrawn; or the councillor is not convicted of the offence.”
*Editor’s note (5/5/2025): Section 229 of the Local Government Act was amended by the state government in 2024 – it now reads a councillor is stood down if charged with “an offence against this Act for which the maximum penalty is at least 120 penalty units or a period of imprisonment of at least 12 months” or “an offence against a law of Victoria, or a law of another State, a Territory or the Commonwealth, that is punishable by a period of imprisonment of at least 2 years for a first conviction.” The maximum penalty for breaching a personal safety intervention order is two years imprisonment.
