Wyndham council can take no action against councillor Intaj Khan after a company he runs was fined more than $10,000 by the Immigration Department for rorting the 457 working visa scheme.
But it has called for a review of the Local Government Act after it found it had no grounds under the act to disqualify Cr Khan from the council.
Council chief executive Kerry Thompson said that under the act, a councillor could be disqualified only if convicted of an offence punishable by five or more years’ jail.
“Given that the matter concerning Cr Khan does not meet this criteria, there is nothing in the act that would prohibit his continuation as a councillor,” she said.
“Given that this section of the act has not been reviewed in some time, it would be appropriate for greater consideration to be given to the grounds for disqualification.”
The council also found that Cr Khan had not breached its code of conduct because the fine related to a private matter and not his duties as a councillor.
Cr Khan’s training organisation, the Western Institute of Technology, was fined $10,200 for breaching a range of sponsorship conditions.
The organisation has also been barred for three years from using the 457 program, which helps business recruit skilled overseas workers.
Wyndham residents have taken to social media demanding that Cr Khan resign from council, but he has refused to step down.
He said the incident was an oversight by a staff member, who had since been sacked.
“This is a corporate matter and I just happen to be CEO of that company,” he said.
“It is not a personal matter. It was the company that was fined, not Cr Khan.”
Cr Khan said he had acted in the best interests of the community since being elected to council in 2012.
“I am doing what I have to do [in] my duties as a councillor,” he said. “I think I’ve been an excellent advocate for residents.”
