Perth City Council is firmly in the sights of WA's first Local Government Inspector as he gains a suite of new powers, with the investigator warning none of the state's 139 councils are off the hook.

Local government veteran Tony Brown began in the new role in October. But from the start of this month, he gained wide-reaching powers to intervene in any local council.

It's been a year of turmoil in local government. Two councils (Nedlands and Port Hedland) were sacked and replaced by commissioners and a third (Coolgardie) narrowly avoided suspension after significant financial problems

Mr Brown's role is aimed at preventing such chaos in future.

Tony Brown was appointed to the role of local government inspector in October. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)

His powers will allow him to send in monitors and legal and financial experts to stamp out any early dysfunction and recommend the suspension or dismissal of entire councils, including mayors.

More freedom to step in

With more than 40 years of experience, Mr Brown has worked across seven local governments and at WA's peak local government body — the Western Australian Local Government Association.

"[I] really want to improve the governance and accountability across the sector," Mr Brown told the ABC.

Unlike Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley — who had to wait until problematic councils got to a point where she could finally intervene — Mr Brown can step in as soon as he likes.

His role, part of a tranche of local government reforms passed in late 2024, has a particular focus on early intervention to stamp out issues before they snowball.

"Whether they're financial, whether they're relationships, whether they're meeting procedures — we can get in early to help,"

he said.

Where a complaint does emerge, an appointed adjudicator will have powers to order mediation, make findings, and if appropriate, order sanctions.

Penalties available include public censure, apology, counselling or training, withholding of fees and allowances for up to three months and suspension for up to three months.

Mr Brown's appointed adjudicators will have the ability to order mediation and impose penalties. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)

From today, there will also be a new 'three strikes rule' for council members. They will mandate that if a council member is suspended three times, they will be disqualified for 10 years.