Commissioner Ross Glover’s 518-page final report was published on Tuesday 10 November 2026. The inquiry was established in July 2024 and examined councillor conduct, financial management, property purchases and the handling of more than $150 million in state government infrastructure grants. According to the Sydney Morning Herald($), it cost at least $4 million. Minister Ron Hoenig told a September budget estimates hearing the cost was between $4 million and $4.5 million.

Commissioner Glover found the council was “not entirely free from error, nor is it ever likely to be”. He identified areas where improvement is warranted, and said councillors had shown an appropriate understanding of their statutory roles.

He recommended that the council audio-visually record parts of closed session meetings and arrange councillor training on conflicts of interest and respectful debate. He described the relationship between Mayor Cr Ned Mannoun and Cr Peter Ristevski as fractured and at times hostile, and recommended mediation. He noted that the outcome was ultimately up to them.

The Commissioner did not make adverse findings against any councillor over meeting conduct. He also made no findings on the 148 code of conduct complaints lodged in 2024-25, a number he described as unprecedented, so as not to interfere with internal investigations.

He recommended the Minister consider issuing a performance improvement order and appointing one or more temporary advisers, to allow the council to address governance, performance or financial problems before any step such as suspension.

In a statement, Liverpool City Council said it welcomed the report and recognised improvements already made during the inquiry. Those include recruitment, procurement, project cost estimation, record keeping, workplace policies and financial reporting. Mayor Cr Mannoun said the council would consider the recommendations carefully, and that the Commissioner had been “crystal clear in his findings”.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Minister Hoenig said the government is closely considering the recommendations. Opposition Local Government spokesman Chris Rath said the Minister should apologise to Liverpool ratepayers, and accused him of delaying release of the report. Mr Hoenig had earlier described the allegations in the 2024 interim report in strong terms and had sought to postpone that year’s council election until the inquiry concluded.

The Land and Environment Court previously found the interim report failed to meet procedural fairness requirements because named individuals were not given a chance to respond, but allowed the inquiry to proceed.