We are reviewing our Public Consultation Policy and need your feedback.

On this page: Revising our policy / Have your say / Documents

Revising our Public Consultation Policy

Policies can be complicated, but essentially they provide the operational framework within which Council functions and guides decision-making of Council Members and administration.

View Council policies

Our Public Consultation Policy complies with our legislative requirements under the Local Government Act 1999 and ensures we are using appropriate methods relevant to a consultation topic, are informing and involving our community and using community feedback to enhance decision making.

The policy is due for review. We have taken the chance to revise it to make it easier to understand and ensure a standard approach is taken across all consultation at Council.

Read the current policy

Read the revised draft policy

What has been changed?

To make our policies easier to understand we are updating how our policies are formatted. Our revised draft Public Consultation Policy may look different to some of our older policies you might have read.

No changes have been made that reduce the opportunity our community has to provide feedback.

The main changes of the draft revised policy is that it includes:

• A flowchart outlining the consultation process at Council to make sure it is easy to understand and follow.
• Requirement of Council to prepare a ‘community consultation plan’ for all formal consultation opportunities.

What can be changed?

Some parts of the draft revised policy can’t be changed, such as the minimum requirements of ‘type A’ or ‘type B’ matters that are outlined in the Local Government Act 1999.

However, we can decide on:

• Additional requirements or extensions to timeframes of ‘type A’ and ‘type B’ matters.
• Additional requirements or criteria of ‘type C’ matters, for example consultation steps, location or format of public notices, or minimum consultation time.
• What information must be publicly available during consultation and how long that information is available for.

All relevant feedback will be considered and may change wording to the final policy, or reflected in our internal processes.

Have your say

Consultation closes 5pm Wednesday 22 May 2024.

Documents

• Current Public Consultation Policy
• Draft Public Consultation Policy