How you can Participate in Council's Decision Making Processes

In accordance with its policy on Open Government and the Consultation Policy, Council is committed to purposeful and effective consultation with the community in its decision making. As the representative body of the local community, Council endeavours to ensure that its decisions are representative of the community's wishes while also upholding its obligations and responsibilities as a regulatory body and manager of public assets, funds and other resources.

What you can expect

It is Council's responsibility to listen to all opinions that are offered and to consider these in the decision that is made. Rarely will the entire community be of one opinion on an issue, and so it is almost inevitable that there will be those disappointed in, or disagreeing with, any particular decision. Your participation in the process does however guarantee that your opinion will be listened to, considered, included in the deliberations that lead to the final decision.

What Council makes decisions about

There is a broad range of issues and areas that Council has responsibility for, both as a service provider and in its duties as a regulatory authority. These areas can be summarized as follows:

The Urban Environment.
Traffic and Transport.
Environmental Management.
Community Assets.
Community, Cultural & Recreational Services.

How you can participate

There are several ways that members of the community can be involved in the decisions Council makes. These include:

Attendance at meetings of Council or Council's various committees and reference groups;
Involvement in your local Precinct committee;
Contacting Council directly with your comments, concerns or opinions;
Involvement in formal consultation processes that council undertakes;
Voting in the Local Government Elections.

Lobbyist register

Professional lobbyists who want to lobby Council on behalf of their clients must register with Council. The register is designed to ensure that all contact between lobbyists and Council is transparent.

Lobbyists include any person, association or business that is engaged to represent the interest of a third party. It does not include:

Precincts and their elected representatives.
Charitable, religious and non-profit organisations.
Industry or professional associations.
Trade unions.
Professionals such as accountants, architects, lawyers and town planners who contact Council as part of their work for their client.

More information

Registration procedures: Lobbyist registration form (31KB).
Refer to the CS21 - Lobbying Policy (84KB)
Refer to further > Council Codes of Conduct
Press Release: Sept 2009
Ph: Director of Corporate Services on 9936 8114.