Project template (draft)

The guiding principles in section 8A of the Local Government Act 1993 encourage councils to recognise diverse local community needs and interests, and actively engage with their local communities. The Act also requires councils to adopt a Community Engagement Strategy to guide its engagement with the local community when developing their plans, policies and programs. Council accepts petitions in keeping with the spirit of these principles.

A draft Petitions Policy was considered by Council on 16 November 2025 and approved for public exhibition. The policy includes:

• Clear requirements for members of the public, including format, minimum signature requirements and contact information.
• A defined process for internal assessment, validation, presentation to Council and the mechanism for providing an official response to the principal petitioner.
• Specific clarification on how petitions relating to development applications will be dealt with, ensuring compliance with planning and probity requirements.
• Explicit grounds under which a petition may be rejected (e.g., offensive content, legal compliance issues, matters outside Council’s jurisdiction).
• A lodgement form, which will be readily available on Council’s website, to ensure all necessary information is captured up front.

As the information contained within petitions is likely to include personal information as defined under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998, the policy also outlines the privacy and access requirements for petitions, and that any personal information collected will be managed in line with Council’s Privacy Management Plan.