Community Engagement Policy
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About our Community Engagement Policy
This book is from Maribyrnong City Council.
This book is about our
*C ommunity Engagement Policy*.
Community engagement means Council
● talks with people in the community
● listens to ideas
● uses ideas to help make good decisions.
A policy is rules for what we want to happen.
Why we ask for ideas
We want everyone to feel included in the work we do.
We will ask people who live, work, study, or sp end time in the city to give us ideas.
When we talk to the community it helps us
● understand important issues
● make better choices.
We follows rules made by the Victorian Gover nment.
Every Victorian council must have a community engagement policy.
We use community feedback as well as other things to make good choices.
For example
● research
● expert advice
● laws
● community needs.
How we make community engagement work well
We will give good information so people understand the issues that we want help with.
We will support people so it is easy to take part.
We will explain how feedback is used and what happens next.
We want everyone to feel
● respected
● included
● safe to share their ideas.
The engagement process
We will decide
● why and how we will talk to the community
● who we need to hear from.
We will talk with people in a respectful and honest way.
We will use people’s ideas to help us make decisions.
We will learn from the process to make future engagement better.
Who will engage with the community?
Managers, Council staff and Councillors will use community engagement as part of all big projects and decisions.
When will community engagement happen?
We will talk with the community when
● a project or decision might affect people
● community ideas can make a project better
● we need to understand community needs
● the law says we must.
How we listen to the community
To listen to community ideas we might
● use online tools
– for example, surveys
● have meetings
● ask for ideas in writing.
Who can give us ideas?
Anyone who is part of Maribyrnong can give us ideas. For example
● people who live, work or study here
● businesses and community groups
● visitors.
Help to speak and listen
If you need help to speak or listen, the National Relay Service can help you make a call.
Call 1800 555 660 Website NRS Helpdesk accesshub.gov.au/about-the-nrs/nrshelpdesk
Help in your language
If you need help with other languages, contact the Translating and Interpreting Service.
Call 131 450 Website TIS National tisnational.gov.au
Acknowledgement of Country
Council is proud to represent a municipality filled with important and significant Aboriginal history. It acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of this land, the Kulin Nation, and acknowledges the rich culture and considerable contributions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have made and continue to make to this City. We recognise and celebrate the enduring connection of First Nations peoples to the lands, waters, and skies. We are committed to working in partnership with First Nations communities to foster a future grounded in equity, respect, and shared prosperity.
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