Participate in Council and Committee meetings

Deputations

A deputation is a way for a group of people to lobby Council about a concern they all share. 

If you would like to make a deputation and be heard at a Council meeting, you will need to send a written request to the Chief Executive Officer.

The Chief Executive Officer will then refer your request to the Mayor.

Once the Mayor has received the request, they will either:

• approve the request and ask the Chief Executive Officer to include the deputation on the agenda for a future Council meeting 
• ask the Chief Executive officer to add the request for a deputation onto the agenda for a future Council meeting
• decline the request.

If the request is approved, Council will only hear a from 2 speakers who will speak on behalf of the group. The time limit for each speaker is 3 minutes unless the Chairperson decides otherwise.

Councillors and Council staff are able to ask questions to clarify information. No further discussion or debate will be allowed. 

Public submissions

Public submission under the Community Engagement Policy

If you have been given the right to make a submission under the Community Engagement Policy, you may also request to be heard at a Council meeting. Your request should be included in your original written submission. If you have not done this, you will need to contact the Council department responsible for the matter to make an official request.

The responsible Council department will send you an invitation to the future Council meeting. This will generally include details on the relevant day, time and location of the Council meeting.

The content of your public submission should be similar to the written submission you have already submitted to Council.

The time limit for each speaker is 3 minutes unless the Chairperson decides otherwise. Councillors and Council staff are able to ask questions to clarify information.

Public submission or presentation on an agenda item

You may be given the opportunity to make submissions or presentations to a Delegated Committee meeting on an item on the meeting’s agenda. This does not apply to Council meetings.

You may only speak once to each agenda item and for 3 minutes; unless the Chairperson decides otherwise. 

The Chairperson Councillors are are able to ask questions to clarify information.

Before you can make a submission or present to an agenda item, you need to register your intention.  

Your registration must include:

• your name and address
• the relevant report number and or report title
• an indication of whether you are in support or opposed to the officer's recommendation.

For in-person meetings, you can register by completing a hard copy form, which is available in the Civic Foyer. Then you need to lodge this form with a member of Council's governance team.

For online meetings hosted via Webex Events, you can register by contacting the Council department responsible for the matter. This registration generally must be completed the week before the Delegated Committee meeting.

This gives officers enough time to send an email invite with instructions on how to use WebEx Events.

Petition council

A petition is a formal, written request signed by more than one person appealing to Council about a certain cause.

Note: if your petition relates to an application for a Planning Permit, see Planning Permit objections.

Step 1: Prepare your petition

We can only accept petitions that:

• are typed or written legibly in ink
• relate to a matter Council has control over or is in a position to advocate with other levels of government
• include the name, address and signature of all signatories
• include the request and expected action clearly at the top of every page.

We cannot accept petitions that:

• have abusive language
• have defamatory, indecent or offensive remarks about a person or entity
• are unclear
• are illegible
• are intended to embarrass a Councillor or Council staff member
• encourage unlawful activity.

Step 2: Submit your petition

Send your petition via:

• email to [email protected]
• mail to Private Bag 1 Camberwell VIC 3124
• fax to (03) 9278 4466
• in person to 8 Inglesby Road, Camberwell.

Step 3: Council considers your petition and responds

For petitions with less than 20 signatures:

• we pass it to the appropriate Council officer for them to consider
• a written response is sent to the contact person for the petition.

For petitions with more than 20 signatures:

• we give you with contact details for the responsible Council officer and the date of the next Council meeting
• it is presented at the next Council meeting
• we include any actions as a result of the petition in the quarterly report to Council
• we will let you know about Council's response in a letter from the Mayor or the responsible Council director.

If the petition is an objection to a Planning Permit application, the contact person is registered as an objector to the application. See Planning Permit objections.

For privacy reasons, only the subject of the petition and the number of signatories are revealed to Council.

Public question time

To ask a question during public question time at a Council meeting, you need to submit your question before the meeting so we can prepare a considered response.

If you send your question after 12 pm on the day of the meeting, we will try to give a verbal response. If that's not possible, then we will give a written response.

You can find more information about public question time in Division 8 of Chapter 2 of our Governance Rules. 

It's important to note:

• You may ask a maximum of 2 questions per meeting.
• You have to be in the public gallery for your question to be considered.
• Multi-part questions are not permitted and contextual statements or extra information before or after the question cannot be read.
• Questions may not be allowed by the Chairperson under Rule 55, Chapter 2 in our Governance Rules.
• To be allowed, all questions must relate to a matter on the Council meeting agenda. Or, they must already have been sent in writing to a Councillor or a member of Council staff more than 10 working days before the Council meeting.

You can find full details of questions that may not be allowed in Rule 55, Chapter 2 in our Governance Rules.

How to submit a question

You can submit a question for public question time by completing our Public question time form.

After you make a deputation, submission or presentation

If you choose to make a deputation, submission or presentation at a Council or Delegated Committee meeting, it will be live-streamed on the night and a recording will be made publicly available on Council’s website.

Any personal information that you share, including your name and image, will be collected by Council and made publicly available as part of the recording of the meeting. Your name and the organisation you are speaking on behalf of (if applicable) will also be recorded in the official written minutes of the meeting.  

It is not possible for you to be heard in support of your deputation, submission or presentation without providing your name or address. If you do not want your image to be live-streamed or recorded, you may be able to turn off the video function.

More information

For more information on deputations, submissions and presentations, see our Governance Rules page.