Have your say
Many people in our community wish to have a say about issues that may affect them and their local area.
Community engagement, or consultation, lets us get a better idea of the views of the community. We can then use this feedback to inform, influence and enhance our decision making.
One of the ways we engage with our community is through our 'Have Your Say Tea Tree Gully' online community. Over 2,000 community members have registered. They receive regular updates about opportunities to have their say.
Visit Have Your Say Tea Tree Gully to view our current engagement opportunities. We welcome all City of Tea Tree Gully residents to
register for our online community.
Have Your Say Tea Tree Gully
What is community engagement?
Community engagement can be described as a process that involves the community in problem solving or decision making, using a variety of methods to inform, consult and involve.
- Inform means providing the community with balanced and objective information about something that is going to happen or has happened. This one-way communication is designed to foster a greater level of understanding.
- Consult means two-way communications designed to get community feedback on an issue to help with decision making.
- Involve means to work with the community through the stages of a project to help identify issues and views. This ensures that all concerns and aspirations are understood and considered before making a decision.
When and why we engage
We conduct community engagement when the Local Government Act 1999 requires public consultation and when we recognise that engagement will help Council make better decisions on behalf of our community. This may, for example, be about strategies and initiatives, or the planning and delivery of services.
When determining our approach for community engagement we consider factors such as interest in the topic, the level of impact on our community, the number of people affected and political sensitivity.
Community engagement can provide many benefits by helping to:
- better understand community expectations by identifying and addressing any existing concerns
- build cooperative relationships with the community
- promote a more positive view of Council within the community
- encourage community support for Council services, policies and programs
- reduce delays in implementing new services or initiatives.
Our community engagement principles
- Engage early with clarity of purpose
- Design and implementation of good quality engagement processes, tools and methods
- Inclusive participation
- Consideration of engagement outcomes and provision of feedback
- Maximising the use of emerging technology
- Open and transparent disclosure
- Accessibility.
Community Engagement Public Consultation Policy
The Community Engagement Public Consultation Policy guides our processes. It explains the minimum requirements and legislative obligations for public consultation, as per the Local Government Act 1999. We continue to go beyond the minimum legislative requirements for public consultation and review this policy regularly. We aim to ensure our community engagement processes are up to date and reflect best practice.
For more information contact the Community Engagement team: online enquiry form