We are proposing changes to the Governance Rules to improve various Council processes and protocols, including Council meetings.

Your feedback is invited on the draft Governance Rules to help inform the final Governance Rules. Have your say by Sunday 3 December 2023.

Key changes proposed to the Governance Rules include:

• providing public question time participants the option to speak to their question online
• applying a consistent closing time for public question time submissions of 12pm on the day of the end of month Council meeting
• providing clearer guidelines for the submission of petitions to Council
• additional safety protocols as recommended by State Government where, if activated, the CEO and Mayor have the discretion to impose conditions for entry (request registration and identification) to ensure a secure environment for the community, Councillors and staff
• a prohibition of signs and placards in Council chamber, as recommended by State Government

Administrative changes have been proposed to support Council’s decision to introduce a second monthly Council meeting. The second meeting will replace the Strategic Planning Committee from 1 January 2024, and be held in the second week of each month.

Changes have also been proposed to the Election Period Policy in preparation for the 2024 Council elections, including updating election dates.

Refer to the Overview of proposed changes to the Governance Rules for a detailed list of all the proposed changes, and draft Governance Rules for further information.

About the Governance Rules

All Councils are required to have Governance Rules, in accordance to section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.

The rules cover areas that include the conduct of Council meetings, public participation at Council meetings, and the election of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor.

Ways to provide feedback

To share feedback, you can either:

• Complete the online form
• Post your feedback to: Governance Rules consultation, Governance, Knox City Council, Reply Paid 70243, WANTIRNA SOUTH VIC 3152
• Email Governance@knox.vic.gov.au