Council plans and strategies

The Banyule Public Toilet Plan sets out a ten year plan to guide the provision of Council owned and managed public toilets across the municipality. This is Council’s first Public Toilet Plan and is the product of a collaborative process with local communities, Council staff and key user groups. The vision for all public toilets in Banyule is 'To ensure there is adequate provision of public toilets within Banyule, that are accessible for all users in areas of high public use, by working in partnership with other stakeholders.'

This Plan is underpinned by five key objectives:

• work co-operatively with key stakeholders, to ensure that there is a comprehensive and well-connected network of accessible public toilets at key locations in areas of high public activity in Banyule;
• maintain toilets managed by Council to a standard of cleanliness and hygiene to enhance the health and wellbeing of all public toilet users;
• ensure that public toilets are accessible to people of all ages and abilities and promote their location to all residents and visitors;
• advocate for quality and environmentally sustainable design in all public toilet facilities; and
• improve the amenity and safety of public toilets through appropriate siting and design.

Purpose

This policy supports Council in its ongoing drive for good governance and the importance of open and accountable conduct, and how council information is to be made publicly available.

Council must adopt and maintain a public transparency policy under section 57 of the Local Government Act 2020 (the Act). This policy gives effect to the Public Transparency Principles outlined in section 58 of the Act.

Public transparency principles

Council is committed to, and will uphold, the following principles:

1. Council decision-making processes must be transparent except when the Council is dealing with information that is confidential by virtue of this Act or any other Act;
2. Council information must be publicly available unless—
   1. the information is confidential by virtue of this Act or any other Act; or
   2. public availability of the information would be contrary to the public interest;
3. Council information must be understandable and accessible to members of the municipal community;
4. Public awareness of the availability of Council information must be facilitated.

Public transparency

Transparency is a fundamental tenet of democratic governance. Openness, accountability and honesty are essential to build high levels of accountability and trust among citizens and enable fully informed engagement in the democratic process.

Without transparency, effective community engagement, planning, financial management and any number of other council responsibilities cannot be performed legitimately.

Council decision making

Council decisions made at Council meetings

Policy Principle

Decisions will:

• be undertaken in accordance with the Act and the Governance Rules;
• be conducted in an open and transparent forum, unless in accordance with the provisions in the Act and Governance Rules; and
• be made fairly and, on the merits, and where any person whose rights will be directly affected by a decision of the Council, that person will be entitled to communicate their views and have their interests considered.

We will

• Ensure Council meetings are open to the public and accessible via livestream/audio.
• Carefully consider and will minimise confidential reports and only close meetings to the public in accordance with the Local Government Act 2020.
• Ensure the title for any confidential reports will be included in the Ordinary Agenda with the relevant confidentiality clause.
• Determine expiry dates for any confidential reports.
• Make Council meeting agendas available five days prior to the council meeting on our website, other than special meetings. Where this cannot be met, advice will be provided on Council’s website.
• Communicate when we cannot meet the deadlines for agenda papers.

Decisions made by officers under delegation

Delegation to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other staff are made as:

• It is not practical for Council and its CEO alone to exercise the many statutory powers given to Council; and
• Delegation facilitates the achievement of good governance by empowering appropriate members of staff to make decisions on behalf of Council and its CEO.

Policy Principle

Decisions will:

• be undertaken in accordance with the relevant Act and regulations the officer has delegation for;
• be made clear to the recipient of the decision; and
• be made fairly and, on the merits, and where any person whose rights will be directly affected by a Council decision, that person will be entitled to communicate their views and have their interests considered.

We will

• Publish the Register of Delegation on Council’s website
• Ensure that any review process, including how to make a complaint is made clear, noting that there are some review processes, such as infringements, which are subject to the appeal rights as per the relevant legislation.
• Decisions made by officers under delegation are subject to Council’s Complaint Handling Policy, whereby a request to review the decision can be made.

Council’s complaint Handling Policy has a four-tiered approach.

1. Frontline complaint resolution
2. Investigation if required
3. Internal Review
4. Access to external review

More information is provided under the Complaints section in this policy.

Community engagement commitment

Policy Principle

Our community engagement commitment is to:

• foster mutual trust, goodwill and respect between Council, community and stakeholders;
• inform, involve and engage communities and stakeholders, and establish processes to facilitate community participation in shaping and influencing decisions affecting them; and
• promote and practice good governance through accountability, transparency and responsiveness.

We will

• Engage with the community and those who are directly affected by a Council decision;
• Use Council’s engagement online platform, Shaping Banyule to communicate all current engagement projects;
• Use Council social media platforms to communicate current engagement projects; and Use various methods as outlined in the Council Community Engagement Policy to engage as outlined below:
• Strategic – to inform strategic decisions related to policy, plans or programs
• Statutory – to obtain feedback to inform statutory approvals related to policy, plans, programs
• Research – to obtain evidence to review or design services programs
• Dialogue – to enable an ongoing dialogue with the community
• Transactional – to respond to queries or concerns
• Awareness – to create awareness through local media or other avenues.

Publicly available information

Policy Principle

• Banyule proactively releases information with a commitment to providing as much information as possible, for free or at the lowest possible cost.
• Council will make available on its website all publicly required information.
• Council will respond to requests for information in alignment with the Act, including the Public Transparency Principles and this policy.

We will publish on Council’s website

• all publicly required information, except information outlined in section 7, subject to privacy, security or commercial considerations wherein only summaries or redacted information will be made available;
• the availability of documents in the document called a “Part II Statement” published in accordance the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Part II of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 requires government agencies and councils to publish a number of statements designed to assist members of the public in accessing the information it holds;
• public notices as required by legislation.

Publicly available information

We provide public access to numerous documents, policies, registers and publications online. A number of these are also available in print at Council offices and libraries.

Access to information

Where the information is not available on Council’s website, the following options are available:

Proactive release

A person or party may request a document with the relevant Council department. In some cases, the document is available for purchase or inspection under the specific legislation.

Contact us by visiting our Greensborough Customer Service Centre, call 9490 4222 or email enquiries@banyule.vic.gov.au for assistance with requests.

Freedom of Information (FOI)

Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Act establishes a general right of access to information. Exceptions and exemptions may be necessary for the protection of essential public interests, such as personal information, commercially sensitive or legal information.

Information on how to access information or make a FOI application is available on Council’s website. Policies and documents for Inspection and FOI

Making information understandable and accessible

Policy Principle

• Council information that is publicly available will be understandable and accessible, and regularly reviewed and updated.
• Consideration will be given to accessibility and cultural requirements in accordance with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006.
• Council will use social media to publish or stream appropriate Council information, such as Council meetings, and other online tools, such as Shaping Banyule, to publish Council information and encourage community engagement and consultation on projects and community-related matters.

We will

• assist the community in accessing its publicly available information and will inform the community of its right to make an application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 for information which is not considered publicly available information;
• will facilitate the awareness of access to Council information through Council’s website and through community engagement opportunities; and
• provide ongoing training to staff to improve communication and report writing.
• uphold the Banyule Service Promise (outlined below).
• implement customer experience and continuous improvement projects that review Council services and information.
• ensuring printed materials are designed for legibility and advertise the availability of language translation.
• commit to making online information accessible to everyone and more user-friendly in general, regardless of disability or technology, and following best practice principles and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards.

The Banyule Service Promise

The Banyule Service Promise outlines Council’s commitment to the Banyule community and customers on the type and level of service they can expect to receive.

Council developed the Service Promise with a community reference group based on five key customer service principles:

• Respectful
• Accessible
• Proactive
• Accountable
• Consistent

These principles inform how Council builds and delivers services, creates processes and procedures, writes policies, and supports staff to deliver exceptional service.

In particular, three of these principles support Council to make information clear and understandable:

• Accountable: communicate clearly, accurately, in plain language and within appropriate time frames.
• Proactive: use a range of communication methods to cater for all demographics.
• Accessible: have a range of options to contact Council, assisting all individuals equally.

Information not available

Some Council information may not be made publicly available. This will only occur if the information is confidential information or if its release would be contrary to the public interest or not in compliance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.

Confidential information is defined in section 3 of the Local Government Act 2020. It includes the types of information listed in the following table.

Council may decide, in the interests of transparency, to release information to the public even though it is confidential under the Act. However, this will not happen if its release is contrary to law, in breach of contractual requirements or it is likely to cause harm to any person or is not in the public interest to do so.

Public interest

Council is not required to make publicly available information if the release would be contrary to the public interest, in accordance with the Local Government Act 2020. When considering public interest, Council will apply the test that exists in the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Council may refuse to release information if it is satisfied that the harm to the community likely to be created by releasing the information will exceed the public benefit in it being released.

When considering possible harm from releasing information, Council will only concern itself with harm to the community or members of the community. Potential harm to Council will only be a factor if it would also damage the community, such as where it involves a loss of public funds or prevents Council from performing its functions.

Information that might be withheld because it is contrary to the public interest may include:

• internal working documents that have not been approved or submitted to Council, especially where their release may mislead the public;
• directions to Council staff regarding negotiations in contractual or civil liability matters, where release may damage the Council’s capacity to negotiate the best outcome for the community; and
• correspondence with members of the community, where release may inappropriately expose a person’s private dealings.

Human Rights Charter

This policy has been reviewed against and complies with section 13 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, as this policy aligns with and provides for the protection of an individual’s right not to have their privacy unlawfully or arbitrarily interfered with. It is also in line with section 18 which recognises a person’s right to participate in the conduct of public affairs. See Human Rights Charter – Assessment of compatibility.

Complaints

If a person wishes to question a decision about the release of information, this should be raised directly with the officer handling the matter in the first instance.

Following this, if the person is still not satisfied with the outcome and would like to contest the decision, this can be referred to the manager of the relevant area in line with Council’s Complaint Handling Policy.

If not satisfied with Council’s response, the concerns can be raised directly with the Victorian Ombudsman’s office on (03) 9613 6222 or via the website.

Review of the policy

Council commits to monitoring processes, information sharing and decision making to understand the overall level of success in the policy’s implementation.

A periodic review of this policy will be undertaken to ensure any changes required to strengthen or update the policy are made in a timely manner. 

Working with our artists and communities to create public art that inspires, welcomes, builds identity and injects creativity into our spaces and places.

This policy articulates our commitment over the next five years to supporting, encouraging and investing in public art. It is a Council-wide approach that expresses our belief in the benefits of art in the public realm and provides guiding principles to support those undertaking to produce, create or stimulate public art in our community.

It addresses our role in public art in 3 key areas:

1. Council-led acquisitions and programs
2. community initiated projects
3. private development and infrastructure projects

An action plan accompanies this policy that sets out the strategic activities to achieve the aims of the policy. This action plan will be reviewed annually. The policy will be reviewed in December 2024.

The framework establishes an approach to social infrastructure management, and demonstrates best practice in governance, financially sustainability and positions we advocate for community priorities and aspirations.

This approach reflects key strategies identified in the Banyule Community Vision 2041, including:

• spending more on fixing existing infrastructure rather than building anything new
• less reliance on borrowing funds to build new infrastructure
• finding efficiencies to reduce costs and fully utilise existing assets.

This document is presented in 2 sections.

Policy objective

This guide provides principles, process, and framework for the allocation of sporting pavilions and grounds on a seasonal basis. This is about how we make decisions about seasonal allocations.

User guide

The guide component provides guidance and clarity for sporting clubs in relation to the management and use of allocated sports facilities including roles, responsibilities and expectations for both Council and clubs. This is about what we expect from clubs when they are granted the right to use sports grounds and pavilions.

Our Best Value Highlights Report provides a snapshot of the performance of Banyule services in line with the objectives of the Council Plan. It supports Council's Annual Report and our commitment to reporting how we apply the 6 Best Value principles.

The Best Value principles in line with the Local Government Act 1989 are:

• Regular community consultation
• Responsiveness to community needs
• Accessible and appropriately targeted services
• Quality and cost standards for all services
• Continuous improvement
• Frequent reporting to the community 

We have started to transition to, and incorporate, new legislative requirements for reporting in our Council Plan, our Budget, our Annual Report and the Community Vision as set in the Local Government Act 2020.

The Best Value Service Highlights report for 2020/2021 is within the Annual Report 2020/2021: Part 1 Report of Operations – 'Our Best Value Performance' section.

Historical reports

The Banyule Plan sets our strategic direction and priorities for the next four years and focuses on:

• Financial sustainability – sound financial management that supports us to deliver value for money services and projects, while paying down debt.
• Environmental action – increasing our overall tree canopy by 30% and reaching zero emissions by 2028.
• Supporting local businesses to create a thriving economic environment.
• Advocating for community needs – including securing funding for a West Heidelberg Integrated Services Hub and getting better local project outcomes from the North East Link Project for Banyule.
• Improving our community assets and projects
• Health and wellbeing – by providing opportunities for people to be active and supporting respectful communities. This includes promoting First Nations inclusion, preventing family and gender-based violence and a commitment to maintain our Rainbow Tick accreditation.
• Housing and homelessness – increasing housing in the right areas and support for those experiencing homelessness.

The long-term goals of Council are set out in the Banyule Plan, which was shaped by our community through the most extensive engagement process ever undertaken by Council.

One plan, from 3 key documents

The Banyule Plan 2025-2029 is three key documents combined.

Delivering the plan

The Banyule Delivery Plan compliments the Banyule Plan.

It details the initiatives and services Council will deliver based on the priority themes in the Community Vision. It addresses ThinkTank priorities and aligns with existing key strategic planning documents, policies and plans in the Banyule Plan. The Banyule Delivery Plan directly supports Banyule’s health and wellbeing priorities for 2025–29 and outlines Council’s actions on climate change.

The Banyule Bicycle Strategy make the benefits of bike riding available for everyone in our community.

It includes actions that support:

• access to a safe and convenient network of routes
• connecting people to other transport modes and key destinations
• improved cycling infrastructure, including increased bike parking and consistent way-finding signage
• and a range of programs to support cyclist skills and confidence.

This policy provides:

• guidance on implementation of parklets for both short- and medium-term periods
• consistent, transparent, simple, and fair process for the application of parklet permits
• parklets that are safe and accessible, while considering neighbouring properties and amenities
• guidance for applicants around the consultation process during lodgement of a parklet application. 

Our goals for the future of Bell Street Mall are to:

• establish an exciting and ambitious vision that establishes the Mall as a genuine mixed-use, higher density centre that supports the future needs of the community
• provide key directions on land use, urban design and public realm outcomes, not just for the centre but also its immediate surrounds
• provide design guidelines that support the design and delivery of a high-quality precinct, including public realm and built form outcomes.

This document is divided into 5 key chapters that provide a clear understanding of the vision for the Mall.