Council plans and strategies

The Banyule Service Promise outlines our commitment to you on the type and level of service you can expect to receive. This regards your rights, how complaints will be handled, and our customer service principles. These principles form the foundation of customer service here at Banyule and inform how we build and deliver services, create processes and procedures, write policies, and support staff to deliver exceptional service.

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.

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.

Our Biodiversity Strategy sets a 10-year strategic approach to how we manage, enhance and protect our natural environment.

The strategy recognises the intrinsic value nature has for community and supports all to engage and interact with nature. Biodiversity can be defined as the richness and abundance of indigenous plant, animal, fungal and microorganism communities that make up and support the function of local ecosystems.

All species and organisms work together in an intricate and complex way supporting the health of our soils, natural systems, and wellbeing of all living things.

Our vision

By 2035, we have preserved all local fauna, enhanced our wildlife corridors, maintained diverse and healthy indigenous flora, increased canopy cover and fostered a strong community connection to nature.

Themes

The strategy introduces a call to action for all target to increase our indigenous vegetation cover across all landscapes (public and private). By 2035 we have planted 250,000 indigenous species to increase our ecosystem health and ensure our natural environments are resilient in the face of a changing climate.

The strategy is centered around 5 priority themes:

1. Knowledge
2. Enhancement
3. Protection
4. Wellbeing
5. Partnerships

The Council Budget helps make it possible to deliver on The Banyule Plan.

Together, the plan and budget enable us to keep Banyule a great place to work, live and play. There is an emphasis on investing in our public infrastructure and community facilities and maintaining the provision and quality of community services that are relied upon by so many.

Visit our consultation site Shaping Banyule to find details about what the community has said over the years to help develop and review our budget.

We are committed to high standards of ethical behaviour in the care, control and management of our municipality.

The community places its trust in councillors and Council staff, and expects that the business of Council will be conducted with efficiency, impartiality and integrity.

Public interest will always take priority over private interests.

The purpose of recording inbound telephone calls is to improve the quality of council’s customer service by:

• improving the standard of call handling through coaching of customer service agents
• checking compliance against council’s service promise and commitments
• developing customer service training and coaching for new and existing officers
• supporting the customer service agents in delivering appropriate services to the broader organisation.

The Child and Youth Framework is our commitment to supporting children and young people from pre-birth to 24 years.

The framework describes a long-term approach to supporting better outcomes for children and young people and responds to these key questions:

• Why do we need a framework?
• What evidence guides it?
• What did the community say?
• What are the building blocks for change?
• What are the priorities?

Council values the experiences and insight of children, and is a signatory to the Victorian Child Friendly Cities and Communities Charter. We recognise the need to:

• increase participation of children in decision making forums
• create child friendly environments.

Charter principles

1. Freedom for children to experience environments that consider their needs.
2. Respect and dignity for children to express their individual opinions, participate in and contribute to decisions about their communities and their wellbeing.
3. Equitable access to supportive environments and services for children regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion or ability.

Signing up to change

Signing up to the charter in practice means applying the principles in our daily work. This also means our policies, projects, programs and budgets reflect children’s rights.

Responsibility

Across Banyule, our Child, youth and family committee encourage the sector to apply the principles into their practices. To learn from experiences of others in applying the principles, join us as a member of the Child Friendly Cities and Communities Network.

We are committed to the safety and well-being of children and the prevention of child abuse, including First Nations children and youth.

Reducing and removing the risk of child abuse is at the centre of our decision-making. We are committed to providing an environment where children feel safe, are empowered, valued and protected.

Children will be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity and cultural and socio-economic background.