Advisory Committee Policy, Hindmarsh Pride Committee Terms of Reference and Town Advisory Committee Terms of Reference Review

Introduction

Council’s Advisory Committees form an integral link between Council and Community. They advise Council on issues pertinent to a town or specific purpose and guide our delivery of inclusive services and the development, implementation and delivery of our plans and strategies.

Council officers have reviewed the Advisory Committee Policy which supports Council in ensuring good governance and appropriate management of all advisory committees. The review has been conducted with consideration to current practices and the intent of the policy.

Amendments to this policy have been made to remove required membership numbers and state these will be as per the Terms of Reference to remove any conflicts where different committees are limited to varying numbers of members. This change does not change the intent of the policy.

The purpose of the Hindmarsh Pride Committee Terms of Reference is to provide guidelines for the function of this committee which was formed to strengthen the voice of the LGBTIQ+ community. Upon review there have been no changes made to these Terms of Reference.

The purpose of the Town Advisory Committees (Jeparit/Nhill/Rainbow) Terms of Reference is to set the guidelines for the function of this committee with an emphasis on contributing to the improved liveability of our towns.

The changes to these Terms of Reference include a change to the term of appointment of a member to align with the Advisory Committee Policy and current practice. Administrative changes have been made to reflect current organisation position titles and to remove Dimboola from the list of town committees. Removing Dimboola is administrative only as Dimboola previously elected to move away from being a committee of Council and to incorporate as Dimboola Progress Association.

Section 4.3 has also been amended to reflect the emphasis on town committees contributing to the improvement of community liveability and in doing so, facilitating local activities, events, and identifying projects to undertake. The proposed clause would now require an expenditure proposal be submitted and approved by Council before any funds remaining in the Town Committees ledger at the end of the financial year be carried forward to the following year. This is to encourage planning for the year ahead and to allocate appropriate funds to these planned activities.

In addition, a clear set of criteria have been added which applications for membership will be assessed against to ensure a clear and transparent process of appointment.

Council is seeking feedback on these documents until 5pm on Friday 18 April 2025.

The information you provide will be used to change the content of these documents or will be provided to Councillors to help them make their decision. All submissions will be presented in the Council report, alongside any response or action taken by Council based on the submission.

To provide feedback, complete the form below.