Meeting Schedule and Information

Meetings commence at 5:00pm in Council Chambers.

September

Tuesday 3 September

Tuesday 17 September

October

Tuesday 1 October

Tuesday 15 October

November

Monday 18 November - Special Council Meeting at 5pm

Tuesday 19 November

December

Tuesday 3 December

Tuesday 17 December

Wellington Shire Council uses its YouTube Channel to broadcast Council Meetings live. Watching these meetings is a free service, and you do not require a YouTube account.

• LIVE: Watch Meetings Live
• Wellington Shire Council YouTube Channel

Addressing an Agenda Item

If you would like to ask a question or make a comment in relation to an Agenda item please complete the Council Meeting Question or Comment Submission Form no later than 1:00pm on the day of the meeting.

‍Please note that the Mayor may choose to reply in writing.

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Asking a General Question or making a Comment during the Council Meeting

If you would like to ask a General Question or make a Comment during the live broadcast of the Council Meeting, not addressing a particular Agenda Item, please complete the Council Meeting Question or Comment Submission Form or email your question or comment to askcouncil@wellington.vic.gov.au prior to 'Further Gallery and Online Comments' section of the Council Meeting.

If the question or comment is deemed appropriate, it will be read aloud to the Councillors by the Chief Executive Officer during the 'Further Gallery and Online Comments' section of the Council Meeting. A response to the question or comment will be issued in accordance with Council's Customer Service Charter. Please note that the Mayor may choose to reply in writing.

Addressing an Agenda Item

If you would like to address Council virtually in relation to a specific Agenda Item or to make a General Address, please ensure to register no later than two business days prior to the Council meeting you wish to make your address at. This will allow sufficient time for the team to provide you with any guidance and support required to facilitate a smooth attendance. If you are unable to pre-register in advance, you may still address Council via the Council Meeting Question or Comment Submission Form or register for the following Council meeting.

Complete the Council Meeting Virtual Public Gallery Registration Form to register your virtual attendance.

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Technical Information

Wellington Shire Council utilises Microsoft Teams as its virtual meeting platform. Once your attendance to the Virtual Public Gallery is confirmed, you will receive a confirmation email with a joining link and further details. This information will help you perform the necessary technical pre-meeting checks to ensure a smooth virtual experience.

Should you lose connection during your address, every effort will be made by Council to reestablish a connection with you immediately. Where this is not possible, we will move on to the next addressee and then try to connect with you again at the end of the session. It is strongly recommended that you include a copy of your address to Council when you pre-register to attend the Virtual Public Gallery so that, should we not be able to reestablish a connection with you, we can still read out the address on your behalf.

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Rules for the Virtual Public Gallery

To address Council virtually, the following requirements must be met:

1. Any member of the public addressing Council must extend due courtesy and respect to Council and the processes under which it operates and must take direction from the Chairperson whenever called on to do so.
2. The Chairperson will allocate a maximum of three minutes to each person who wishes to address Council.
3. The Chairperson or Chief Executive Officer will invite presenters in the order of registration.
   a. Where technical difficulties arise on the side of the presenter, the Chairperson will move to the next presenter registered and return to the previous presenter at the end of the list to provide sufficient time for resolution.
   b. Where technical difficulties prevent the presenter from rejoining the meeting, they will have the opportunity to address the next Council Meeting.
4. The Chairperson or Chief Executive Officer have the discretion to alter the order of persons to be heard.
5. The person, in addressing the Council:
   a. Must confine their address to the three minute allocation of time;
   b. Shall extend due courtesy and respect to the Council and the processes under which it operates;
   c. Shall take direction from the Chairperson whenever called upon to do so.
   d. There will be no discussion or debate with the attendees in the public gallery however Councillors may ask questions of clarification of the attendee; and
   e. Standing Orders do not need to be suspended to allow discussion for the purposes of clarification.
6. The person addressing Council must ensure that their background does not display any offensive, indecent, insulting or objectionable item, image or words.
   a. The Chairperson may order and cause the removal of any item, image or words that are deemed by the Chairperson to be objectionable, disrespectful or otherwise inappropriate.
   b. Failure to comply with an order may result in the Chairperson terminating the address.

If an address that requires a response cannot be answered by the CEO or another Senior Council Officer during the meeting, a written response will be prepared in accordance with the service standard for written correspondence set out in Council's Customer Service Commitment.

For an address to be considered at an Ordinary Council Meeting, the following requirements must be met:

• Must focus on an issue within Councils powers to act;
• Must not name, allude to, or focus on an individual;
• No more than two questions and/or comments (including combinations thereof or asked in parts) are able to be submitted per person for any one Council Meeting Agenda item.

Addresses that meet one or more of the following criteria will not be answered at a Council Meeting:

• Repetitive or has already been answered (previously either by Officers in writing or at a Council Meeting);
• Relates to a matter for which the meeting would normally be closed under Section 66(2) of the Local Government Act 2020;
• Concerns matters deemed to be confidential under Section 77 of the Local Government Act 1989;
• Is prejudicial to the Council or any other person if answered;
• Relates to the personal views or actions of an individual Councillor or Council Officer;
• Relates to a matter that is the subject of negotiation, litigation or commercial interest/advantage;
• Is defamatory, indecent, abusive, irrelevant, trivial or objectionable in language or nature;
• Is considered trivial or vexatious or it is more appropriate to direct to Council Officers during normal business hours.

If an address that requires a response cannot be answered by the CEO or another Senior Council Officer during the meeting, a written response will be prepared in accordance with the service standard for written correspondence set out in Council's Customer Service Commitment.

Archived versions of Council Meeting broadcasts are also accessible on Wellington Shire Council's YouTube Channel, in the Archived Meetings section. Should you require access to an archived Council Meeting that is not included on the YouTube Channel please contact Council.