The local government system is designed to give the community the opportunity to raise concerns about issues, such as traffic control in their area.
If you or a group of people would like to raise an issue with Council, you can contact your Elected Members or the Chief Executive Officer by letter, telephone, email or in person.
Another way to raise these concerns is through the lodgement of a petition. This is a document containing the names, signatures and addresses of a group of people who have a common cause to present to the Council. As petitions are regarded as a legitimate form of communication with Council, it is incumbent upon petitioners to ensure certain procedures are followed.
Note: Petitions concerning Development Applications are handled differently under the Development Act 1993 and are outlined further below.
Submitting A Petition
Step 1
View the Local Government (Procedures at Meetings) Regulations 2013 to find out how to format your petition and how it will be handled by Council.
The Regulations specify that each page of the petition must:
- Be legibly written or typed or printed; and
- Clearly set out the request or submission of the petitioners (at the top of the page); and
- Show the name of each person printed with their signature and address; and
- Be addressed to the Council and delivered to the Civic Centre.
Step 2
Prepare your petition using the Council’s petition template and distribute it to the community.
Step 3
Provide a cover letter with the petition detailing the name, address and contact details of the Head Petitioner(s) to whom we can address correspondence.
The petition must:
- Be in the English language (or be accompanied by a translation and certified as such by a host petitioner)
- Be signed personally by every petitioner unless a Power of Attorney exists
- Not include photocopies or signatures pasted on to the petition
- Corporations must be signed under Seal
- No letters or affidavits or other document(s) as attachments
- Be respectful to the Council and individuals
- The original copy of each page of the petition must be provided to Council.
Step 4
Submit the petition to the Council by lodging it with the Chief Executive Officer at the Civic Centre, 181 Unley Road, Unley, no later than five clear business days before a Council meeting.
After your petition is received by Council
Once the petition is received by the CEO, it will be tabled at the beginning of the next available Council meeting with a short report indicating the number of signatures and a suggested course of action. In certain circumstances, the Chief Executive Officer may convey the document informally to Elected Members so they are aware of its existence before the Council meeting. Please note a Petition, including names, addresses and signatures of all petitioners, is a Public Document and therefore will be made available to Elected Members and the public
as part of the Council Meeting Agenda, including publication on the council website.
Members of the public are welcome to attend all Council and Section 41 Committee meetings but cannot participate in the debate at these meetings. You are able to submit a
Deputation, which is an oral way of presenting an issue to all Elected Members at a Council meeting.
The relevant manager will contact you about the status of your petition once a recommendation is made by the Council.
Petitions on Development Assessment Matters
There is no specific provision for lodging petitions under the Development Act 1993. A petition relating to a Development Application is treated as a “representation” before the Development Assessment Panel. The host petitioner is entitled to address the Panel when the matter arises, in accordance with the Development Act.
In these cases the petition/representation should be addressed to the “Presiding Officer and Members of the City of Unley Development Assessment Panel” and must be lodged with the Chief Executive Officer. To be treated as a “representation” a document must meet the criteria in Section 38 and Regulation 35 of the Development legislation.
The document must:
- Be received within the advertised period of the Development Application;
- Give the names and addresses of the people making the representation;
- Nominate the person who is to be taken as making the representation (if no individual is named, the first person listed will be taken to be making the representation);
- Set out with reasonable particularity, the reasons for the representation i.e. give details of the petitioners’/representors’ views concerning the Development Application in question; and
- Indicate whether or not the person(s) making the representation wish(es) to be heard by the Development Assessment Panel
Display of Petitions within Council Facilities
Please refer to the
Petitions to Council or for Dislay Policy.