Council invites feedback on Draft Public Transparency Policy

Baw Baw Shire Council has revised its Public Transparency Policy and is now inviting community feedback before it is officially endorsed. 

The Public Transparency Policy holds Council accountable by ensuring that its decision-making processes are transparent. 

The key purpose of the Public Transparency Policy is to support Council in ensuring good governance and to highlight the importance of open and accountable conduct. It also outlines how and when Council information is to be made publicly available.  

Council adopted its first Public Transparency Policy in August 2020 and committed to reviewing the Policy at the beginning of the next Council term. As part of the review of the Policy, some of the changes include:  

• Minor changes to grammar and wording to make the policy more accessible, 

• Inclusion of the policy's adherence to the Governance Principles as defined in Section 9 of the Local Government Act 2020;  

• Update of the definitions for ‘Community’ and ‘Public Interest Test’ in the Policy to make them more concise. 

In 2022, when the Victorian Local Government Inspectorate audited all Victorian Council’s governance policies to monitor compliance, Council’s Public Transparency Policy (and several others) were selected and featured online as a compliant and best practice example for other councils to follow. 

Baw Baw Shire Mayor Cr Danny Goss said this Policy underpinned what Baw Baw stood for. 

“We are committed to being a transparent organisation, which values the thoughts and feedback provided by our community, and this Policy holds us accountable to that,” he said.  

“During the process of reviewing this Policy, Council officers liaised with members of other local governments and referenced material from integrity agencies and Local Government Victoria – ensuring all best practise measures were followed.” 

Cr Suzanne Allen added that this Policy was absolutely crucial in ensuring that our community are involved in Council decision making.  

“This Policy to me is of the utmost importance; and giving our community the chance to help shape this Policy is demonstrative of the transparency that we want to continue to achieve,” she said.