This consultation is closed - thanks for having your say on Yarra's draft Community Engagement Policy 2026-2029.

We asked you to tell us how you like to have your say, what topics get you talking, and how we can keep you in the loop about future consultations to help make engagement at Yarra work better for everyone.

Yarra City Council’s Community Engagement Policy needs a refresh. Our current Community Engagement Policy and the Community Engagement Action Plan were adopted more than 4 years ago and before the adoption of the Community Vision 2036.

We reviewed and updated the Policy to ensure it aligned with the Yarra Council Plan 2025-2029, our Community Vision including the 2025 Reflection and Update Addendum (PDF), other legislative requirements and current best practice engagement.   

The new draft Community Engagement Policy outlines our principles and approach to engagement, identifies when we will seek feedback from the community and sets clear standards for how we engage, how we promote opportunities to participate and how we report back on engagements.

What do we mean by community engagement?

Community engagement provides opportunities for everyone in Yarra to share their feedback on Council projects or policies. We are committed to meaningful engagement, and we are transparent about the level of influence that the community can have on the final decision or outcome.

Quality community engagement helps Council to make better decisions by understanding lived experiences and responding to community needs. We want to ensure that the community is at the heart of our decision-making.

Principles and commitments

The Local Government Act 2020 (section 55) outlines 5 engagement principles that must be met by all Victorian Councils. The new draft Community Engagement policy includes the 5 principles and we have provided a commitment statement for each principle.

In the draft Community Engagement Policy, we included 2 additional principles that will guide our engagement work over the next 4 years.