At the Council Meeting on Tuesday 9 June 2026, Council adopted the new Community Local Law, revised Parklet Policy and revised Footpath Trading Policy.

Project background

At the beginning of 2025 we began the process of reviewing the Local Law (set to expire in September 2026). We wanted to ensure the new document included changes in legislation and reflected contemporary issues experienced by our growing community.

During the first stage of consultation, we sought community feedback to inform the development of our new Local Law. We asked the community to share any current and emerging issues they were experiencing with the local laws in Yarra and to tell us their ideas on how we could improve them in the future.

Overall, 469 people took part in our Stage 1 consultation. You shared what’s working, what’s not, and what could be improved.

The feedback gave us a strong understanding of the issues that are experienced by the community and helped us draft our new Community Local Law and make updates to our Footpath Trading and Parklet Policies.

The draft Community Local Law focused on making things clearer for residents and businesses, addressing key community concerns, and simplifying processes.

What did we ask in Stage 2?

In February and March of 2026, we asked you to take a look at the draft Community Local Law, Footpath Trading and Parklet Policies and let us know if our local laws were clearer and easier to understand and if you had any suggestions on how we could improve them.

What we heard and how it influenced the final document

One of the key takeaways from your feedback was that the previous Local Law was too complicated and difficult to understand. The new Community Local Law aims to make it easier for residents and businesses to do the right thing, while helping keep Yarra clean, safe and easy to get around.

One of the biggest changes to the local laws is reducing it from 21 parts to just nine. Instead of relying on a dense and highly technical format, the new version is intended to be easier for residents, businesses and Council officers to navigate. They are also more aligned with current Council priorities, helping to connect enforcement and decision-making with broader public outcomes rather than treating the law as a stand-alone rule book.

On waste and amenity, the law strengthens rules for domestic bins by requiring them to be brought in by midnight on collection day, while also allowing a permit pathway for unusual storage situations on Council land. Commercial trade waste bins would be subject to specific timeframes for placement, along with clearer cleanliness and identification requirements.

A new clause on shopping trolleys places more responsibility on businesses to prevent trolleys from being abandoned, while also giving Council the power to impound dangerous or obstructive trolleys immediately.

There are also stronger provisions on unsightly property, including clearer coverage of dilapidated buildings, invasive weeds, graffiti for unoccupied buildings.

For businesses, the reforms aim to cut red tape while creating clearer expectations. Rules for outdoor dining, goods display and signs have been consolidated into one place, using the simpler term “permit” and recognising newer forms of street activation such as parklets. And commercial fitness operators and commercial dog walkers no longer need permits, with the law instead focusing directly on how those activities are conducted in public places.

Minor residential works that temporarily occupy public land will also move to a notification-based system rather than requiring expensive permits, traffic management plans and insurance for small jobs.

Together, these changes suggest a shift toward simpler regulation that still protects public access, safety and amenity.

The Community Local Law also updates a range of environmental and infrastructure controls. Significant tree protections would be strengthened by bringing approval criteria directly into the law, in line with planning scheme changes. New and revised clauses address spoil on roads from building sites, connections to Council drainage, the maintenance of drains and clearer obligations for owners to prevent damage to drainage infrastructure.

Animal-related changes include simplified limits on keeping animals, revised thresholds for domestic birds and reptiles, and a new requirement for property owners to promptly deal with bee swarms or wasp nests.

A specific exemption for outdoor heating fires in chimineas, firepits and constructed fireplaces has also been added, while keeping permit and nuisance controls in place.

What happens next?

At the Council Meeting held on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, Council formally adopted the new Community Local Law, following valuable feedback from the community.

The next step is for the Local Law to be published in the Victorian Government Gazette. The Local Law will come into effect on 1 September 2026. We will publish the Community Local Law on our website in September.

With adoption now confirmed, the focus shifts to ensuring the Local Law is implemented so we have clearer, fairer and more usable local laws for the community.

Visit the project page

To read more about this consultation please visit the Local Law Review Your Say Yarra page.