Petitions & joint letters

Council provides the opportunity for petitions and joint letters to be presented at formal Council meetings where they are related to issues in which Council has direct interest or responsibility.

Petitions relating to town planning items are dealt with as part of the formal planning process, rather than separately at a Council meeting.

To lodge:

Petitions will be included in the agenda for the next available Council meeting.

Petitions can be lodged by:
Mail:             PO Box 35, Echuca, Vic, 3564
Email:          [email protected]
In person:    at any customer service centre

The requirements for the petition are:

  • There is a clear and concise statement identifying the subject matter of the petition.
  • Everybody signing the petition has provided their name and address.
  • The subject matter appears at the top of each page of the petition.
  • It must not be defamatory, indecent, abusive or objectionable in language or content.
  • It must not relate to matters beyond the powers of Council.

Any petitions or joint letters that do not comply with these requirements will not be tabled at a Council meeting.

The petition or joint letter may nominate a person to whom a reply must be sent, normally called the chief petitioner, but if no person is nominated or is the obvious intended nominated person, Council may reply to the first signatory which appears on the petition.

To support the community, a template for petitions and joint letters is available Petitions-and-joint-letters-template.pdf(PDF, 115KB).

Consideration of petitions:

  1. Petitions are submitted to a Council meeting.
  2. Council may receive the petition and ask for a report or action as required to the next appropriate meeting.
  3. When the petition relates to an item on the agenda, it will be considered when that particular issue is addressed during the meeting.
  4. A response will be sent to the chief petitioner, or first named signatory.

Download the Petitions-and-joint-letters-procedure.pdf(PDF, 1MB)  for more information.

Further information:

Please speak with Council's Governance Manager on 5481 2200.