Council Meetings

To ensure local government decision making can continue during the coronavirus pandemic the Victorian Government introduced changes to the Local Government Act 2020 to allow for council meetings to be held virtually if and when required.

Council Meetings can be viewed on Council’s Facebook page

There are two types of Council Meetings. Council Meetings and Unscheduled Council Meetings.

Council Meetings

Southern Grampians Shire Council meets on the second Wednesday of each month, excluding January when it does not have an Ordinary Meeting.

The Meetings commence at 5.30pm and are held in the Council Chambers, 5 Market Place, Hamilton, unless otherwise advertised.

For Council Meeting dates please see Meeting Dates

Unscheduled Meetings

Sometimes Meetings need to be held outside the adopted schedule to allow Council to make decisions which are urgent or time sensitive. If an unscheduled meeting is required, the date and time of that Meeting, including the topics for discussion, is advertised so that the community has the opportunity to attend.

Council Meetings are held in accordance with Council's Governance Rules.

The Governance Rules outline how Meetings are to run, how Motions and Amendments are made, and how the public can participate at Council Meetings.

Each Meeting follows an Agenda which is made up of:

Tha Agenda is available to access on Council's website via the Council Meeting Agendas & Minutes page the Friday afternoon before each Meeting.

Each item to be discussed at the meeting is supported by a written report which is included in the Agenda. These reports detail the issue and any matters that need to be considered to arrive at a recommendation for Councillors to consider.

Once a motion has been moved on an item it can be openly discussed by Councillors and, if needed, they can ask questions of senior Council staff.

Each decision of Council at its Meeting becomes a resolution. A resolution can only arise from a Motion which is moved, seconded and carried. All resolutions are determined by a vote of Councillors. Each Motion must receive at least 4 votes for to be carried.

The communtiy can participate in Council Meetings in three ways through:

- Deputations
- Public Question Time
- Addressing Council in relation to Agenda items

For more information on participating in Council Meetings please see Public Participation at Council Meetings