As part of broader local government reforms, the State Government has introduced a Community Engagement Charter. The Charter came into effect on 11 December 2025 and establishes a consistent framework for community engagement. The Charter defines guiding principles, engagement categories, and mandatory minimum engagement actions for councils.

Charter Principles

• Community members should have reasonable, timely, meaningful and ongoing opportunities to gain access to information about proposed decisions, activities, processes of councils and to participate in relevant processes;
• Information about issues should be in plain language, readily accessible and in a form that facilitates community participation;
• Participation methods should seek to foster and encourage constructive dialogue, discussion and debate in relation to proposed decisions, activities and processes of council;
• Participation methods should be appropriate having regard to the significance and likely impact of proposed decisions, activities and processes; and
• Insofar as is reasonable, communities should be provided with information about how community views have been taken into account and reasons for decisions or actions of councils.

Charter Engagement Categories

The Charter introduces a tiered approach to engagement based on the significance and impact of a decision, with five categories:

• Significant – Annual Business Plan and Rating Policy: Decisions relating to the annual business plan and rating changes.
• Significant: Decisions with a broad or high impact on the community, such as major strategies, policies or changes affecting most residents.
• Standard: Decisions where community input is beneficial across the council area.
• Local: Decisions primarily impacting a specific location, group or neighbourhood.
• Inform: Decisions where Council provides information to a community impacted by a decision.

Each category carries mandatory minimum engagement requirements.

Council is required to adopt a Community Engagement Policy that aligns with the Charter by the 11 September 2026 and that new policy will replace the existing Public Consultation Policy. The new policy must explain how Council will meet the Charter's requirements and address consultation for matters not listed in the Charter.

The Draft Community Engagement Policy provides a clear and consistent governance framework for how Council engages with its community, meeting statutory obligations and supporting transparent, informed decision making.

The Policy outlines how Council will:

• determine the level of engagement required for different decisions
• meet minimum engagement requirements for each category of decision
• plan, deliver and evaluate engagement activities
• consider community feedback in decision making

The Draft Policy contains the 5 engagement categories mentioned in the Charter.

Our Draft Policy also adds a sixth category called "discretionary engagement" for matters likely to benefit from community input beyond the 5 mandatory engagement categories. Discretionary consultation may be appropriate for a project or matter which:

• involves significant expenditure on large scale capital works;
• is of economic, social, environmental or cultural importance;
• is, or is likely to be, of significant community interest; and
• is likely to be enhanced through engagement with the community.

The Draft Policy was developed having regard to:

• Council's existing Public Consultation Policy
• The Community Engagement Charter (Gazetted 11 December 2025)
• The LGA SA Model Community Engagement Policy
• Staff feedback

It is designed to ensure legislative compliance, retain effective elements of Council's current approach, and provide flexibility to tailor engagement to specific projects and community needs.

Compared to the existing Public Consultation Policy, the Draft Policy:

• incorporates the principles of the Community Engagement Charter, replacing the previous consultation framework
• introduces clearer, significance-based engagement categories for a more consistent and proportionate approach
• enables flexible, scalable engagement methods tailored to each project
• strengthens transparency around how community feedback informs decisions
• places greater emphasis on accessibility and inclusion

The Community Engagement Approach template has been updated and retained as an appendix, recognising its value as a practical planning tool for staff.

Community feedback received will be reviewed, with any necessary amendments incorporated into the Draft Community Engagement Policy. A further report will be presented to Council recommending a final Community Engagement Policy for adoption prior to the commencement of caretaker provisions on 8 September 2026.

Once adopted, the new Policy will replace the existing Public Consultation Policy. In the interim, Council may continue to apply the existing Policy while having regard to the Charter's requirements under the transitional provisions. Implementation is required by 11 December 2026, or within three months of adoption if adopted earlier.