Council Meetings generally occur on the first Monday of the month at 6pm. These meetings are open to our community (except when required to be closed to discuss confidential items).
Under the Local Government Act 2020, Councillors may attend Council meetings either electronically or in person.
Community attendance at Council Meetings is welcome, meetings are also livestreamed on YouTube and can be viewed by following the link on Council’s website or Facebook page.
Upcoming Council Meetings
- Monday, 04 December 2023
Agendas are available here on the Thursday prior to the Council Meeting.
Get involved
Council encourages and supports community attendance and participation in Council Meetings.
Should you have any particular needs or requirements to be involved, our Governance team is here to help you and can be contacted via email egovernance@latrobe.vic.gov.au or on 1300 367 700
Our community is invited to participate at a Council Meeting through the following options.
- Attend as an observer in the gallery
- Watch the Livestream via YouTube
- Public Question Time
- Speak at a meeting on an item on the agenda
- Write a submission
- Lodge a petition
Please be aware that by attending a Council Meeting via an audio-visual link those present may be recorded and have their image captured. In attending the meeting, consent is automatically given to recording and image capture.
Observing a Council Meeting
Members of the community are welcome to attend and observe a Council Meeting except for any part of a meeting that is required to be closed to consider confidential items.
All individuals attending the meeting in person must provide their current photo identification (e.g. driver's license, passport, ID card) which will be checked against their registration ticket on arrival. This can be on a digital device or hard copy.
Members of the community in attendance are requested to sign the register upon arrival and be seated prior to the commencement of the meeting at 6.00pm, doors open at 5.45pm.
Council Meetings are also streamed live via Council’s YouTube channel.
To attend a Council Meeting as an observer, pre-registration is required through booking online via Eventbrite by 3pm of the day of the meeting.
Attendance in the public gallery is restricted to 60 attendees. If booking capacity is reached, a waitlist will be compiled. Each attendee is restricted to one booking per person.
To register, we will require your first and last name, home address, phone number and email address.
Personal data collected during the registration process will be treated in accordance with the applicable privacy laws and Latrobe City Council Privacy Policy.
Please contact the Governance Team on 1300 367 700 if you require assistance with the process.
We kindly request your cooperation in complying with these requirements to ensure a safe and pleasant experience for everyone attending the Council Meeting.
Anyone who has not registered or cannot provide adequate identification will be unable to enter the Council Meeting venue and attend the meeting.
We understand that you may have questions or concerns regarding the registration and identification process. For any inquiries, please reach out to the Governance Team on 1300 367 700.
Public Question Time
Public question time is a section of the Agenda of a Council meeting during which Council may answer questions submitted by members of the public.
It is not designed to take the place of contacting a Councillor or Councillors directly to discuss an issue, or to replace contacting Council’s Customer Services for assistance. Rather, it is designed to allow for clarification of issues of public interest.
How to ask a question
For a question to be considered at a Council Meeting, the following requirements must be met:
- The person submitting the question must include their name, address and contact number;
- A question must not exceed 50 words in length;
- A question must focus on an issue within Councils powers to act;
- A question must not name, allude to, or focus on an individual;
- No more than two questions (including questions asked in parts) are able to be submitted per person for any one Council meeting.
What won’t be answered at a Council Meeting
Questions that meet any of the following criteria will not be answered at a Council Meeting:
- Repetitive or has already been answered (either previously by officers in writing or at a Council Meeting);
- Relates to a matter for which the meeting would normally be closed to the public to allow discussion of confidential items;
- Is prejudicial to the Council or any other person if answered;
- Relates to the personal views or actions of an individual Councillor or Officer;
- Relates to a matter that is the subject of negotiation, litigation or commercial interest/advantage;
- Is defamatory, indecent, abusive, irrelevant, trivial or objectionable in language or nature;
- Is considered trivial or vexatious or it is more appropriate to direct to officers of the Council during normal business hours.
Submitting your question
To submit a question, you can:
- complete the online form
- download and complete the form (PDF, 164KB)
You must submit the form by midday one business day before the Council Meeting by email to egovernance@latrobe.vic.gov.au
Any questions received after this deadline that meets the criteria will be held until the next Council Meeting for response.
Please note that the Mayor may choose to reply in writing.
Speaking at a Council Meeting
Members of the public who have an interest in an open item on the advertised agenda can register to speak.
Requests to speak must be provided to our Governance team before 12 noon on the day of the council meeting. Current options to participate, either virtually or in-person, will be discussed with you upon registration.
To register to speak, you can:
- contact the Governance team on 1300 367 700 or via email egovernance@latrobe.vic.gov.au
- complete the online form
Privacy Collection Statement
The purpose of collecting your personal details is so a written response to your question can be provided. Your phone details and e-mail may assist Council in seeking clarification from you on the information you are seeking.
Any other personal information that is provided will only be disclosed to Councillors and Council Officers and will be retained on Council files until destroyed in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973.
Personal information collected as part of this process will be handled in accordance with the privacy principles in the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.
What happens at the Meeting?
The Chair will ask the Chief Executive Officer to conduct the public question time session.
The Chief Executive Officer will read the response to the question. The Chief Executive Officer can nominate another Senior Staff member to read the response to the question, if appropriate.
The question and the response will be read out and the details will be included in the minutes of the meeting. A copy will also be distributed to the person to their nominated contact details following the meeting.
Council has the discretion to seek clarification to the question if deemed necessary; otherwise the person asking the question is not permitted to enter into debate or discussion during this session.
Live Streaming via YouTube
In the spirit of open, accessible and transparent governance, Latrobe City Council live streams open Council Meetings on YouTube.
Latrobe City Council YouTube Channel
By attending a Council Meeting those present may be recorded or their image captured. In attending the meeting, consent is automatically given to the recording and image capture.
Recordings of Council meetings can be found on the Latrobe City Council YouTube page under the Council Meeting tab.
Behaviour at Meetings
Members of the public attending Council and committee meetings are expected to behave respectfully at all times.
You are not permitted to engage with Councillors or Council officers during the course of the meeting unless called on to ask a question during public question time or to speak on an agenda item.
You are expected to be respectful to Councillors when asking a question or speaking on an agenda item. In particular, you are to refrain from making adverse comments about individual officers. Council officers have a right to be safe and treated with respect at their workplace.
If you have a complaint about the conduct of an individual officer, please direct that complaint to the Council’s Chief Executive Officer, preferably in writing.
You may be asked to leave the meeting if your behaviour is considered inappropriate, disruptive or rude.
Exclusion from Public Gallery
If a member of the gallery in attendance interjects, behaves offensively or acts in a disruptive manner during the Council Meeting, the Chair may direct the person to cease the behaviour. In the event that the person continues the behaviour, the Chair may request the removal of the person from the Council meeting.
This may include the involvement of Victoria Police where necessary.
Further information is available in Council’s Governance Rules.
Public Attendance at meetings
Members of the public present at the meeting must remain silent during the proceedings other than when specifically invited to address the meeting. In addition to managing disruptive behaviour as set out above, the Chair may also cause the removal of any object or material that is deemed by the Chair to be objectionable or disrespectful. The Chair may call a break in the meeting for either a short time, or to resume another day if the behaviour at the Council table or in the gallery is significantly disrupting the meeting.
Behaviour guidelines for visitors to Council Meetings
Community members are welcome to observe the Council Meetings.
The Council may need to close part of the meeting to consider confidential items, and you will be asked to leave if this is enacted.
Whilst in attendance at a meeting, visitors are asked to behave in line with the following:
- Do not move about unnecessarily, interject, applaud, converse, take part in the debate or otherwise create a nuisance.
- If any visitor is called to order by the Chair and then again acts in breach of these guidelines, they may be requested to leave.
- Do not bring into the chamber any placards, posters, recording devices or materials other than personal effects (this is not intended to discourage note taking), unless permission has been granted by the Chair.
- Photography or any audio or audio-visual recording of the meeting is expressly prohibited unless the Chair specifically grants permission.
- As a courtesy to others, please remember to switch off or change your mobile phone to silent mode when entering the Council Chamber.
