FAQs
identified community wellbeing issues;
community feedback gathered from earlier engagement activities relating to various Council projects and engagement activities directly linked to this review;
identified social inclusion issues;
internal strategy and research on emerging trends;
demographics, State/National legislation or policy that may affect Wellington Shire;
known State/National events that may affect Wellington Shire;
local area/ place planning information;
changing external factors such as global events that may affect Victoria and the Wellington Shire community; and
earlier Strategic Plans and reviews.
Why are we writing a new Council Plan?
A Council Plan is a four-year document that is renewed as each new Council is elected. It sets out Council’s priorities and outlines how resources will be used to meet the Community Vision and need.
The new Local Government Act 2020 was enacted in March 2020. The Act requires Councils to develop a Community Vision and Council Plan in consultation with the community.
During February - April 2021 Council conducted extensive community engagement to inform the draft Council Plan 2021-25, which is open for community engagement from 5pm on 6 July 2021.
What role does the Council Plan play in Council decision-making?
Council considers a range of things when making decisions about significant issues.
How well does it fit our strategic direction?
How well does the option fit with our vision and strategic priorities as shown in the Council Plan and Wellington 2031 Community Vision?
Who benefits?
Are we ensuring a fair distribution of benefits in the community?
Can we afford it?
How well does the option fit within our long-term financial plan? What do we need to do to manage the costs over the lifecycle of the asset / project / service?
Does it involve a tolerable risk?
What level of risk is associated with the option? How can it be managed? Does the residual risk fit within our risk tolerance level?
Why did we check in on Wellington 2031?
The Wellington 2031 long term community vision has been guiding the direction of Wellington Shire for the past four years. In February - April 2021 we completed a community check in to ensure it still aligns with community expectations and aspirations.
We have experienced a range of hardships due to drought, fire, and COVID-19 in recent years, and we needed to check if this had changed the community’s priorities.
We found that while there were ideas for specific projects, the overall themes for the 2031 Community Vision remained unchanged.
Why does Wellington have a long-term Community Vision?
A long-term community vision sets out the community's hopes for the future. It ensures we are planning today for the future of Wellington Shire.
The community vision forms the basis of Wellington Shire Council's planning framework and influences everything Council does.
How was the community involved in the development of Wellington 2031?
The original Wellington 2030 Strategic Vision was developed through community consultation in 2008. It was renewed in 2016 due to significant regional, national and global changes affecting the Shire and the impacts of these on our population.
To help with the renewal of the vision, an innovative community engagement process was completed inviting residents, visitors and business owners to “Direct our journey to 2030”. Responses were received from over 3,100 people who represented the geographical regions of the Shire and various age groups.
The responses were discussed at a community workshop in November 2016 and were used to develop the five key themes in the current community vision.
What information was gathered and used for the Wellington 2031 review and draft Council Plan 2021-25 development?
A lot! Information was gathered and used as part of this review activity from a variety of sources, including:
And of course, there was a significant level of direct community engagement to respond to and shape all of the above information. You can review the summary of Stage 1 community engagement in the document library on this page.
How was community feedback analysed and included in 2031 and the draft Council Plan 2021-25?
During February to April 2021, Council's project team conducted the community engagement activities and the development of the draft Council Plan 2021-25.
There were a range of online activities and in person community workshops and discussions to provide the community with a range of opportunities to take part.
The results of the community engagement have been grouped together into themes and compared against the priorities of Wellington 2031.
This was presented to Councillors in a series of workshops for deliberation and response.
The summary of Stage 1 engagement results and how they have been used to inform the drafting of Council Plan 2021-25 can be found in the document library on this page.