Policies

This policy sets out Council's commitment to manage and care for its assets in a sustainable way and to assist in the achievement of its vision and meet the service and infrastructure needs of the community now and into the future. 

The attached policy was adopted by Council in May 2022.

This policy provides direction and guidance on the management of the employment of the Chief Executive Officer including recruitment, appointment, contracting, performance monitoring and review, and end of contract processes. It also sets out the terms of reference for the CEO Employment and Remuneration Advisory Committee. 

This policy demonstrates the strong commitment of Indigo Shire Council to a culture of child safety and outlines the policies and practices we have developed to keep children under the age of 18 safe from harm, including abuse. This policy applies to all Indigo Shire staff, Councillors, Committee members and volunteers associated with Indigo Shire Council.

This policy was updated and endorsed by Council on 26 July, 2022.

Climate change is a real and urgent threat to our environment, economy, health and lifestyle. 

Climate change impacts are experienced across the organisation and community, and mitigation and adaptation actions are implemented by Councillors, staff and community members.

This policy applies to Council services and assets. It is to be considered when Council and its officers make recommendations and decisions, design and review programs, processes and projects.

Climate-Change-Policy-2024(PDF, 1MB)

The Community Engagement Policy 2021 replaces Council’s 2018 Policy and has been updated to comply with the new Victorian Local Government Act 2020.

The intent of the legislation is to assist Councils to build capacity in community engagement and for deliberative engagement to become usual practice, rather than an exceptional exercise.

This policy confirms our commitment to the community on the principles and values that guide our community engagement. 

The new Policy was adopted by Council on 23 February 2021.

In 2015, the Victorian Ombudsman released two reports which highlighting the need for all Councils to ensure that their complaints handlings systems are effective, efficient and promote fairness, integrity, respect for human rights and administrative excellence.

This policy has been developed after a review of our existing complaints handling process to provide a clear and transparent framework for the handling, recording and reporting of complaints from the public.

It was adopted by Council on Tuesday 22 February 2022.

This policy supports councillors and members of delegated committees to perform their role, as defined under the Local Government Act 2020, by ensuring that expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their role are reimbursed.

The policy is intended to ensure that councillors and members of delegated committees are supported to perform their duties without disadvantage.

It was adopted by Council in August 2023.

This policy provides the broad parameters for provision of Council services on days declared as Catastrophic Fire Danger Days and should not be confused with Council’s response to actual emergency events.

The occurrence of an actual emergency event, which may or may not be on a declared Catastrophic Fire Danger Day, would trigger activation of Council’s Municipal Emergency Management Plan which would take precedence over this policy. In the event of an actual emergency impacting the Shire, a decision to close any / all services will be made on a case by case basis. This decision will be made by the Chief Executive Officer or Senior Management or as directed by Emergency Services.

These policies set out the direction to be taken by councillors and employees if offered gifts and hospitality in their capacity as a representative of Council.

In the first instance, gifts and hospitality are to be refused. If refusal is considered to cause offence or embarrassment to the provider, and the gift or hospitality are accepted, the gift automatically becomes the property of the Council. Upon receipt, the CEO will decide whether the gift should be retained by the recipient or disposed of by other means.

The policies confirm that all gifts and hospitality (as defined in this policy), whether accepted or declined, should be recorded in the Gifts and Hospitality Register.

Under the Local Government Act 2020 a separate Councillor Gift Policy which applies only to Councillors must be in force by 24 April 2021 - see below. A policy for staff is contained in the Staff Code of Conduct.

This policy was adopted by Council in March 2021.

Indigo Shire Council has a legislated requirement and a social responsibility to our communities to remove barriers to inclusion, provide accessible and equitable services and to uphold human rights.

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy articulates and standardises Council’s approach to ensure all Indigo Shire residents can fully engage, contribute and thrive in our communities. It is a new policy for Indigo Shire Council and demonstrates our commitment to prioritising the delivery of equitable services across our communities.

This policy has been developed with input from the findings of a current Council policies review, consideration of 3-tiers of Government legislation and better practice guidelines, and by including oversight and feedback from consultation.

There are groups of people within Indigo Shire communities that do not have the same access to resources, economic or social opportunities as others. This means that policies, programs and services are likely to be experienced differently, and have different outcomes for different groups of people. This policy assists Council and staff in addressing these access barriers and designing inclusive services that consider priority groups, so that Council can apply tailored approaches that have broader benefit to all.

This policy was adopted by Council on Tuesday 27 August 2024.