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Community Engagement Strategy

This document integrates several of Council’s legislative requirements. It addresses requirements under the Local Government Act 1993, particularly the Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework. It includes a Community Participation Plans under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and identifies how Council has incorporated the NSW Government’s Community Engagement Strategy for Crown Land established under the Crown Land Management Act, 2016.

Community Engagement Strategy

Welcome to the Bega Valley Shire Community Engagement Strategy. This Strategy reflects Council’s commitment to encourage open and transparent relationships between Council and the community. Through effective engagement, we can work together to achieve the best outcomes for the broader community.

Bega Valley Shire Council is committed to working with the people of Bega Shire through service delivery, by planning for the future, and by embracing our adopted community vision:

By working together, the Bega Valley Shire community integrates quality of life, enterprising business, sustainable development and conservation of the environment.

Council invites our communities to participate in the decisions and projects that shape our natural, built, economic and social environments. This Community Engagement Strategy is central to Council’s community engagement framework, which aims to give the community a clear understanding of:

  • Council’s commitment to engaging with the community
  • How we will seek and respond to community input
  • The types of engagement that suit the various activities
  • How community input is utilised in decision making
  • How community involvement shapes our actions

This document integrates several of Council’s legislative requirements. It addresses requirements under the Local Government Act 1993, particularly the Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework. It includes a Community Participation Plans under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and identifies how Council has incorporated the NSW Government’s Community Engagement Strategy for Crown Land established under the Crown Land Management Act, 2016.

Read it here: Community Engagement Strategy


Community engagement is about involving the community in decision-making, and is at the very core of our democratic processes in local government.

Through community engagement, Council aims to understand varied points of view, clarify community expectations, and build trust. Meaningful engagement allows Council to gather information which enhances decision making and service delivery.  Engagement is more than the provision of information. It is an ongoing process which involves two-way communication process, talking and listening, and shared decision making.

This Strategy references a continuum of community engagement, based on the International Association of the Public Participation (IAP2) spectrum:

  • inform
  • consult
  • involve
  • collaborate
  • empower.

Council knows that people living in the Bega Valley Shire value participation, having a voice and being involved. Engaging with our communities helps us to:

  • Make better decisions
  • Ensure our current services, projects and directions align with community priorities
  • Plan for future services, projects and directions by identifying and understanding what is important to our communities and their aspirations
  • Ensure that services best meet the needs of our diverse community including cultural, social and accessibility considerations
  • Encourage a range of voices to be heard
  • Identify shared values, benefits and outcomes and how Council and community can work together to realise our goals
  • Manage risks by understanding and anticipating issues before they escalate
  • Ensure legislative requirements are met.

In line with the IAP2 spectrum of engagement, it is important for Council to determine which level of engagement is appropriate; inform, consult, involve, collaborate or empower. To guide these decisions, we have developed a set of engagement criteria.

Our engagement criteria consider the community scale of a project and its impact. These criteria inform Council’s Community Engagement Toolkit, which is utilised to plan and implement all engagement activities. Throughout the life of a project, different levels of engagement may occur, and these levels will be considered in the planning of projects.


 

© Bega Valley Shire Council 2025

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