Petitions and joint letters to Council

The difference between a petition and joint letter

A petition is signed by no less than 12 people of separate addresses setting forth the matter on which a remedy or relief is sought. The petition or joint letter must not be more than 200 words in length and must be submitted no later than 12 noon on the day prior to the Scheduled Council Meeting. The petition statement must read “we, the undersigned, residents and ratepayers of the City of Whittlesea, request the Council to…” and should be followed by the signatories full names, addresses and signatures (Please see below for the rules about signatures).

A joint letter is a letter signed by no less than three people of separate address, setting forth the matter on which a remedy or relief is sort. The joint letter must contain the signatories full names, addresses and signatures (please see below for rules about signatures).

Preparing your petition or joint letter

Your petition or joint letter to Council must:

• be addressed to the Chair of Council or the Panel of Administrators of the City of Whittlesea
• be one standalone joint letter or petition from each person or entity
• not be more than 200 words in length
• must be submitted by 12noon prior to the Scheduled Council Meeting 
• be in a form approved or permitted by Council 
• not relate to matters outside the duties, functions or powers of Council
• not be defamatory
• not deal with a subject matter previously answered
• not be directed or aimed at embarrassing a Councillor or member of Council staff
• not relate to personnel matters
• not relate to personal hardship of any resident or ratepayer
• not relate to industrial or contractual matters
• not relate to legal advice, proposed developments or matters affecting the security of Council property
• not relate to any other matter which Council considers would prejudice Council or any other person
• be signed by the persons whose names are appended to it by their names or marks, and except in cases or incapacity or sickness, by no one else and the address of every petitioner/signatory must be clearly stated
• if, an electronic/online petition, contain the name and email address of each petitioner or signatory to qualify as the address of the signatory.

If a petition or joint letter relates to an operational matter, the Chief Executive Officer will instead address it directly through the Council’s service operations or complaint handling program.

Rules about signatures

All the signatures on a petition or joint letter must:

• list the person’s full name, address and signature in their writing, unless the individual is unable to sign due to incapacity or sickness
• be clearly stated
• in the case of electronic petitions, contain the name and email address of each signatory
• be numbered in sequence
• appear on a page that bears the text of the whole petition or request.

Assistance preparing a petitioner

Petitions and Joint Letters should be in writing and in English unless this unreasonably prevents or hinders you from participating.

If you would like assistance to draft a petition or joint letter, a member of Council’s Governance Administration team would be happy to help you. To organise this assistance, please phone Council on 9217 2170.

If the head petitioner or lead signatory does not speak English, Council offers various language services to help, including VITS and LanguageLinks. 

If the head petitioner or lead signatory has a hearing or speech impairment they may use the National Relay Service. 

Further information on street trees

Street trees are an important asset throughout the City of Whittlesea, providing a range of benefits to our community. Our Street Tree Management Plan outlines how the City of Whittlesea choose, plant, maintain and protect street trees in across our municipality.

If you are concerned about a street tree or nature strip tree, we encourage you to contact us or read more about how we maintain our street trees, and in what instances a tree would require removal.  

How to lodge a petition

You can submit your petition or joint letter in the following ways:

By mail to:

Chief Executive Officer
City of Whittlesea
Locked Bag 1
Bundoora MDC 3083

By email to:

civic.administration@whittlesea.vic.gov.au

For more information about submitting a petition or joint letter to Council, call us on 9217 2170.

After you lodge a petition or joint letter

If the petition or joint letter meets the requirements, the petition or joint letter will be processed and tabled at the next Scheduled Council Meeting where possible. The petition or joint letter must be submitted by 12 noon the day prior to the Scheduled Council Meeting in accordance with the Governance Rules to provide Council with sufficient time to undertake any necessary research or investigations.

We will notify the head petitioner that we have received the petition/joint letter and advise when it will be tabled at a Council Meeting.

Have your say and speak at a Council meeting

Council’s Governance Rules were updated at its Scheduled Council Meeting on 19 September 2023. The Chief Executive Officer will nominate a member of Council staff to read at the meeting, the submission in accordance with Rule 48 of the Governance rules.

You can also view the relevant Council Meeting via live stream on our YouTube Channel.