Whittlesea local laws

Local laws are designed to protect the community and local environment from health and safety concerns, and make living in the City of Whittlesea pleasant for all residents.

Local laws help you understand your rights and responsibilities, and promote understanding and cooperation.

All municipalities have a set of rules known as local laws, which are enforced by local laws officers. Our local law may be different from the local laws in other municipalities.

Download the General Municipal Law

Our General Municipal Law sets out the rules that everyone must follow, and is updated as new laws are created.

Topics covered in our General Municipal Law include:

animal noise and waste
leaving goods on footpaths
incinerators
keeping animals and birds
litter on building sites
nature strip maintenance
overhanging branches
location of garbage/recycling bins
preventing damage to Council property
roadside selling
unsightly land
vehicles on private property

Procedural Matters Local Law

This local law regulates:

how the Council Common Seal can be used
procedures for Ordinary Council Meetings, Special Meetings, Advisory Committee Meetings, and Special Committees Meetings
the process for electing the Mayor and Chairpersons.

Find out more about Council Meetings.

Creating new local laws

We regularly review local laws and if necessary, change them to meet our community's needs. Occasionally we will also introduce new laws to control a particular problem.

If you believe something needs to be improved or changed, you can write directly to Council or contact your ward Councillor.

We give notice of the proposed law in the Victorian Government Gazette and place a public notice in the local newspaper, Whittlesea Leader.

Anyone can then get a copy of the proposed local law from us, and make a public submission relating to the proposed local law, as stated in the Local Government Act 1989.

A Committee of Council then hears and considers any public submissions, and makes it recommendation to us.

Public submissions must be made in writing, include a clear reference to the relevant proposed local law and be addressed to:

Corporate Services
City of Whittlesea
Locked Bag 1
Bundoora MDC 3083

Public notice of new local laws

After a new local law has been created, we again give notice in the Victorian Government Gazette and place a public notice in the Whittlesea Leader, specifying: