Council Meetings

Click here to obtain the unconfirmed minutes from the most recent Council meeting, and to view the next meeting agenda, both uploaded immediately before the next meeting.

Loddon Shire Council offers on-demand audio of Council meetings.

Audio live streaming allows you to hear proceedings via the Internet without the need to attend Council meetings. This gives you greater access to Council decisions and debate and eliminates geographic barriers preventing the public from attending meetings.

Click the link below to go to our live stream of our Council meeting at the scheduled time.

Facebook live stream:

Facebook page

Ordinary Meetings are usually held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 3.00 pm. Should a public holiday fall on the fourth Tuesday, the meeting is held the next day. The meeting timetable is set for 12 months in advance by December each year.

Upcoming meeting dates and locations are:    

2025

Tuesday 28 January        

Tuesday 25 February     

Tuesday 25 March          

Tuesday 22 April              

Tuesday 27 May              

Tuesday 24 June

Tuesday 22 July

Tuesday 26 August

Tuesday 23 September

Tuesday 28 October

Tuesday 25 November

Tuesday 9 December

Council meetings are currently being held at the Loddon Shire Council Chambers, located behind the Wedderburn Council Offices, off Peters Street. For links and up-to-date details, check the Council Meeting Agenda closer to the meeting date. 

Loddon Shire Council holds different types of meetings. All meetings are conducted in accordance with Council's Governance Rules.

Ordinary Meetings

These are the regular meetings of Council. A typical meeting agenda for an Ordinary Meeting includes:

• confirmation of Minutes of the Previous Meeting
• apologies and leaves of absence
• reports for noting or adoption from each operational area of Council
• general business

Meetings are open to the public, unless Council resolves to go "in camera", at which point the meeting will be closed to the public. Closed Council Meetings deal with matters of a confidential nature, including the awarding of contracts and other confidential matters which, if dealt with in a public meeting, may prejudice Council or any other person.

Special Meetings

Council may call Special Meetings to enable it to discuss and decide upon specific matters, e.g. the budget, the Annual Report, election of the Mayor.

The date, time and location of Special Meetings are advertised in the Bendigo Advertiser. Meetings are open to the public.

Assemblies of Councillors

Meetings at which matters are considered that are intended or likely to be the subject of a Council decision or the exercise of a delegated authority. They are either:

• A meeting of an advisory committee where at least one Councillor is present

• A planned or scheduled meeting that includes at least half the Councillors and at least one Council officer.

Local Government Act 2020 states under Part 2 Councils, Division 1 – Role and powers of a Council:
Section 8 Role of a Council:
               (1)  The role of a Council is to provide good governance in its municipal district for the benefit and wellbeing of the municipal community.
                (2)  A Council provides good governance if—
                         (a)  it performs its role in accordance with section 9;
                         (b)  the Councillors of the Council perform their roles in accordance with section 28.

                (3)  In performing its role, a Council may—
                         (a)  perform any duties or functions or exercise any powers conferred on a Council by or under this Act or any other Act; and
                         (b)  perform any other functions that the Council determines are necessary to enable the Council to perform its role.
                (4)  If it is necessary to do so for the purpose of performing its role, a Council may perform a function outside its municipal district.

Section 9 Overarching governance principles and supporting principles
                (1)  A Council must in the performance of its role give effect to the overarching governance principles.
                (2)  The following are the overarching governance principles—
                         (a)  Council decisions are to be made and actions taken in accordance with the relevant law;
                         (b)  priority is to be given to achieving the best outcomes for the municipal community, including future generations;
                         (c)  the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the municipal district, including mitigation and planning for climate change risks, is to be promoted;
                         (d)  the municipal community is to be engaged in strategic planning and strategic decision making;
                         (e)  innovation and continuous improvement is to be pursued;
                         (f)  collaboration with other Councils and Governments and statutory bodies is to be sought;
                         (g)  the ongoing financial viability of the Council is to be ensured;
                         (h)  regional, state and national plans and policies are to be taken into account in strategic planning and decision making;
                          (i)  the transparency of Council decisions, actions and information is to be ensured.
                (3)  In giving effect to the overarching governance principles, a Council must take into account the following supporting principles—
                         (a)  the community engagement principles;
                         (b)  the public transparency principles;
                         (c)  the strategic planning principles;
                         (d)  the financial management principles;
                         (e)  the service performance principles.

Community members are welcome to observe the Council's ordinary and special meetings.

The Council may determine to close part of the meeting to consider confidential items, and you will be asked to leave if this is enacted.

Whilst in attendance at a meeting, visitors are asked to behave in line with the following:

• Do not move about, interject, applaud, converse, take part in the debate or otherwise create a nuisance.
• If any visitor is called to order by the Mayor/Chair and then again acts in breach of these guidelines, they may be requested to leave.
• Do not bring into the chamber any placards, posters, recording devices or materials other than personal effects (this is not intended to discourage note taking), unless permission has been granted by the Mayor/Chair.
• Photography or videoing of the meeting is expressly prohibited unless the Mayor/Chair specifically grants permission.
• As a courtesy to others, please remember to switch off or change your mobile phone to silent mode when entering the Council Chambers.

A petition is a formal request used to lobby a law-making body such as local government. It may request an amendment to general law or the review of an administrative decision.

The petition is placed before the law-making body with the object of implementing the particular action or amendment. Petitioning is one of the traditional forms by which people can make requests direct to Council.

What are the rules for petitions?

A petition should adhere to certain standards that ensure the message is conveyed in a clear and succinct manner, including:

• It is an original document, with no letters or other documents attached to it 
• It must state the name of the person forwarding the petition and an address to which notice of Council's response may be forwarded
• Each page must clearly state the request or describe the action that Council is asked to do, and name of the principal petitioner
• Each page must be numbered (e.g. 1 of 5, 2 of 5)
• The petition is clearly written or printed and be free from erasures or alterations
• The petition must contain the name, address and signature of each person signing the petition
• The document does not contain offensive, defamatory, disrespectful, indecent, or abusive language or substance.

What are the procedures for signing the petition?

The petition must be signed by at least ten persons, each only signing once directly onto the petition form and not pasted or otherwise affixed or transferred to the petition. The signatory pages must also contain the wording of the petition on each page.

Who do I address the petition to?

The petition should be addressed to either the relevant Councillor or the Chief Executive Officer and posted to Loddon Shire Council or physically handed to customer service staff.

How is the petition actioned?

Once received, the relevant Ward Councillor will present the petition to an Ordinary Council Meeting. In accordance with the Council's Governance Rules, the relevant Councillor may move that the petition be received and referred to the relevant area of Council for investigation. A report is then presented to a subsequent Council Meeting for a decision.

How do I know a decision has been made?

The principal petitioner will be advised in writing of Council's decision, following the relevant Council Meeting.