Role of Local Government

Find Out More in the Guide to Local Government

To help Victorians understand more about local councils and their role in building stronger local communities, the Victorian Government has put together a web-based Guide to Local Government.

The Guide is a great way for all Victorians, no matter where they live, to learn more about local government as well as understanding how much their council is doing in their local community every day.

It has information about how councils work, how they make decisions, what services they are responsible for delivering, how they are funded and much more.

Information is organised into six main sections:

• How councils work
• How councils make decisions
• What councils do
• Planning & finance
• Council elections; and
• Consultation & complaints.

Where possible, the Guide provides visitors with direct links to a variety of informaiton that may not otherwise be easily accessible from the one website. Examples of related links include VicRoads, which is responsible for the main or arterial roads not managed by councils, or the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), which hears complaints against some council decisions.

While the Guide to Local Government aims to provide general assistance, it is only a guide.

Information in the Guide may not take into account all the individual circumstances and you should check with Council for specific details about arrangements in Golden Plains Shire.

You can visit the Guide to Local Government at www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/theguide.

The Guide was produced and is managed by Local Government Victoria, part of the Victorian Government's Department for Victorian Communities.

Rural Councils Victoria (RCV)

Golden Plains Shire Council is a member of Rural Councils Victoria (RCV).

RCV’s program, Networked Rural Councils is funded by Regional Development Victoria and managed by RCV through the Municipal Association of Victoria. The funding commitment is $3.3 million over four years until 30 June 2015.

These funds are targeted at five work streams which reflect the needs and interests of rural councils. They are: Governance and Advocacy, Networking and information sharing, Policy and research, Training and capacity building and Attraction and retention. You can read the Work Program(36 kb).

One of our councillors is a member of the RCV Executive Committee.