You can make a submission on the Draft Policy on Council’s Participate Hobsons Bay page. There are two ways to have your say: 1. Complete the survey and/or 2. Make a written submission. Additionally, three ‘drop in’ consultation sessions will be held at Council facilities, where you can learn more and have your say (see ‘Key Dates’ for details).

The Draft Policy will be available for feedback from Monday 18 September to Monday 16 October 2023.

The Draft Policy will be available for feedback for a period of four weeks from Monday 18 September until Wednesday 18 October 2023.

To inform the development of the Draft Policy, Council officers completed preliminary engagement with priority population groups and the broader community. Between March and June 2023, focus groups, interviews and follow up meetings were conducted with representatives from priority population groups, alongside a community survey that attracted more than 150 responses.

Participants provided insights into barriers that affect their health and wellbeing and suggestions for how these can be reduced or overcome. All feedback was collated, analysed and used as the basis to update the Draft Policy.

The priority population groups are made up of people in local communities who are at a higher risk of social and economic disadvantage. They include (but are not limited to) the following groups:

• Children (0-11 years)
• Young people (12-25 years)
• Older people (60 years and over)
• People from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds
• First Nations people
• People with disability
• Women and girls
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Asexual (LGBTIQA+) and gender diverse communities
• People in low-income households

Preliminary engagement highlighted the need to add an additional priority population to the draft policy: people in low-income households. More generally, challenges managing long-standing economic disadvantage and the rising cost of living were highlighted across most priority population groups.

However, the Draft Policy is not exclusive to these groups and may incorporate other socially disadvantaged populations that exist within or across these groups and/or new groups that emerge over time. The Draft Policy also recognises the concept of “intersectionality” which highlights that people may experience overlapping forms of discrimination and disadvantage based on different attributes.

ABS data and preliminary engagement also shows that social and economic disadvantage is spread unevenly across the municipality. Hobsons Bay has considerable areas of disadvantage, as well as pockets of disadvantage within more affluent locations. Therefore, the policy acknowledges that efforts to increase fairness and equity should also consider the places where people live, work, study and visit.

To inform the development of the Draft Policy, Council officers undertook preliminary engagement with priority population groups and the broader community. Focus groups, interviews and follow up meetings were conducted with more than 90 representatives from priority population groups, alongside a community survey hosted on the participate website that attracted more than 150 responses. A range of organisations also supported or participated in preliminary engagement and have been acknowledged in the Draft Policy.

The following key themes emerged during the preliminary consultation include:

• Improving access to Council facilities
• Promoting respect for diversity
• Managing the increased cost of living
• Access to mental health services
• Opportunities for employment and volunteering
• Awareness of local programs and services
• Inclusive events and safe spaces
• Access to sustainability programs
• Better communication and engagement
• Advocacy for local needs

The Draft Policy reaffirms Council’s commitment to fairness and equity through its updated vision: A fair Hobsons Bay built on inclusion and belonging, where everyone can contribute, thrive, feel safe and valued.

This retains key elements of the current vision (e.g. being valued, belonging, contribution), while adding new concepts identified through preliminary engagement (e.g. inclusion, safety). The updated vision also shifts wording from ‘equitable’ to ‘fair’ as this is a more commonly used and understood term.

The Draft Policy is built around five key themes and objectives that have been adapted and updated from the current Policy:

• Accessible and connected neighbourhoods – to improve access to public infrastructure, community facilities, housing, and local neighbourhoods.
• Inclusive and supportive communities - to facilitate social connections, more equitable access to services and increased respect for diversity.
• Learning and earning together - to improve financial independence and access to lifelong learning, education, employment, volunteering and business development opportunities.
• Connecting to nature and adapting to climate change - to improve access to our natural environment and support equitable adaptation to climate change.
• A Fair Council for All - to be a socially just organisation that respects diversity, engages with local communities, and supports the health and wellbeing of all residents.

Several strategies sit under each theme, and most strategies have been retained with minor changes to clarify and consolidate wording. However, the following strategies have been added in response to preliminary engagement:

• Support and advocate for additional early childhood education and care places (with a focus on kindergarten) to meet current and forecast need in Hobsons Bay (3.1) – new strategy to reflect Council’s increased role in early childhood education and care.
• Support priority populations to establish, maintain and expand local business development opportunities (3.4) – new strategy to provide focus on business development opportunities.
• Deliver, support and advocate for initiatives that contribute to increased financial independence for priority populations (3.5) – new strategy added to provide focus on cost of living and need for financial independence.
• Support priority populations to develop skills, build knowledge and access programs that increase sustainability and their capacity to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate (4.5) – new strategy to provide focus on adapting to climate change.
• Promote activities that support priority populations to connect socially, access services and participate in opportunities to improve health and wellbeing (5.5) – new strategy to provide focus on Council’s role in promoting programs and services.

Several strategies sit under each theme, and most strategies have been retained with minor changes to clarify and consolidate wording. However, in response to preliminary engagement, the following strategies have been incorporated into other strategies:

• Facilitate and build community capacity to access the internet, build digital literacy and prepare for new technologies (3.1.2) – this was not a prominent issue during primary engagement and has been incorporated into updated Strategy 3.2: Deliver, support and advocate for affordable lifelong learning and education programs that enable priority populations to develop skills, connect socially, and prepare for employment and business development opportunities.
• Celebrate community diversity through the provision of spaces and plants that promote belonging and connection to different cultures (4.1.5) – this was not a prominent issue during primary engagement and has been incorporated into updated Strategy 2.4: Celebrate diversity, challenge discrimination, and acknowledge the strengths, needs and experiences of priority populations.
• Ensure Council’s budget is allocated to enable equitable resources across the municipality and within the built, natural, social and economic environments (5.1.4) – Council’s budget is shaped by a range of factors and it is not possible to ensure future outcomes; rather, opportunities can be provided for priority population to contribute feedback that helps to shape outcomes, and this has been incorporated into Strategy 5.1: Provide accessible, inclusive and safe opportunities for priority populations to share knowledge, foster new ideas and engage in civic processes, planning and decision making, including providing feedback on Council’s annual budget.

A Fair Hobsons Bay for All incorporates Council’s Disability Action Plan, which is a requirement of the Disability Act 2006. Additionally, Council has committed to update A Fair Hobsons Bay for All as a condition of being granted an exemption by the Department of Health (in accordance with the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008) to integrate the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan into the Council Plan 2021-25.

More broadly, the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 requires councils to “seek to protect, improve and promote public health and wellbeing”. As the closest level of government to the community, local government is best placed to understand, plan and advocate for local and diverse community needs and concerns. Finally, the Draft Policy recognises Council’s responsibility to complete Gender Impact Assessments on new or updated policies, programs and services, as required by the Gender Equality Act 2020.

Key achievements under A Fair Hobsons Bay for All 2019-23 have been detailed in Council’s Annual Reports each year against four ‘environments for health’, i.e. built, social, natural, and economic environments. These are summarised below:

• Built environment – increased supply of social and affordable housing; universal design in Council infrastructure; improving footpath connections and signage, and advocacy to improve transport issues.
• Social environment - inclusive events and social media campaigns; use of Council facilities and venues to engage with priority populations; more accessible translated materials and resources; changes to Council services to enhance screening for family violence or improve service navigation; advocacy in the areas of mental health and homelessness.
• Natural environment - working with the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation to build relationships and deliver policies, projects, consultation, and events; planning and improvements to our open spaces; advocacy on air quality; programs delivered for community participation on gardening and sustainability.
• Economic environment - business training and capacity building programs for priority populations, including for digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and use of new technology.

Council has also sought to be a leader by making improvement within our workforce, including by updating Council’s recruitment and selection practices; regular meetings of a working group to build capacity for embedding equity in Council projects; delivering training to upskill staff on a range of social matters; and development of a gender equality action plan to improve gender equality in the workplace.