You should participate because your voice counts! You can be empowered by playing a role in the decision-making process. The information you provide will assist Council to better understand the barriers you face and how Hobsons Bay can be even fairer and more inclusive for everyone.

A Fair Hobsons Bay for All is Council’s first integrated social policy. It guides Council’s activities through an ‘equity lens’, to ensure fairness and inclusion are part of all Council decisions and activities. The vision for the policy is for “A Hobsons Bay that enables equitable opportunities for the community to access resources, be valued, contribute and belong.” The policy sets out five themes which guide equitable opportunities for the Hobsons Bay community. The themes include:

• Designing and building for fair access
• An inclusive and equitable place
• Fair opportunities for participation in the economic environment
• A natural environment that can be accessed and enjoyed by all
• Leadership as a socially just organisation

A Fair Hobsons Bay for All includes 67 actions. The vast majority of these have been completed over the past four years, with key achievements detailed in Council’s Annual Reports against the four ‘environments for health’, i.e. the 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.

The priority population groups are made up of people in local communities who are at a higher risk of disadvantage. A Fair Hobsons Bay for All 2019-23 includes (but is not limited to) the following priority population groups:

• Children
• Young people
• Older people
• People from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
• People with disability
• Women and girls
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Asexual (LGBTIQA+) and gender diverse communities

While the policy focusses on these groups, it can also accommodate other disadvantaged populations that may emerge over time. Preliminary engagement provides an opportunity to determine if or how these groups may need to change. The policy also acknowledges intersectionality between the groups. For example, a young person who identifies as a woman, may also be a person with a disability who is same-sex attracted.

The priority population groups were initially selected to reflect the five population-based social policies that were integrated into A Fair Hobsons Bay for All 2019-23, i.e. Ageing Well Strategy 2007-17, Children and Young People’s Plan 2014-18, Disability Access and Inclusions Strategy 2013-17, Multicultural Policy 2016-20, and Gender Equity Policy Statement 2014. Additional priority population groups may be included if they are at higher risk of experiencing disadvantage.

Under the Local Government Act 2020, the role of a Council is to provide good governance in its municipal district for the benefit and wellbeing of the municipal community. A Fair Hobsons Bay for all is important because it aims to ensure that fairness and inclusion are embedded in all of Council’s decisions and activities, including planning and delivering services, programs, and facilities.

A Fair Hobsons Bay for All 2019-23 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 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.