Registration of interest for Council Plan Community Panel closing soon

Published on 27 February 2025

Residents of Colac Otway are encouraged to act to register for a Council Plan Community Panel as registrations close at 5pm this Friday, 28 February.

Council will seek input from the local community via various means of community engagement, including a Community Panel, in development of the Council Plan 2025-2029.

This is an exciting opportunity for community members to be part of setting Council’s strategic direction and priorities over the next four years.

Colac Otway is recruiting community members from diverse cohorts across the shire to be part of a community panel across a series of three, 2-hour workshops to be held in Colac, Apollo Bay and Forrest. 

Each workshop is designed to build on the discussion of the previous workshop in what’s known as a deliberative approach to community engagement, so it’s important that you can commit to all three workshops.

Participants will be selected based on ensuring a diversity of representation across age range, gender and location to help ensure the Council Plan is developed with a mix of views and perspectives about what’s important to our shire.

Transport assistance, interpretation and child-friendly spaces can be arranged if required and participants will be compensated for their time.

The plan will guide Council in delivering services and providing infrastructure to support the social and economic wellbeing of residents of the shire and developing a 2025-2029 plan that reflects the goals and aspirations of communities across the shire. 

Importantly, the Council Plan incorporates the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan, which is an essential function of Council and will ensure that Colac Otway has the right plans in place to protect, improve and promote the health and wellbeing of people across the community.

In addition to contributing to the Council Plan, information from community engagement will help to inform other key Council documents and activities, including the Asset Plan 2025-2035 and Financial Plan 2025-2035.  

There are a range of ways community members can contribute to the development of the Council Plan. Pop-up events and drop-in sessions are taking place in locations around the shire, online workshops are scheduled and focus-group sessions are taking place. On online survey is available on Council’s website, with hard copies also available from Council’s Customer Service Centres in Colac and Apollo Bay.

A draft of the Council Plan 2025-2029 is expected to be released for final community review later in the year with the final Council Plan to go before a future Council meeting in 2025.

For more information, please visit www.colacotway.vic.gov.au/getinvolved