Petitions

When you submit a petition or joint letter to Council, we recommend you use this petition-template-hard-copy.docx(DOCX, 38KB)  and the guidance outlined on this page, which is based on Council’s Governance Rules.

A petition must:

• be in a legible and permanent form of writing, typing, or printing (no pencil)
• clearly state the request of Council (what you want from Council)
• have the wording of the whole of the request and the starting date of the petition on each page
• contain the name, residential /property address and signature of each person signing the petition (except for electronic petitions, see note overleaf)
• contain a minimum of 10 unique signatories for a paper petition, and 50 unique signatories for an electronic petition
• contain signatures that are ‘originals’ – they cannot be photocopied signatures or scanned signatures
• include a page number on each page, and have the total number of pages written on the front page of the petition when submitted
• include the pages containing signatories on the original pieces of paper that are not pasted, stapled, or attached in any way to any other pieces of paper.

A petition must not:

• relate to matters outside the powers of Council
• contain false or misleading information
• contain alterations
• include any statement that is offensive, defamatory, or disrespectful to Council, Councillors, or members of Council staff.

We suggest you include wording like that below on each page of the petition:

‘Mayor and Councillors of the Macedon Ranges Shire Council, we the undersigned, petition Macedon Ranges Shire Council as of <insert commencement date (start of the petition) here> to <insert text here – include the matter and action sought from council>.’

An example of a request statement for a petition may read as follows:

‘Mayor and Councillors of the Macedon Ranges Shire Council, we the undersigned, petition Macedon Ranges Shire Council as of 1 January 2020 to install a new pedestrian crossing on the corner of High Street and Smith Street in Village Town before the end of 2025.’

Further guidance on how to include all the required information is provided in the petition-template-hard-copy.docx(DOCX, 38KB) .This will help to ensure you complete your petition correctly.

For electronic petitions only, Council’s Governance Rules(PDF, 3MB)  state that original signatures may not be required, however, unique email addresses must be provided for every signatory to the petition. 

Note: change.org petitions do not meet the requirements outlined above and in Council's Governance Rules. 

Further guidance on how to include all the required information is provided in the Electronic Petition Template(DOCX, 34KB). This will help to ensure you complete your petition correctly.

Once complete, your petition can be delivered:

• in person to Council’s customer service centres in Kyneton or Gisborne
• via post to PO Box 151, Kyneton VIC 3444, or
• emailed to mrsc@mrsc.vic.gov.au

Once submitted, if your petition is found to meet the requirements of Council’s Governance Rules, it will be tabled at a Council meeting at the first reasonable opportunity, for Council to:

• accept and note the petition; and
• resolve to request the appropriate Director to prepare a response to be presented at a future meeting of Council.

Due to privacy requirements, full petitions will not be attached to Council Reports in the public agenda. Petitions will be circulated separately to Councillors prior to the relevant Council meeting.

If your petition does not meet the requirements in Council’s Governance Rules, it will be treated as a letter of multiple signatories (joint letter), which will be passed to the appropriate Director for action and circulated confidentially to Councillors noting the action to be taken, if appropriate.

The head petitioner will be contacted once the petition is received to confirm if it is being accepted/has met the requirements.

Petitions relating to planning issues or matters for which Council is already publicly consulting with the community shall be considered together with other submissions related to that matter, either supporting or objecting to the application/proposal.

These petitions will not be presented to Council as a petition, but will be included in submissions and inform the preparation of Council Reports on the relevant matter/s.

For more information, or if you have questions regarding this process, contact our Governance team on (03) 5422 0333 or email mrsc@mrsc.vic.gov.au