Council Agenda 17 October 2018

AGENDA
Ordinary Meeting of Council
6.00pm Wednesday 17 October 2018
*** Broadcast live on Phoenix FM 106.7 ***
VENUE:
Reception Room,
Bendigo Town Hall,
Hargreaves Street, Bendigo
NEXT MEETING:
Wednesday 21 November 2018
Bendigo Town Hall
Copies of the City of Greater Bendigo Council’s Agendas & Minutes

can be obtained online at www.bendigo.vic.gov.au
PAGE 1
This Council Meeting is conducted in accordance with Local Law No. 8. It is an offence for any
person to engage in improper or disorderly conduct at the meeting.
Council Vision
Greater Bendigo - creating the world's most liveable community.
Council Values
Six values inform everything we as Council do in working together to be the best we can
for all of our community.
Seeking to achieve the best value for our use of the community’s public funds and
resources, by:
• We Lead;
• We Learn;
• We Contribute;
• We Care;
• We Respond;
• We Respect.
Goals
• Presentation and Managing Growth

• Wellbeing and Fairness
• Strengthening the Economy
• Environmental Sustainability
• Embracing our Culture and Heritage
• Lead and Govern for All
PAGE 2
ORDINARY MEETING
WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER 2018
ORDER OF BUSINESS:
ITEM PRECIS PAGE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY 5
PRAYER 5
PRESENT 5
APOLOGIES 5
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS 5
PUBLIC QUESTION TIME 5
RESUMPTION OF STANDING ORDERS 6
CR METCALF'S REPORT 6
DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST 7
CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 8
1. ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018 9
1.1 CITY OF GREATER BENDIGO ANNUAL REPORT 9

2017/2018
2. PETITIONS AND JOINT LETTERS 12
3. PRESENTATION AND MANAGING GROWTH 13
3.1 PRIORITIES FOR PLANNING STRATEGIES AND 13

PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENTS - 2018/19 - 2021/22
3.2 GREATER BENDIGO PLANNING SCHEME REVIEW, 2018 - 20

ADOPTION OF DRAFT REPORT
3.3 PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT - RECOGNITION OF 39

THE INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN MANUAL IN THE
GREATER BENDIGO PLANNING SCHEME - FOR
INFORMATION AND SUPPORT
4. WELLBEING AND FAIRNESS 47
4.1 BENDIGO MAUBISSE FRIENDSHIP COMMITTEE MEMBER 47

APPOINTMENTS
PAGE 3
4.2 2018/19 COMMUNITY GRANT PROGRAM - LARGE 51
GRANTS
5. STRENGTHENING THE ECONOMY 56
6. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY 56
7. EMBRACING OUR CULTURE AND HERITAGE 56
8. LEAD AND GOVERN FOR ALL 57
8.1 AUDIT COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON’S ANNUAL REPORT 57

2017/2018
8.2 AUDIT COMMITTEE DRAFT CHARTERS 61
8.3 RECORD OF ASSEMBLIES 80
8.4 CONTRACTS AWARDED UNDER DELEGATION 86
9. URGENT BUSINESS 88
10. NOTICES OF MOTION 89
10.1 NOTICE OF MOTION: EFFECTIVE WASTE AND 89

RESOURCE RECOVERY
11. COUNCILLORS' REPORTS 90
12. MAYOR'S REPORT 90
13. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORT 90
14. CONFIDENTIAL (SECTION 89) REPORTS 90
____________________________
CRAIG NIEMANN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
PAGE 4
Ordinary Meeting - 17 October 2018
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
PRAYER
PRESENT
APOLOGIES
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
That Standing Orders be suspended to allow the conduct of [Community

Acknowledgement section] and Public Question Time.
PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Public Question Time – Purpose

Council has provided the opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of broad
interest to Council and the community. Matters relating to routine Council works should
be taken up with Council’s Customer Service Officers through its Customer Request
System.
By the time planning matters have reached the council agenda, they have been through
an extensive process as required by the Planning and Environment Act. In addition, in
most instances mediation has been held between the parties involved. Throughout the
process there are many opportunities for the people to ask questions. Therefore, no
questions relating to planning matters on the Agenda will be accepted.
Public Question Time – Where, When And Who

The public question time is held at every Ordinary Meeting of Greater Bendigo City
Council. Meetings of Council commence at 6.00pm in the Reception Room, Bendigo
Town Hall, Hargreaves Street, Bendigo.
The public question time is held at the start of the meeting as close as practical to
6:00pm. A maximum of 30 minutes has been provided for registered and unregistered
questions.
Residents are encouraged to lodge questions in advance so that a more complete

response can be provided.
Questions will be put to the Council by the individual posing the question; the question
will be answered by the Mayor or CEO, or where appropriate, Councillors or Council
Officers.
PAGE 5
Acceptance of Questions
Each person asking a question of Council is required to stand, state their name, and
address the Mayor. Public Question Time is not an opportunity for making of statements
or other comments. Council’s Meeting Procedure Local Law does not allow for other
questions or comments during the remainder of the meeting.
1. An individual may only ask one question per meeting, a follow-up question may be
permitted at the discretion of the Mayor.
2. In the event that the same or similar question is raised by more than one person,
an answer may be given as a combined response.
3. In the event that time does not permit all questions registered to be answered,
questions will be answered in writing or referred to the next meeting if appropriate.
4. The Mayor and or CEO have the right to decline registration on basis of:
• Legal proceedings;
• More appropriately addressed by other means;
• Vague or lacking in substance, irrelevant, frivolous, insulting offensive,
improper, defamatory or demeaning;
• Answer likely to compromise his / her position;
• Confidential, commercial-in-confidence.
5. Each individual whose registration form has been accepted or declined will be
advised by the Friday of the week prior to the scheduled meeting.
6. In the event of a registration form being declined the registration form will be
circulated to the Mayor or Councillors for information.
RESUMPTION OF STANDING ORDERS
That Standing Orders be resumed.
CR METCALF'S REPORT
PAGE 6
DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Pursuant to Sections 77, 78 and 79 of the Local Government Act 1989 (as
amended) direct and indirect conflict of interest must be declared prior to debate
on specific items within the agenda; or in writing to the Chief Executive Officer
before the meeting. Declaration of indirect interests must also include the
classification of the interest (in circumstances where a Councillor has made a
Declaration in writing, the classification of the interest must still be declared at the
meeting), i.e.
(a) direct financial interest

(b) indirect interest by close association
(c) indirect interest that is an indirect financial interest
(d) indirect interest because of conflicting duties
(e) indirect interest because of receipt of an applicable gift
(f) indirect interest as a consequence of becoming an interested party
(g) indirect interest as a result of impact on residential amenity
(h) conflicting personal interest
A Councillor who has declared a conflict of interest, must leave the meeting and
remain outside the room while the matter is being considered, or any vote is taken.
Councillors are also encouraged to declare circumstances where there may be a

perceived conflict of interest.
PAGE 7
CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES
Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Wednesday 19 September 2018.
The following items were considered at the Ordinary Council meeting held on
Wednesday 19 September 2018 at 6:00pm.
• Petition: Request for a Dog Park in Heathcote

• 2 Hustlers Road, Bendigo - 2-Lot Subdivision and Construction of a 3 Storey
Dwelling
• Lot 1 Midland Highway, Bagshot - 137 Lot Subdivision (Staged) and Removal of
Vegetation
• 1 Pinnacle Terrace, Golden Square - Construction of 2 Single Storey Dwellings
• 14 Mill Street, Strathdale - 2-Lot Subdivision of Land
• Draft Place Interpretation and Naming Policy
• Strategic Report on Greater Bendigo's Historical Artefacts
• Financial Statements and Performance Statement for the Financial Year Ended 30
June 2018
• Procurement Policy
• Contracts Awarded Under Delegation
• Record of Assemblies
• Urgent Business: Municipal Association of Victoria State Council Motion
The unconfirmed minutes have also been posted on the City of Greater Bendigo website
pending confirmation at this meeting.
RECOMMENDATION
That the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Council held on Wednesday 19 September,
2018, as circulated, be taken as read and confirmed.
PAGE 8
Annual Report 2017/2018 Ordinary Meeting - 17 October 2018
1. ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018
1.1 CITY OF GREATER BENDIGO ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018
Document Information
Author Nathan Morsillo Manager Financial Strategy and Michael Smyth

Manager Business Transformations.
Responsible Craig Niemann, Chief Executive Officer

Member
Summary/Purpose
The purpose of this report is to provide the opportunity for Council to consider the City of
Greater Bendigo 2017/2018 Annual Report.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council resolve to receive the City of Greater Bendigo 2017/2018 Annual Report.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Policy Context
This City of Greater Bendigo Annual Report covers the period from July 1, 2017 to June
30, 2018. Preparation of an Annual Report is a requirement of the Victorian Local
Government Act 1989 and it also provides an opportunity to communicate internally and
externally, with staff, community, government and industry stakeholders regarding the
functions, achievements and performance of the City of Greater Bendigo in the
preceding year.
Sections 131 and 133 of the Local Government Act state that a Council must prepare an
annual report for each financial year that includes:
• Report of Operations of the Council

• Audited Financial Statement
• Audited Performance Statement
These three documents have been combined in the City of Greater Bendigo Annual
Report for 2017/2018.
PAGE 9
Background Information
All Victorian Councils are required to report under the Victorian Government’s mandatory
system of performance reporting. The system prescribes performance information to be
included in the Annual Report including:
The Report of Operations;

• A statement of progress in relation to major initiatives;
• A description of Council’s operations;
• Results against prescribed Local Government Performance Reporting Framework
(LGPRF) service performance indicators;
• Results of the LGPRF Governance and Management Checklist;
• A review of performance against the Council Plan actions;
• Services funded in the budget and members / sectors of the community who receive
these services;
• Major capital expenditure, changes and achievements;
• Results against the City of Greater Bendigo Strategic Indicators; and
• Other material relevant to Council activities and community interest.
Audited Financial Statements

• This statement meets Local Government Victoria format requirements.
• The statements have been audited by the Victorian Auditor General’s Office (VAGO).
The Audited Performance Statement:

• A description of the municipal district;
• Results against LGPRF prescribed service performance outcome indicators and
measures;
• Results against LGPRF prescribed financial performance indicators and measures;
• An explanation of any material variations between results (where available, because
these are transitional reports in a new format);
• Results against LGPRF prescribed sustainable capacity indicators and measures.
Report
The Annual Report describes the City’s operations throughout the year and highlights
achievements. It reports to the Victorian Government, Greater Bendigo residents and the
wider community for actions throughout the year on strategic objectives that were set
down in the Council Plan for the year, as well as the prescribed information listed above.
Consultation/Communication
Internal Consultation:
Regular data collection, as part of Council Plan quarterly reporting and the LGPRF
reporting requirements have provided the core content. Staff have had the opportunity to
review the content relevant to their area and to make recommendations for any
necessary changes.
PAGE 10
Members of the Audit Committee had the opportunity to review the draft Financial
Statements and the draft Performance Statement for the 2017/2018 financial year prior
to final submission to the Auditor General.
Both the Performance Statement and the Financial Statements have been certified by
the Principal Accounting Officer, Chief Executive Officer and two Councillors. These
statements were presented to Council at its Ordinary Meeting on September 19, 2018
and signed opinions were provided by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office on
September 21, 2018.
External Communication:
Following consideration by Council, residents will be informed by public notice of the

Annual Report's preparation and availability for inspection. Copies of the Annual Report
will be available via the City's web page and in hard copy upon request.
Priority/Importance:
To meet legislative requirements the Annual Report, including audited financial

statements and reports against LGPRF indicators and outcomes, must be completed and
supplied to the Minister for Local Government within three months of the end of the
financial year reported on (September 30, 2018).
Resource Implications
Printing and layout of the Annual Report and relevant advertising are provided for in the
2017/2018 Council budget.
Conclusion
The City of Greater Bendigo 2017/2018 Annual Report has been prepared and is
submitted according to the requirements of the Local Government Act 1989.
Attachments
• Annual Report 2017/2018
PAGE 11
Petitions and Joint Letters Ordinary Meeting - 17 October 2018
2. PETITIONS AND JOINT LETTERS
Nil.
PAGE 12
Presentation and Managing Growth - Reports Ordinary Meeting - 17 October 2018
3. PRESENTATION AND MANAGING GROWTH
3.1 PRIORITIES FOR PLANNING STRATEGIES AND PLANNING

SCHEME AMENDMENTS - 2018/19 - 2021/22
Author Emma Bryant, Amendments and Heritage Coordinator
Responsible Bernie O’Sullivan, Director Strategy and Growth

Director
Summary/Purpose
This report proposes the work program for strategic planning projects and amendments
to the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme for the next 4 years with an emphasis on the
2018/2019 financial year. This work program is reviewed every year.
The report also summarises projects that were completed in the previous financial year.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council resolve to endorse the 2018/2019 Planning Scheme Amendments Work
Program.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Policy Context
City of Greater Bendigo Community Plan 2017-2021

Goal 4: Presentation and managing growth
• Planning, developments and infrastructure that increase our liveability and pride in
where we live.
Goal 6: Embracing our culture and heritage
• Recognise and celebrate our unique history and diverse cultures.
Recommendation 54 of the Independent Review 2013 is to:
"Formulate a clear and transparent set of priorities for planning scheme amendments
for the coming financial year for approval by Council and communicate these and the
associated processes to the community."
PAGE 13
In response to this recommendation, Statutory Planning and Regional Sustainable

Development (RSD) units review all current and proposed amendments and land use
strategies that might result in a Planning Scheme Amendment annually and prioritises
these over a four year period for Council endorsement.
The Planning Scheme is the legal framework that sets out the parameters for all
decisions that need to be made about land use and development in the municipality.
Planning Scheme Amendments are the process to change that law. Planning scheme
amendments can be proposed by private landowners as well as the City, but all
amendments are legally undertaken by the Council as the ‘Planning Authority’ under the
Planning and Environment Act, unless the Minister grants someone that power, including
himself, which is not common. Council, as the planning authority, can reject a private
proposal to prepare an amendment with no powers of review for the applicant.
The ultimate approval for every planning scheme change is the Minister for Planning.
Because they change the law of the City, amendments must:
• Implement a clearly articulated strategy that is based on proven technical data and
evidence.
• Be legally and technically correct, in accordance with the Planning & Environment Act
1987 and Ministerial Directions.
• Be formally exhibited to anyone who may be impacted by the changes and consider
the views put forward.
• Have an independent process (Panel) where there are different points of view
between any of the parties involved; the City, community members and agencies.
It is this need for detailed evidence, legal procedures and the time taken to resolve
differences along the way that makes the process lengthy and specialised. The process
is set by the State Government and cannot be changed except through an act of
Parliament. Amendments usually take between 12 and 24 months depending on
complexity, issues that arise and the quality of the information submitted by a proponent.
Timelines and work plans for Amendments can only ever be "best estimates" for reasons
such as:
• Applicants change their mind about what they want.
• The State Government imposes a requirement that must be enacted.
• It takes much longer than expected to finalise the background technical analysis.
• Submissions and issues raised by referral agencies and/or community members.
• Council changes its priorities of the work required.
• Budget allocation by Council to complete the work.
The RSD and Statutory Planning units work closely together to implement this program,
with the former undertaking the broad planning strategies and the later implementing
these strategies by turning them into detailed planning scheme provisions. The Statutory
Planning Unit also undertakes the private amendment requests in accordance with the
Private Planning Scheme Amendments Policy, and amendments for other units of the
City and referral agencies, for example the flood amendments.
In developing the priorities in a clear and transparent manner, the RSD Unit has
developed an evaluation framework that considers each proposal against a set of criteria
listed below:
PAGE 14
• The degree to which the Amendment delivers the strategic direction and priorities of
the Community Plan.
• The importance of the Amendment to success in Council's planning for growth,
productivity and liveability.
• Whether it is required because it implements State Government policy or is required
by legislation.
• Completing work already commenced or implementing recently completed work.
• Political commitments.
• The risks of not completing the work:
o Loss of life;
o Loss of Council and/or community revenue;
o Loss of community assets;
o Loss of liveability;
o Loss of reputation due to prior commitments made.
Previous Council Decisions
July 2014: Council resolved to endorse the plan for 2014/15 and beyond.
27 July 2015: Council resolved to endorse the plan for 2015/16 and beyond.
16 August 2017: Council resolved to endorse the plan for 2017/18 and beyond.
Report
Completed projects from the 2017/18 work program are listed below:
Strategies completed and adopted

• Plan Greater Bendigo
• Review of Farming Zone/Low Density Residential Zone land in the Urban Growth
Boundary
Amendments adopted and submitted to the Minister for Planning

• C161 Marong Business Park Part 2 (refused).
• C220 Lansell Crest Development Plan (approved)
• C233 Council land signage (approved)
• C221 Bendigo Urban Flood Study (approved)
• C223 White Hills and East Bendigo Heritage Study Stage 2 (approved)
• C217 Big Hill and Mandurang Valley Landscape (pending)
Extra amendments adopted and submitted to the Minister
• C236 Council drainage Public Acquisition Overlay (approved)
This Amendment was in response to an urgent requirement to upgrade the drainage

network.
PAGE 15
Revisions to future work program
The changes to the work program for 2018-2022 (see attached) are discussed below.
A small number of projects and amendments, although they have progressed

substantially, have had timelines extended due mostly to external factors:
• Huntly and Maiden Gully Development Contributions Plans (DCPs) - delay due to
further referral authority requirements including extension of Bushfire Management
Overlay and VicRoads requirements.
• CDB Heritage Study - issues with State Government mapping layer.
• Heritage Strategy - review to accommodate Council priority changes.
• Eaglehawk Landfill Buffer - extended to allow more rigorous technical assessments
for landfill gas.
The extension of time for privately sponsored amendments is due to applicants’ delays in
submitting further information to address issues raised. These include the Atisha/Great
Stupa project and Latrobe University rezoning.
Some Projects from 2017/18 have been combined with other projects for efficiency:
• Marong Flood Study included with Marong Structure Plan amendment
• Review of Highway Entrances and Boulevard study into Planning Scheme Review.
• Maiden Gully urban design framework incorporated into Maiden Gully Structure Plan
and DCP.
• Individual heritage studies grouped into one program.
The potential residential rezonings from the Housing Strategy and Low Density
Residential Strategy are combined into one implementation project. The progress of
these rezonings will depend on privately sponsored proposals being prepared that
address the following criteria:
• All technical and strategic concerns identified in the background strategy or new
concerns raised by the City and referral authorities being addressed.
• Efficiency through coordination with adjoining landowners and combined planning
permits for use and development where required.
• Clear broader benefit for the community and for meeting Council’s vision.
In developing the 2018/19 Program, all project timeframes have been carefully reviewed
to ensure they are realistic based on current resourcing. A further change from the
2017/18 Program is that all non-scheduled future work has been removed from this list
and incorporated into the Planning Scheme Review list of future work. This list will then
be reviewed and prioritised as part of the review. The 2019/2020 budget considerations
will further refine this thinking.
In developing this work program it is recognised that Council priorities can change and
important and urgent projects can appear. Therefore any new proposals that come
forward during the next 12 months will be considered against existing priorities and the
same evaluation framework and will be reported to Council for a decision on whether and
when it should proceed.
PAGE 16
Many of these projects have come out of previous strategic projects that have undergone
extensive community consultation. Other projects have been privately proposed following
pre-application consultation with the Statutory Planning Unit and relevant referral
authorities. Most projects and Amendments undertaken by the City go through an
exhaustive consultation process including formal public exhibition.
Conclusion
The Planning Strategies and Planning Scheme Amendments Work Program is an

important tool as it outlines the agreed strategic land use projects for the RSD and
Statutory Planning units. The priority actions and budget items are then developed to
support this programme.
There is a long list of planning scheme amendments to undertake over the next 4 years
to implement current work and to bring the planning scheme up to date. Undertaking
planning scheme amendments can be very resource intensive depending on the
complexity of the amendment, the number of submissions received to it and whether a
planning panel is required. When a large amendment is on exhibition and going to a
panel it can take almost all of an officer’s time for a number of months. It can also be
difficult to plan when resources will be required exactly, particularly for assessing and
managing private amendment requests.
There is approximately 2.5 EFT currently available in the Planning Scheme Amendments
team. The resources required to undertake the 2018/19 amendments has been
estimated at approximately 3.5 EFT (including one full EFT to undertake the planning
scheme review). As a result, these projects are likely to take longer to complete, or
alternatively the City can delay private amendment requests to manage the workload.
The resources required to undertake the proposed 2019/20 amendments program, is

estimated at approximately 6.5 EFT. Of this approximately 1.3 EFT would be required to
manage private amendments. The options to complete this program will be to prepare a
budget bid for additional resources, or to delay some of the projects, including
implementing the Marong and Heathcote Structure Plans.
Attachments
1. Planning Strategies and Planning Scheme Amendment Work Program 2018/19 –

2021/22.
PAGE 17
PAGE 18
PAGE 19
3.2 GREATER BENDIGO PLANNING SCHEME REVIEW, 2018 -

ADOPTION OF DRAFT REPORT
Author Morgan James, Planner Amendments

Director
Purpose
The Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Review 2018 is an audit of the performance and
operation of the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme.
The Review seeks to ensure the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme is up to date,
reflects Council’s vision and meets the community’s needs.
Summary
The Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Review 2018 has found that although the
Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme is operating well, it has several fundamental policy
gaps which are impinging upon Council’s ability to sufficiently guide the development of
the municipality.
These fundamental policy gaps include:

• Lack of policy and strategic direction for rural areas of the municipality;
• Lack of a settlement network and hierarchy to appropriately guide future development
in a coordinated and efficient way;
• Lack of policy and strategic direction for environmental management;
• Lack of infrastructure planning.
There is a large amount of future strategic work recommended as part of this Review to
bring the Scheme up to par with comparable Councils.
These gaps show the importance of regular review of the Planning Scheme. It is
essential that the Planning Scheme be reviewed every four years, in conjunction with the
Community Plan and the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan, to ensure it
remains on track and up to date.
The targeted consultation undertaken as part of this Review so far has positively
engaged users in the planning system and enabled identification of planning issues and
improvements that can be made to the Planning Scheme.
Key issues identified (in addition to the above) include:

• Management of residential character and infill development;
• The need to better apply the suite of residential zones to guide development;
PAGE 20
• Coordinated delivery of housing and infrastructure;

• Tensions between native vegetation, bushfire risk and settlement growth;
• Sustainable transport options;
• Need to complete heritage studies.
The continued involvement of planning scheme users and the wider community in the
identification of these matters will be fundamental to the success of the Planning Scheme
Review.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council resolves to:

1. Adopt the Draft Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Review, 2018;
2. Put the Draft Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Review, 2018 out for community
consultation for a minimum of one month.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Policy Context
Planning and Environment Act, 1987
Section 12B of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 requires that a Planning
Authority (Council) review its Planning Scheme every 4 years (no later than one year
after the approval of the Community Plan) and provide the report to the Minister for
Planning.
The last review of the Greater Planning Scheme was undertaken in 2010, but was not
implemented into the Planning Scheme due to the large amount of strategic work
underway at the time. The last review implemented into the Planning Scheme was in
2006. This means that the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme is well overdue for review.
The Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme must be regularly reviewed to ensure that it is up
to date and can address key issues that the municipality is currently facing, or is expected
to face in the future. It is also a legislative requirement under the Planning and
Environment Act 1987 that each council must review their Planning Scheme every four
years.
An eight-step process for undertaking the Planning Scheme Review was developed
(figure 1 below) and supported by a comprehensive project brief. The project brief was
then peer reviewed by an independent planning expert to ensure it would achieve the
objectives of the Review and the requirements of the Planning and Environment Act.
PAGE 21
Figure 1: Planning Scheme Review process
Amendment VC148
Amendment VC148 was gazetted on 31 July 2018 by the Minister for Planning and is
part of the Smart Planning program’s reforms to simplify and modernise Victoria’s
planning policy and rules to make planning schemes more efficient, accessible, and
transparent.
The Amendment:
• Introduced a new Planning Policy Framework (PPF);
• Enabled the future introduction of a Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) instead of the
Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS);
• Simplified the Victoria Planning Provisions (VPP’s) structure by:
o Restructuring particular provisions;
o Integrating VicSmart into applicable zones, overlays and particular provisions;
o Consolidating operational and administrative provisions;
• Amended specific zones, overlays and particular provisions to improve their structure
and operation and to support the future translation of Local Planning Policy
Frameworks (LPPFs) to the MPS and PPF;
• Introduced a new Specific Controls Overlay to replace Clause 52.03 Specific Sites
and Exclusions;
• Deleted outdated particular provisions;
• Deleted permit requirements for low-impact uses in industrial zones;
• Reduced car parking requirements for uses in commercial areas and for land within
walking distance of high-quality public transport.
Planning Policy Framework (PPF)
The PPF is the new location for policy content in planning schemes. It replaces the State
Planning Policy Framework (SPPF) and includes all State and regional planning policies.
PAGE 22
The PPF structure provides for three tiers of integrated planning policy:
1. Statewide
2. Regional
3. Local
The PPF enables all policy content, including local policy, to be merged into a single
policy source.
The State, regional and local levels of policy are grouped by theme using the State
policy themes with directly relevant regional and local policies ’nested’ under the
corresponding State planning policy.
The Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS)
When Council translates its LPPF into the new PPF, it will also be required to introduce a
MPS at Clause 02 of the planning scheme. The MPS supports but does not form part of
the PPF. The MPS is a succinct expression of the overarching strategic policy directions
of a municipality. It highlights the planning issues that are important to the municipality
and provides context for the local policies in the PPF. The PPF and MPS work together
to form the strategic basis of a planning scheme.
The MPS will provide for the planning scheme’s policy foundation, based on the
municipality’s location and regional context, history, assets, strengths, key attributes and
influences. Planning schemes already have similar clauses in the MSS, however the
new concise format will ensure a more focused and direct message about a council’s
planning aspirations.
As part of the Planning Scheme Review implementation, all local content will need to be
reformatted/rewritten and inserted into this new structure (PPF and MPS). This will be a
significant amount of work and DELWP is yet to provide further information about how
this process will occur.
February 2010 – Council resolved to endorse the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme
Review (2010) and forward the report to the Minister for Planning.
November 2011 – Council resolved to commence Planning Scheme Amendment C170

to implement the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Review (2010) into the Planning
Scheme.
Report
Policy Context of the Planning Scheme Review
An initial step in the Review of the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme involved
developing an understanding of the policy context within which the Planning Scheme
sits.
PAGE 23
Council is legislated to produce 3 key policy documents shown in figure 2 below:
Figure 2: Council’s legislated plans
In June 2017, Council adopted its Community Plan 2017-2021. The Community Plan,
formerly known as the Council Plan, was renamed by Council to emphasise that it is a
plan for the community.
Council has adopted the following vision for its Community Plan:
Greater Bendigo – creating the world’s most liveable community

A liveable community is one which enables people to live healthy safe harmonious
lives in attractive and affordable settings. Liveable places have an excellent range
of services for children and adults of all ages and facilities that are accessible to
all. They don’t make unsustainable demands on the environment.
Council is also legislated to prepare two other key strategic documents – The Municipal
Public Health and Wellbeing Plan (MPHWP) and the Municipal Strategic Statement
(MSS).
Under the provisions of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, Council is required to
prepare a MPHWP every four years. The MPHWP must:
• Be consistent with its Council plan and the land use plan required by the MSS;
• Have regard to the current Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan;
• Be reviewed annually.
The Greater Bendigo Health and Wellbeing Plan 2017-2021 was adopted by Council in
October 2017. The Plan will guide Council and its partners in working to improve the
health and wellbeing of our community over the next four years.
The Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) is Council’s high level strategic land use vision
within the Planning Scheme which guides land use and development. It is important that
the MSS integrates and is consistent with both the Community Plan and the MPHWP.
Council has also adopted the One Planet Living Principles as part of the Greater Bendigo
Environment Strategy 2016-2021 and is working towards accreditation as a One Planet
council to assist in the implementation of its vision as creating the world’s most liveable
community.
PAGE 24
One Planet Living is an internationally recognised sustainability framework for the

community to live healthy and happy lives within the environmental limits of the planet. It
is about “creating attractive, inspiring places which help people to live better, happier and
healthier lives, within a fair share of our one planet’s resources.”
The framework includes 10 principles that can be used to guide planning and action
(health and happiness, equity and local economy, culture and community, land and
nature, sustainable water, local and sustainable food, travel and transport, materials and
products, zero waste, and zero carbon energy).
Figure 3 below provides a snapshot of the high level policy context of the Planning
Scheme Review and the strategic directions that need to be considered in the
development of the updated planning policy.
Figure 3: Policy context of the Planning Scheme
Of course, there are many other Council policy documents to consider. Council is
currently in the process of developing an integrated strategic framework to outline its key
strategic documents and the role they play in achieving its vision. Many of these
documents have already been incorporated into the Planning Scheme; however, others
are new and their implementation has been considered in this Review.
Planning Policy Changes and Planning Performance
A key part of a Planning Scheme Review involves reviewing recent planning policy
changes and Council’s planning performance. Since the last Planning Scheme Review in
2010:
PAGE 25
• 73 State Government VC amendments to the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme

have occurred, including new policy relating to Plan Melbourne, regional growth
plans, a suite of zones, bushfire management policy and native vegetation policy
changes etc.
• 79 Council Planning Scheme Amendments to the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme
were gazetted. Of these 21 (27%) went to a planning panel and 58 (73%) did not. In
each case, the Panel was generally supportive of Council’s position.
• The City processed over 9,500 planning permit applications, with only 131 permit
refusals (1.4%).
• 183 planning matters progressed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
(VCAT). Of these, Council’s decision was supported by the Tribunal 127 times (70%),
whilst 56 were not supported. However, the 56 cases included 31 applications for
extension of time, which due to legislation at the time, Council had no power to
consider. This legislation has since been amended to allow Council to make a
decision. Therefore excluding the extension of times, the number of times Council’s
decision was not supported by VCAT reduces to 25 or 13%.
A planning permit benchmarking exercise was undertaken to examine Council’s planning

performance against the State average and that of two other comparable councils.
This exercise showed that Greater Bendigo is generally performing above average and
often better than the two compared councils. This was particularly in regards to the time
taken to process applications and applications with submissions.
Planning Policy Audit

After establishing the policy context of the Review, the next stage included an analysis of
the status of the existing planning policy in the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme.
As an initial step, a policy neutral review and audit of the existing Municipal Strategic
Statement (MSS) was prepared. A policy neutral review is the process of updating and
improving the content of the Planning Scheme without changing the policy intent.
This process reconfigured the existing MSS to align with the structure of the State
Planning Policy Framework (SPPF), and enabled analysis of the existing local policy
against State policy to identify repetition, gaps, and strengths.
The audit also included review of:

• All Zone, Overlay and Particular Provision Schedules (x119);
• Planning referrals mechanisms (which includes notice requirements and seeking
feedback from authorities such as VicRoads and Coliban Water etc);
• 30 Local Planning Policies;
• Recent VCAT cases (x183) and Planning Panel reports (x21).
Targeted Consultation
Following the initial identification of planning issues in the planning policy audit, targeted
consultation was undertaken with key stakeholders to either validate findings or further
identify issues.
In this stage, officers targeted key internal and external stakeholders, particularly those
who either regularly use the Planning Scheme or are experts in a planning related field.
PAGE 26
The consultation sought to identify the ways the stakeholders interact with the Planning
Scheme and to identify any issues or improvements that could be made.
To support this stage of consultation, a comprehensive Community Engagement Plan

was prepared and included the purpose, objectives, key communication messages and
engagement questions.
An engagement action plan was also developed which detailed the stakeholders, their
anticipated level of interest and influence, level of engagement required and method(s)
of engagement, what feedback we were seeking, when and who was responsible.
Figure 4: Targeted consultation stakeholders
The following table provides a summary of the targeted consultation activities

undertaken:
Type of Engagement Action
Project bulletin 120 copies distributed
Email survey to planning practitioners 70 recipients
Tailored emails to referral authorities 30 emails sent

and internal referral units
Presentations and/or workshops 23 workshops or presentations held
Submissions / written comments 26 received
Key matters raised in responses from consultation include:

• The need to undertake strategic work to manage residential/industrial interface and
encroachment issues and provide buffers;
PAGE 27
• Need to provide greater planning policy direction for rural areas and to review the
rural dwellings and subdivision policies;
• The need to update outdated references in policies, such as department names or
legislation references;
• The need to undertake a municipal wide audit of contaminated land and apply the
Environmental Audit Overlay (EAO);
• The need to audit the list of reference documents and remove redundant documents;
• The need to update lengthy and disjointed policy in the MSS;
• There is very dated and sparse information to assist with environmental management
in the Planning Scheme. Need to review the application of environmental overlays
such as the ESO, SLO and VPO;
• Heritage studies need to be completed as soon as possible;
• A tree register should be developed to protect significant trees;
• Identification and protection of waste infrastructure;
• A policy response to climate change should be developed; and
• How best to manage future settlement in response to bushfire risk.
Findings of the Planning Scheme Review
Formatting/Planning Scheme Structure
The following list provides a summary of the formatting/structure findings of the Greater
Bendigo Planning Scheme:
• The themes used to structure the MSS are not consistent with the State themes and
can cause confusion navigating policy. State policy themes should be used to
logically structure local policy.
• A number of drafting principles should be used to improve the quality of local policy:
o Remove policy which repeats SPPF
o Remove policy that does not relate to planning
o Use local policy only when necessary
o Use local areas in the MSS rather than local policies
o Don’t rely on external documents
o Use maps, plans and tables as much as possible
o Use a consistent hierarchy of clause headings
o Use clause numbering to assist with navigation
o Ensure there is a clear link between objectives and strategies
o Use a consistent suite of active verbs for strategies
o Avoid strategies with multiple policies
o Avoid any conflicting policies
o Avoid listing unnecessary zones and overlay implementation
o Use a consistent format for reference documents
• The Local Areas section of the MSS should be utilised to better group area specific
policy which is scattered throughout the MSS.
• All current and recommended strategic work should be prioritised using a strategic
matrix to ensure work is undertaken in an orderly and strategic manner.
• Formatting and language of local policy should be improved through the use of a
hierarchy of headings, numbering of objectives and strategies to assist with
navigation, and the use of consistent language.
PAGE 28
• Some policy themes do not have a framework plan to provide the spatial
representation of the key strategic directions and issues. All MSS themes should
include a comprehensive framework plan.
• All local mapping in the MSS and Zone and Overlay Schedules should be updated to
ensure it is legible and provides the necessary detail.
• All incorporated and reference documents should be reviewed to ensure they are still
relevant, necessary and sufficient policy has been extracted into the Planning
Scheme.
Quality of Planning Policy
The following list provides a summary of the policy audit findings of the Greater Bendigo
Planning Scheme:
• The strategic land use vision is dated and the Community Plan, MPHWP, and One
Planet living principles should be integrated.
• The section identifying the key issues and influences facing the municipality is far too
long and should be more concise.
• Settlement and housing policy has high level policy direction from the Greater
Bendigo Residential Strategy, however it is lacking suburb/area specific direction to
sufficiently guide development in a strategic and coordinated way.
• Residential character policies have become very dated and have not kept pace with
the development of urban Bendigo.
• There are large areas of urban Bendigo and the wider municipality which are yet to
be studied for heritage significance, putting important heritage assets at risk.
• Identification and management of environmental assets is sparse and dated. This
includes biodiversity, native vegetation, flora and fauna, salinity and erosion etc.
• There is very minimal policy to guide the development of the rural areas of the
municipality. This includes policy relating to the protection of prime agricultural areas,
rural industries and locations where dwellings should and shouldn’t be supported in
rural areas.
• Open space policy is very dated and there’s minimal policy guidance for new open
space requirements and contributions.
• A policy response to climate change, renewable energy and environmentally
sustainable design needs to be provided.
• Commercial development directions are up to date with the implementation of the
Commercial Land and Activity Centre Strategy.
• Transport policy direction is also comprehensive and up to date with the
implementation of the Integrated Transport and Land Use Strategy.
• There is insufficient policy direction in regards to development and community
infrastructure requirements and contributions.
Local Planning Policies
There are currently 29 Local Planning Policies included within Clause 22 of the Greater
Bendigo Planning Scheme.
The analysis of the policies reveals that:

• 1 is under review by a separate piece of strategic work (Gaming)
• 2 are quite good and require little change (Heritage and Signage)
• 2 should be merged and updated (Rural dwellings and subdivision)
PAGE 29
• 3 should be retained, albeit edited (Industrial, Animal keeping, and Licensed

premises)
• 5 should be moved into the MSS (Urban-forest interface, Salinity and erosion,
Highway entrances, Hospital precinct medical centres and Calder freeway environs)
• 16 should be deleted and replaced by a new residential infill policy (Residential
character precincts)
Zones
In regards to the planning zones utilised in the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme the
following findings have been made:
• Future strategic work is recommended to review the application of further residential
zones (Residential Growth Zone (RGZ) and Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ)),
or other methods to better direct infill residential development;
• Existing Mixed Use Zone (MUZ) areas need to be reviewed to ensure they’re
operating as intended and separate schedules developed to provide more specific
guidance for each area;
• The use of the Township Zone (TZ) needs review to ensure it is achieving its
intended outcome;
• The Low Density Residential Zone (LDRZ) is operating well;
• Industrial zones are operating well, however the Industrial Strategy is dated and
requires review (which has now commenced). There is also conflict between
industrial and residential areas that needs to be reviewed and managed;
• The extent of Commercial 1 Zone (C1Z) in the City Centre should be reviewed as part
of the CBD Plan refresh;
• The Rural Living Zone (RLZ) needs review to examine land supply levels and
application;
• Potential use of the Rural Activity Zone (RAZ) should be investigated;
• The Rural Conservation Zone (RCZ) needs review as some areas may have lost
conservation values and it may need to be expanded into other areas;
• All public zones should be reviewed to address any land use changes since the last
review;
• The Urban Growth Zone (UGZ) should be used for all new greenfield residential
growth areas to promote orderly planning.
Overlays
In regards to the planning overlays utilised in the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme the
following findings have been made:
• Additional planning permit exemptions should be considered to the Environmental
Significance Overlays (ESOs);
• All Vegetation Protection Overlays (VPOs) require review as part of broader
environment study to identify flora and fauna assets across municipality;
• There are 26 active schedules to the Design and Development Overlay (DDO):
o DDO2 (Lockwood South rural living area) and DDO6 (Urban forest interface)
require strategic review;
o Consideration should be given to whether the requirements from DDO 7 (Ascot
residential area), DDO9 (Axedale township), DDO10 (Maiden Gully structure plan)
and DDO11 (Huntly transition area) can be incorporated into zone schedules;
o DDO5 (CBD) needs updating and will be reviewed in CBD review,
PAGE 30
o VC148 changes now allow councils to specify application requirements in DDO

Schedules. An appropriate policy response should be developed.
• There are 17 active schedules to the Development Plan Overlay (DPO):
o DPO2 (Epsom and Ascot), DPO3 (GRZ density management), DPO14 (Scott
Street White Hills), DPO15 (Burgoyne Street Huntly), and DPO23 (Botheras Court
Epsom) have been completed or are no longer considered necessary and should
be deleted;
o DPO4 (LDRZ density management) is complex and requires review through a
separate piece of strategic work;
o DPO6 (Townships) is considered no longer necessary and can be deleted. Better
objectives should be developed for Zone Schedules;
o DPO17 (Former Rocklea Mills Kangaroo Flat) is being deleted through a separate
piece of work;
o DPO26 (Strathfieldsaye township) will be amended through separate piece of
strategic work;
o Due to so many changes and completion of development, all DPO Schedules
should be renumbered to erase number gaps;
• A strategic review of the 2 Neighbourhood Character Overlays (NCOs) needs to
occur to assess if they're operating appropriately and address overlaps with the
Heritage Overlay. This should be undertaken in conjunction with heritage studies if in
the vicinity, or follow after;
• The extent of the Erosion Management Overlay (EMO) and the Salinity Management
Overlay (SMO) require examination;
• The Parking Overlay (PO) needs review and should be addressed in the CBD Plan
refresh;
• A municipal wide audit of potentially contaminated sites needs to be undertaken and
the Environmental Audit Overlay (EAO) applied where warranted.
New Planning Policy
The following, recently completed strategic work is recommended to be included in the

Planning Scheme as part of the Review:
• Community Plan 2017-2021
• Greater Bendigo Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan (2017 – 2021)
• Plan Greater Bendigo (2018)
• Greater Bendigo Housing Strategy (2018)
• City of Greater Bendigo Rural Communities Strategy (2016)
• City of Greater Bendigo Environment Strategy (2016-2021)
• City of Greater Bendigo Waste and Resource Management Strategy (2014–2019)
• Loddon Campaspe Integrated Transport Strategy (2015)
• Bendigo Freight Study (2017)
• Greater Bendigo Public Space Plan (2018)
• Rural Areas Strategy (2009)
The implementation of the above strategic work will include high level contextual and
strategic directions. Detailed planning controls or land rezonings are beyond the scope of
the Planning Scheme Review and will require separate implementation.
PAGE 31
Recommendations
The 2018 Planning Scheme Review has made the following key recommendations:
1. Action the following outstanding recommendations from the 2010 Planning Scheme
Review:
• Undertake future strategic work to review/update the following documents and
then implement into the Planning Scheme:
o Rural Areas Strategy, 2009
o North Central Biolinks Report, 2009
o Urban Salinity Guidelines
o Roadside Management Plan, 2011-2015
• Include a policy response to climate change, renewable energy etc. in the
MSS;
• Include a policy response to the North Central Regional Catchment Strategy in
the Planning Scheme;
• Undertake further strategic work to investigate a planning policy response to
the following matters:
o Housing affordability
o Intergenerational equity
o Urban-forest interface tensions
o Management of residential character
o Intensive animal industries
o Use of the Rural Activity Zone (RAZ);
• Work with DELWP to address Crown land zoning anomalies;
• Identify the following as further strategic work required:
o Huntly heritage study
o Review and expansion of Vegetation Protection Overlay (VPO) mapping
o A municipal wide Significant Landscape Overlay (SLO) study;
• Establish a program to educate the community on the role and function of the
Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme and the services offered by the Statutory
Planning Department.
2. Integrate the vision and goals (below) of the Community Plan 2017-2021, the
Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2017-2021 and One Planet Living into
the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme.
3. Include a local policy response to the following State Government reforms:
• Melbourne Metropolitan Plan (‘Plan Melbourne’)
• Loddon Mallee South Regional Growth Plan
• Planning policy for Healthy Neighbourhoods
• Planning requirements for racing dog keeping and training facilities
• Protecting Victoria’s environment – Biodiversity 2037 and the new native
vegetation management framework
• VC140 and settlement planning for bushfire.
4. Undertake future strategic work recommended in the review of Planning Panel
reports:
• Consider consistent application of DDO6 Urban – forest interface
• Review the non-urban breaks around Bendigo
PAGE 32
• Consider heritage values of character policies

• Review old airport controls
• Review Strathfieldsaye density and character controls
• Review zoning of 91 Howard Street following buffer work
• Prepare an overall strategic framework plan and review the UGB
• Review the Significant Landscape Overlays for Big Hill and Mandurang
• Review the flooding overlays as more information becomes available and
mitigation is undertaken.
5. Review planning permit referral and notice requirements following the planning permit
benchmarking exercise to determine if any requirements are unnecessary and could
be removed.
6. Undertake the following actions to address the issues identified in the VCAT cases
review:
• Undertake further strategic work to better manage residential character and
residential growth. Specifically:
o A review of the Residential Character Study 2001 is required as the policies
are very dated
o Strategic work should investigate the use of the full suite of residential
zones and schedules
• Undertake a review of the Eaglehawk and Bendigo Heritage Study 1993,
which covers much of urban Bendigo and provides insufficient information
• Undertake a review of the Rural Areas Strategy 2009 or similar rural land use
strategy
• Review the Gaming Policy (currently underway through a separate project)
• Review the Highway Entrances and Boulevards Study, 1994 and ensure there
is sufficient policy translation into the Planning Scheme
• Ensure appropriate translation of reference documents into the Planning
Scheme. Specifically:
o Northern Corridor and Huntly Local Structure Plan, 2005
o Strathfieldsaye Township Plan, 2012 (currently underway through a
separate project)
• Develop urban design guidelines to ensure the appropriate design of
commercial developments (such as shopping centres)
• Delete the “Cultural Heritage Report, August 2010” from the list of reference
documents as it is no longer relied upon
7. Adopt the ‘Policy Neutral review of the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme LPPF,
April 2018’ as the base version for the MSS re-write, to which new policy will be
added and redundant policy deleted in the subsequent Planning Scheme
Amendment.
8. Adopt the recommendations of the audit of the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme as
identified in Section 5 of the review report, including those relating to:
• Formatting and language
• Planning policy audit
• Recommended further strategic work
• Maps and plans
• Incorporated and reference documents
• Local planning policies
PAGE 33
• Zones, Overlay and Schedules

• Schedules to the particular provisions
• Referral and notice requirements
9. Develop comprehensive strategic framework plans for both urban and rural Greater
Bendigo to provide the ‘big picture’ or vision of the municipality and should show:
• Main features and land uses
• Areas that are of significant environmental value
• Areas where environmental risks are to be managed
• Growth opportunities or constraints
• Strategic redevelopment sites
• Transport connections
• Existing and future infrastructure
10. Adopt the recommendations for further strategic work listed at section 5.2.12 and
prioritise the recommendations using the proposed strategic work matrix, which
assists in identifying need, risk, benefits, costs and timeframes to complete each
piece of work and enable an overall prioritisation of work.
• Council's adopted strategic work program should be reviewed in light of the
recommendations of this review and included in the strategic matrix
assessment to ensure all work is prioritised
11. Identify further strategic work to be included in the MSS using the following principles:
• It will aid a user in making a decision or recommendation
• It demonstrates a link to achieving the objectives of planning
• It has been clearly scoped and identifies the issue or issues to be addressed
• It responds to a relevant local planning need
12. Include a policy response to the issues identified by stakeholders in the LPPF re-write
where appropriate or identify further strategic work to be undertaken.
13. Implement the identified new strategic work into the Planning Scheme as
recommended. This includes:
• Community Plan 2017-2021
• Greater Bendigo Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan (2017-2021)
• Plan Greater Bendigo (2018)
• City of Greater Bendigo Rural Communities Strategy (2016)
• City of Greater Bendigo Environment Strategy (2016-2021)
• City of Greater Bendigo Waste and Resource Management Strategy (2014–
2019)
• Loddon Campaspe Integrated Transport Strategy (2015)
• Bendigo Freight Study (2017)
• Greater Bendigo Public Space Plan (2018)
• City of Greater Bendigo Rural Areas Strategy (2009)
14. That Council:
• Adopt this report as the review required pursuant to section 12B (1) of the
Planning and Environment Act 1987
• Forward the report to the Minister for Planning as required by section 12B (5)
of the Planning and Environment Act 1987
• Prepare and implement an Amendment to the Greater Bendigo Planning
Scheme to implement the recommendations of the Planning Scheme Review
PAGE 34
Recommended Further Strategic Work
A large amount of future strategic work is recommended by the Review to address the
identified policy gaps and bring the Planning Scheme up to par with comparable
Councils.
Recommended work includes:

• Urban and rural settlement strategy
• Bushfire and settlement risk study
• Environmental significance study
• Contaminated land audit
• Climate change and integrated water management strategy
• Urban design program
• Urban tree strategy
To prioritise the recommended work and ensure it's undertaken in an orderly way, a draft
comprehensive matrix has been developed to prioritise the recommended work.
The risk matrix prioritises the recommended work against a number of factors including:
• Potential risk to life from not doing the work
• Potential risk to liveability
• Potential lost income to Council or the community
• Potential lost assets to Council or the community
• Work is an essential strategic driver/enabler of other strategic work
• Urgency of the work
• What benefit will be gained from undertaking the work
Peer Review of the Draft Planning Scheme Review
In order to ensure the Planning Scheme Review met its objectives and made appropriate
findings and recommendations, it was peer reviewed in August 2018 by an independent
planning expert (see appendix 3 for the peer review report).
The peer reviewer found that “overall, this is an impressive and comprehensive review
and more than meets the requirements of the legislation…The methodology is sound
and the depth of research that has been undertaken to prepare the Review is greater
than is normally seen in Planning Scheme Reviews. This places Council in a good
position to update the planning scheme to be a better land use and planning decision
making too.” (Redink Planning, 2018).
Priority/Importance
As required by the Planning and Environment Act 1987, Council must complete a
Planning Scheme review every 4 years (no later than one year after the approval of the
Community Plan) and provide the report to the Minister for Planning.
It has been 7 years since the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme was last reviewed and
the Minister for Planning has urged Council to undertake the review promptly.
PAGE 35
Timelines:
Following community consultation in November to December 2018, it is anticipated the

final draft of the Planning Scheme Review report will be presented to Council for
adoption in the first quarter of 2019.
Following adoption of the Planning Scheme Review by Council, it will be forwarded to the
Minister for Planning in accordance with the requirements of the Planning and
Environment Act 1987.
The Planning Scheme Amendment process will then commence through the drafting of
the detailed planning changes to the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme, which will be
further reported to Council in mid-2019.
Risk Analysis:
There is potential for an adverse community reaction to the findings of the Review and its
recommendations. However, as the project is a review, it has generally only included
already consulted upon work and excluded substantial or major strategic changes as
they are beyond the scope of a review. Therefore, it is considered the risk is minimal.
However, one point of contention may be the proposed solution to the tensions that have
become apparent between residential character and managing infill residential
development. Bendigo is affected by 16 Residential Character Local Planning Policies
which stem from the Bendigo Residential Character Study, 2001. This study is now very
dated and due to the overly prescriptive and stagnant nature of the policies, they have
not kept pace with the development of Bendigo.
Bendigo’s residential areas and growth rate has significantly changed since the study
was completed. Council has also adopted a Residential Strategy which now actively
encourages infill development.
As a solution, it is proposed to delete the 16 character policies and develop a single,

generic residential infill policy which provides guidance about what residential infill we
seek and how it should address the character of the area. The policy will be about
creating a balance between growth and respecting character. The policy will provide
useful guidance about how it should be done and will include the development of
residential infill design guidelines to assist the community and development industry.
It is expected much of the community and development industry will be supportive of this
change, which makes policy intentions clearer and much easier to navigate. The
development of the design guidelines will also be of huge assistance in understanding
and improving the quality of development and will follow on from the success of the
Heritage Design Guidelines.
PAGE 36
However, there is risk that some parts of the community may be concerned about the
loss of the character polices and their specific detail. Nevertheless, it is considered there
is not a loss of policy intent, rather a move away from prescription (which dates easily),
to guiding policy which can continue to grow with Bendigo. Instead of a dated
prescription of an area’s character, there will now be policy which requires an applicant
to undertake and demonstrate an assessment of the street’s character and provide a
detailed response of how their development responds to the policy and guidelines.
It also recommended, as part of the future strategic work recommendations, that a

review of Bendigo’s residential character be undertaken as part of the urban settlement
study and where warranted, more detailed area specific planning policy or controls could
be developed.
Community engagement for the Planning Scheme Review will commence on Monday, 22
October 2018 and run until Friday, 30 November. Unlike the targeted consultation
undertaken so far, this stage will be about targeting as much of the community as
possible and seeking their feedback on the performance of the Greater Bendigo Planning
Scheme.
Community engagement seeks to achieve the following objectives:

• To hear the community’s feedback on the performance of the planning scheme and
identify planning issues
• To hear the community’s feedback on our findings of the Review
• To positively engage and educate the community about planning
• The engagement should try to reach as much of the community as possible as the
breadth of the planning scheme affects everyone
The engagement will include:

• A Facebook competition to win a $100 gift voucher by completing a survey
• Thematic discussion papers to break down findings of the Review into themes
• Use of the City's web page to promote thematic discussion and link to the survey
• Use of a reference group for detailed issues exploration
• Social media advertisements
• Attending community/committee meetings etc
• Media release and print media
• Further discussions with all parties involved in previous targeted consultation
Conclusion
While the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Review 2018 has confirmed that the basis
of the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme is fundamentally sound, it is evident that to
remain contemporary it needs to implement recently adopted strategic work as well as
commission strategic work on the gaps that have become apparent since the last review.
It also requires major reformatting to transition into the new Planning Policy Framework
and Municipal Planning Statement scheme structure implemented by VC148.
PAGE 37
Options
Council has the option of adopting the Draft Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Review
2018 as presented, or with any changes or clarifications that it determines are required.
The option is also available not to adopt the Draft Review.
The project is being undertaken and managed in-house, therefore financial costs have
been much less than if an external planning consultant was appointed to undertake the
project. Officer time will be required to continue to undertake and manage the project.
Expenses so far have related to:

• The 2 stage peer review of the project brief and draft report by an independent
planning expert totalling $11,000
• 2 Councillor workshops with an independent planning expert to explore the land use
vision of the municipality and the key planning issues, totalling $9,000
Upcoming expenses are expected to relate to the cost of running public consultation,
communications, and materials.
Attachments
1. Draft Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Review, 2018

2. Appendices to the Draft Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Review, 2018
3. Peer review report on the Draft Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Review, 2018 by
RedInk Planning, September 2018.
PAGE 38
3.3 PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT - RECOGNITION OF THE

INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN MANUAL IN THE GREATER BENDIGO
PLANNING SCHEME - FOR INFORMATION AND SUPPORT
Author Frank Casimir, Statutory Planner

Director
Summary/Purpose
Amendment This Amendment is being prepared by the Minister for Planning who
details: is the planning authority for this Amendment.
The Amendment proposes to introduce the “Infrastructure Design

Manual” (IDM) into the planning schemes of 42 regional councils
including Greater Bendigo. The IDM is an engineering manual which
specifies the standard requirements for the design and construction of
Council’s infrastructure.
The purpose of this report is to inform Council and to request its

support for the Amendment before the Minister for Planning considers
approving the Amendment.
In addition, but outside the scope of this Amendment, this report

seeks Council resolution to support the trial of the Sustainable
Infrastructure Guidelines (SIG) for 12 months as an optional reference
document for use in the design of new developments, subdivisions
and Council projects.
Proponent: Minister for Planning
Key • The IDM will be a guideline document in the Municipal Strategic

issues: Statement (MSS) and contains no mandatory requirements.
• The IDM increases the consistency of the standards for
infrastructure provision for the subdivision and development of
residential, commercial, industrial and rural land.
• Testing a range of sustainable design options and materials in
urban and rural environments through a 12-month pilot to
determine their feasibility and costs.
PAGE 39
RECOMMENDATION
That Council resolve to:

1. Write to the Minister for Planning to advise that Council supports the proposed
Ministerial Planning Scheme Amendment to introduce the “Infrastructure Design
Manual” (IDM) into the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme.
2. Adopt the Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines (SIG) for a 12-month trial. The SIG
will serve as an optional reference document for use in the design of new
developments, subdivisions and Council projects.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Policy Context
City of Greater Bendigo Community Plan 2017 – 2021

Goal 1: Lead and govern for all
• Take a leadership role in regional planning, advocacy and work in partnership with
regional councils.
Goal 4: Presentation and managing growth
• Keep Greater Bendigo attractive with good quality public facilities and spaces
Goal 5: Environmental Sustainability
• Drawing on the One Planet Living framework to connect the health of the natural
environment to the health and prosperity of our environment.
In 2001, Clause 56 (Rescode) was introduced into all planning schemes in Victoria. This
clause contains the objectives and standards for infrastructure provision that councils
must consider when deciding on planning permit applications to subdivide land in the
residential zones. These objectives and standards do not apply to planning permit
applications for the subdivision of land zoned industrial, commercial or rural. As a result,
the standard to which the required infrastructure must be constructed in these zones was
reliant solely on each individual council’s Engineering Department.
In 2004, Greater Bendigo, Greater Shepparton and the Campaspe Shire agreed to
develop the Infrastructure Design Manual (IDM) to assist councils and developers in the
consistent design and construction of infrastructure. The IDM contained some elements
additional to Rescode and these were accepted by the development industry because it
provided them with an element of certainty about what the requirements would be before
they commenced their development. The idea was also to minimise disruptions to the
development community by making standards uniform across the borders of the three
municipalities.
The IDM provides guidance for the construction and provision of infrastructure and has
the following objectives:
PAGE 40
• To ensure clarity for developers and councils by providing guidelines for local
engineering requirements.
• To clearly document requirements for the design and development of infrastructure.
• To standardise requirements to expedite approvals.
• To ensure minimum design criteria are met by either Council or developers.
The three councils' Engineering departments started using the first version of the IDM in
October 2007 after an extensive consultation process.
In 2012, the Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines (SIG) was prepared in consultation

with the development industry to form part of the IDM by conducting research on design
practices and materials in Australia and overseas, reflecting concepts such as Green
Infrastructure, Sustainable Development and Low Impact Development.
In May 2014, the Local Government Infrastructure Design Association (LGIDA), was
created and incorporated. The LGDIA represents all councils using the IDM, which by
then had grown significantly.
In June 2015, Greater Shepparton City Council as a pilot council was successful in
making a request to the Minister for Planning to prepare an Amendment to its planning
scheme to give formal recognition to the IDM and enable it to be fully utilised in planning
decisions. As part of the approval process of the Amendment, the Minister for Planning
appointed the Infrastructure Design Manual Advisory Committee to consider issues
associated with the broader implementation of the IDM into other planning schemes.
The conclusion of the Committee was that the IDM is a technically sound and useful
document and recommended that the Minister consider its implementation in the
planning schemes of all regional councils on a staged basis under Section 20(4) of the
Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act). To address a submission received to the
Amendment, the SIG was removed from the IDM and became a separate document.
31 October 2015 – Council adopted the Infrastructure Design Manual.
Report
The attached Explanatory Report details the purpose and effect of the Amendment and
provides the strategic justification for the Amendment. Key issues identified in the
Explanatory Report are discussed below.
Land affected by the Amendment
The Amendment affects all land within the municipality of Greater Bendigo.
PAGE 41
What the Amendment does
The Amendment proposes to give formal recognition in the Greater Bendigo Planning
Scheme to the ‘Infrastructure Design Manual’ (IDM) which has already been adopted by
Council. It does this by making changes to the Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) at
Clause 21.09 to state that the design, management and delivery of infrastructure are key
issues for Council.
The main proposed change to Clause 21.09 is the introduction of a new objective which
seeks to provide clear and consistent guidelines for the planning, design and
construction of infrastructure. One of the proposed strategies to achieve this objective is
to encourage new subdivision and development that has regard to the objectives and
requirements of the IDM.
Generally, the introduction of the IDM into the Planning Scheme complements the
objectives and standards of Clause 56 for residential subdivision applications. It will also
be used to assess subdivision and development applications in all other zones and in the
development and assessment of Precinct Structure Plans and development plans.
The IDM is already listed as a reference document at Clause 21.10 of the Planning
Scheme, however, there is an error in the title so this Amendment will also correct that.
Specifically, the Amendment proposes to:

• Amend Clause 21.09 (Integrated Transport and Infrastructure) to include a new
objective and the strategies regarding the Infrastructure Design Manual (as
amended).
• Amend Clause 21.10 to include the revised Infrastructure Design Manual LGIDA (as
amended) as a reference document.
Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts
Social Impacts
The IDM standardises Council requirements for the design and construction of municipal
infrastructure. It aims to provide a consistent approach to ensure the design of
development and subdivision of land achieve attractive, liveable, walkable, cycleable,
diverse and sustainable neighbourhoods for present and future communities. The
Amendment will result in positive social impacts for Council, the community and the
region as a whole.
Economic Impacts
The recognition of the IDM in the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme will provide
consistency and certainty around the standard engineering requirements for
infrastructure provision. It is therefore anticipated that this will allow both land
developers and Council to better manage and forecast the financial costs associated with
infrastructure construction as it will now be possible to determine these costs at the
planning permit application stage of the development or subdivision. The proposed
Amendment is considered to have significant economic benefit to Council and the
community.
PAGE 42
Environmental Impacts
The Amendment is expected to have positive environmental effects. The Infrastructure

Design Manual provides design criteria for future development to ensure that
development does not impact negatively on the environment and is undertaken in an
environmentally sustainable manner. Although the Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines
do not form part of the proposed Infrastructure Design Manual amendment, it is the
intention of the Local Government Infrastructure Design Association that the Sustainable
Infrastructure Guidelines will in time be incorporated into the Infrastructure Design
Manual. Leading by example and trialling the Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines for a
12-month period will assist with demonstrating the positive effects of the Sustainable
Infrastructure Guidelines.
Strategic Justification – Planning Context
The Amendment is supported by the following clauses in the Greater Bendigo Planning
Scheme:
Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines (SIG)
There is currently a need for Council to address the social and physical challenges
associated with climate change and sustainability. Accordingly, more sustainable
infrastructure needs to be considered when designing projects.
The SIG seeks to provide guidance on alternative design options and materials that will
deliver more sustainable infrastructure through:
• Using recycled materials
• Reducing the carbon footprint of infrastructure projects
• Reducing maintenance and operating costs
• Utilising water in more efficient ways
Two councils in regional Victoria have already adopted the SIG and it is the intention of
the City that the SIG be implemented as an optional reference document for a 12-month
trial for use on new developments and Council projects. The use, outcomes and
feedback on the document will be monitored during this time for consideration of ongoing
adoption of the document following the trial period.
State Planning Policy Framework
Clause 16.01-2S (Location of residential development) has an objective to locate new

housing in designated locations that offer good access to jobs, services and transport.
One of the strategies to achieve this is to facilitate residential development that is cost
effective in infrastructure provision and use, energy efficient, incorporates water efficient
design principles and encourages public transport use. The Amendment is supported by
this clause because it will allow for infrastructure to be constructed according to standard
requirements whilst considering the local context.
PAGE 43
Clause 18.01-2S (Transport system) has an objective to coordinate development of all

transport modes to provide a comprehensive transport system. One of the strategies to
achieve this is to consider all modes of travel, including walking, cycling, public transport,
taxis and private vehicles (passenger and freight) in providing for access to new
developments. The Amendment is therefore consistent with this clause.
Clause 18.02-1S (Sustainable personal transport) has an objective to promote the use of
sustainable personal transport. One of the strategies to achieve this is to ensure cycling
routes and infrastructure are constructed early in new developments. The Amendment is
supported by this clause because it will allow for the consideration of transport options at
the planning stage of all developments where appropriate.
Clause 19.03-2S (Infrastructure design and provision) has as objective to provide timely,
efficient and cost-effective development infrastructure that meets the needs of the
community. The strategy to achieve this is to provide an integrated approach to the
planning and engineering design of new subdivisions and developments. The
Amendment is supported by this clause because it will allow for the construction of
infrastructure in a coordinated and efficient manner.
Local Planning Policy Framework
Clause 21.05-7 Compact Greater Bendigo (Design quality) contains an objective to

improve the design quality of new housing, the public domain and open spaces. One of
the strategies to achieve this is to create public spaces that are attractive, safe and
interesting. The Amendment is supported by this clause because it will enable the
provision and construction of quality spaces in a standard manner.
Clause 21.09-7 (Infrastructure) has as objective to ensure the appropriate provision of

infrastructure that meets Council and community expectations. This clause has a
number of strategies to achieve this including promoting water sensitive urban design
techniques in new development. The Amendment is supported by this clause because it
strengthens the role of the IDM in the Planning Scheme.
Discussion
The development of the IDM was in response to concerns that Rescode does not provide
enough detail in regard to engineering standards and requirements for infrastructure
construction in regional Victoria. It was required as a guideline document to supplement
the provisions of Rescode. It is therefore not the intent of the IDM to create additional
planning controls but only to act as a guide for the provision and construction of
infrastructure.
The inclusion of the IDM as only a reference document in the Planning Scheme does not
give it enough weight in the planning decision making process for infrastructure
provision. This is because as a reference document, the IDM is external to the Planning
Scheme and is used only as a source of useful background information. The use of the
IDM specifications in planning permit conditions carries the risk of being overturned at
the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) and so the statutory planners are
reluctant to give them adequate weight. The formal recognition of the IDM in the
Planning Scheme by including it in the MSS, minimises this risk.
PAGE 44
The inclusion of further reference to the IDM in Clause 21.09 of the Planning Scheme will
give the IDM further weight and certainty because developers will be able to incorporate
engineering costs into their feasibility analysis at the planning stage of the development.
The Amendment will therefore streamline the land development process.
The Minister for Planning may exempt himself from giving notice of an Amendment
before he approves it under Section 20(4) of the Act.
However, consultation with the development industry and other parties occurred before
the IDM was adopted by Council in 2007. The City of Greater Shepparton (one of the
three founding members of the IDM) has recently, successfully completed its own
Planning Scheme Amendment which was advertised State-wide to include the IDM in its
planning scheme and according to the Panel report for the Amendment, it received high
level support from around Victoria.
The IDM is also a document which is managed, reviewed and updated in a process run
by the LGIDA Technical Committee and it is accessible publicly at
www.designmanual.com.au/
As the IDM has widely been accepted and used by the land development industry and
various councils including the City of Greater Bendigo for more than 10 years and it is
already a reference document in the Planning Scheme, it is not expected that further
consultation is required.
Conclusion
In summary, the Amendment will not introduce any new permit trigger in the planning
scheme but only provides for further guidance on planning decision making. Given the
length of time that the IDM has been used by both land developers and councils around
Victoria as a guide to determine construction standards for infrastructure, the IDM is
deemed to be a robust technical document that should be given more weight in the land
development process and therefore, should be part of the Planning Scheme.
Subsequently, piloting the SIG for 12 months will allow Council to immediately
incorporate no/low cost opportunities into Council and development projects. Review of
its use, outcomes and feedback during that time will inform whether ongoing adoption
and implementation of the SIG should occur. It is recommended that Council supports
the proposed Amendment to the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme and supports the
12-month trial of the SIG.
Options
Council has the option of:

• Supporting the Ministerial Planning Scheme Amendment in its current form.
• Requesting the Minister for Planning to make changes to the Amendment before its
final approval by the Minister for Planning.
• Refusing to support the Ministerial Planning Scheme Amendment.
PAGE 45
• Supporting the 12-month trial of the Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines with the
potential for ongoing adoption and implementation once a review of the use,
outcomes and feedback provided has been considered.
• Refusing to support the 12-month trial of the Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines.
There will be no impact on the future resources of the Council as planning permit activity
will not be increased as a result of this Amendment.
Attachments
• Explanatory Report
• Draft Clause 21.09
PAGE 46
Wellbeing and Fairness - Reports Ordinary Meeting - 17 October 2018
4. WELLBEING AND FAIRNESS
4.1 BENDIGO MAUBISSE FRIENDSHIP COMMITTEE MEMBER

APPOINTMENTS
Author Daniella McClure, Acting Manager Community Partnerships
Responsible Vicky Mason, Director Health and Wellbeing

Director
Purpose
For Council to consider the recommended member appointments for the six vacant
positions on the Bendigo Maubisse Friendship Committee.
Summary
The Bendigo Maubisse Friendship Committee (BMFC) is a Special Committee of Council

under Section 86 of the Local Government Act 1989.
The BMFC must comprise a minimum of 16 representatives and be appointed by Council

resolution following an expression of interest process.
Committee members are appointed for a 1, 2 or 3 year term and may renominate for a
further term through expression of interest.
At June 30 2018 the term of six committee members expired. In order to fill the
vacancies the City proceeded to run a public expression of interest process in June and
July 2018.
Two of the six members that have an expired term have renominated, as have an
additional four community members.
The City has undertaken an evaluation of the suitability of the applicants, with support
from two existing BMFC members and Councillor Jennifer Alden as the Chair of BMFC.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council appoint to the Bendigo Maubisse Friendship Committee for a three year
term: Bradley Christian, Amanda Lonergan, John Jones, Susan Griffiths, Milton Long and
Jenny Feiss.
PAGE 47
Policy Context
Community Plan Reference:
Greater Bendigo Community Plan 2017-2021:
Goal 2 Wellbeing and Fairness
Inclusive policies, partnerships and projects that increase access,

improve health and learning opportunities, by building better
connections and quality of life for all.
Objective 2.2.3 Build on partnerships and coordination of information with health and
other agencies
Council Policy Reference (include weblink as applicable):
International Relations Policy
The Greater Bendigo Council relationship with Timor Leste commenced in late 2006
when it established the BMFC to work with the community of Maubisse. The BMFC
works on a community to community basis to undertake a range of projects to assist the
people of Maubisse in the District of Ainaro in Timor Leste.
The BMFC contributes to improving standards of living, access to essential services,

training, capacity building, arts and social programs in the Maubisse community.
The BMFC functions formally as a Special Committee of Council under Section 86 of the
Local Government Act 1989 (the Act). The Act provides for a Council to delegate some
of its functions, duties or powers to Special Committees that then operate under an
Instrument of Delegation.
Section 86 Committees are, in essence, an extension of Council. They are subject to the
same stringent governance and administrative requirements as Council and therefore
compliance is important. Current and former Mayors and Councillors have had a strong
involvement with these committees, and have been a part of visiting delegations (the
most recent being Mayor Councillor Margaret O’Rourke in January 2017 and Deputy
Mayor Councillor Jen Alden in 2018).
Administrative support is provided to work with the BMFC and upload minutes of
meetings, provide general administrative advice and oversee the arrangements such as
insurance for each delegation travelling to Timor Leste.
In September 2018 a presentation briefing was made to Council by the BMFC to provide
background, recent achievements and current priorities, as well as presenting the
2016/17 Annual Report.
The Instrument of Delegation outlines the list of members and the length of term for each
member.
PAGE 48
The BMFC felt it was important to have a staggered expiry term for membership to
ensure a good level of continuity was maintained. As a result, this means that each year
there will be at least four committee positions that become available. The City facilitated
the expression of interest process and makes a recommendation to Council on the
appointments.
Previous Council Decision(s) Date(s):
April 2017 – Council supported the revised Instrument of Delegation for BMFC which
included a list of members and the expiry dates of their membership terms.
August 2017 – Council appointed four members for a three year term.
Report
As a Special Committee BMFC are obligated to comply with the requirements of the Act.
In addition to the Act the operations and work of the BMFC are guided by their current
Instrument of Delegations which states the following:
The Special Committee shall comprise a minimum of 16 representatives and be

appointed by Council resolution following an expression of interest process.
Composition of the Special Committee shall be at least:

• 14 community members;
• 1 City of Greater Bendigo councillor;
• 1 officer of the City of Greater Bendigo
Committee members will be appointed for a 1, 2 or 3 year term and may renominate
through expression of interest for a further term.
The Councillor representative is Jennifer Alden and the officer representative is Steven
Abbott, Manager Community Partnerships.
At June 30 2018 the term of six sitting community members expired and therefore these
positions became available. The City proceeded to run a public expression of interest
process for these six available positions in June and July 2018.
The opportunity to express an interest was advertised on the City’s social media
accounts, in local newspapers, on the City’s website and via a direct email out to the
distribution list of BMFC.
Two of the six members that have an expired term have renominated, as have an
additional four community members.
A small committee was formed to undertake an evaluation of suitability of the applicants

and make the recommendation to Council. This committee was made up of two BMFC
members (Barry Secombe and Heather Ridge), Councillor Jennifer Alden as Chair of
BMFC and Steven Abbott Manager Community Partnerships as City of Greater Bendigo
representative.
PAGE 49
This evaluation committee met on the 13 August 2018.
The evaluation committee considered the applicants responses to the following

questions:
• Why would you like to join the Bendigo Maubisse Friendship Committee or
serve another term?
• What personal skills do you have that you feel would be relevant to be part of
the committee?
• Do you have, or are you interested in, developing skills in governance, strategy,
risk and finance?
• Do you have experience in, or an understanding of, a community development
approach to partnerships that support diversity, equity and human rights?
• Do you have experience in international relations and/or cultural diversity?
• Do you believe you have strong communication skills and can you give us an
example of when you have used these skills?
• What do you believe is needed to be part of a committee that provides fairness
to all members and stakeholders?
The following applicants received the highest score and have therefore been
recommended for appointment:
• Bradley Christian
• Amanda Lonergan
• John Jones
• Susan Griffiths
• Milton Long
• Jenny Feiss
Changes as a result of renewed BMFC membership results in minimal additional

resources from the City of Greater Bendigo, e.g., small administrative tasks such as
changing contact lists.
Attachments
Nil
PAGE 50
4.2 2018/19 COMMUNITY GRANT PROGRAM - LARGE GRANTS
Author Narelle Lyle, Strong Communities Officer
Responsible Vicky Mason, Director Health and Wellbeing

Director
Purpose
To recommend funding allocations for Large Grants from the 2018/19 Community Grants
Program for both 2018/19 and 2019/20.
Summary
The Community Grants Program Expressions of Interest for Large Grants opened on
July 1, 2018 and closed on July 31, 2018, with 27 submissions received
After consideration by council officers, against the guidelines, 20 applicants were invited
to submit an application and subsequently attend an interview. One applicant
consequently withdrew from the process.
The Budget allocation for Year One of the Large Grants funding is $325,000 with Year
Two of the funding to be confirmed in 2019/20 Budget.
The total amount of funding sought from twenty applications was $482,592 in Year One
and $453,248 in Year Two.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council:
1. Endorse the Community Assessment Panels’ (Panel) recommendations to allocate

$312,200 funding in the Large Grant category to fifteen applicants in 2018/19
2. Endorse the Panels’ recommendations to allocate $287,928 funding in the Large

Grant category to fifteen applicants in 2019/20
3. Approve the reallocation of the remaining $13,000 in Large Grants funds into other
grant programs covered by the Community Granting Policy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PAGE 51
Policy Context
City of Greater Bendigo Community Plan 2017-2021:

Goal 1 Lead and govern for all
Objective 1.4 Be accountable and efficient in the use of the community’s money
Goal 2 Wellbeing and fairness
Objective 2.3 Promote community connection
Council Policy Reference:
Community Granting Policy (Policy) and Guidelines for the City of Greater Bendigo Grant
Program (Guidelines)
This report relates to 2018/19 Community Grants Large Grant funding.
In accordance with the Community Grant Policy Guidelines, Expressions of Interest

(EOI) were called for from local community groups and organisations. Three Council
Officers assessed the EOI’s against the selection criteria and Partnership Test. 27 EOI’s
were received and after assessment, 20 were invited to submit an application.
The Panel’s role was to consider the applications received and to develop funding
recommendations for Council consideration in line with the strategies embedded within
the Guidelines ensuring transparency in decision making. The Guidelines require Council
to consult with the respective Panel prior to the resolution of funding allocations if any
variations to Panel funding recommendations are proposed.
Previous Council Decision(s) Date(s):
Report
16 December 2015: Council appointed the Community Assessment Panel members.
21 March 2018: Council adopted the revised Policy and Guidelines.
PAGE 52
Organisation Project Amount Amount Amount

Description Sought Sought Recommended
2018/19 2019/20 2018/19 2019/20
Marong Marong 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000
Neighbourhood Neighbourhood
House House
Operations
Bendigo Strengthening 25,000 25,000 20,000 20,000
Neighbourhood our community
House by expanding
programs
Long Gully Long Gully 25,000 25,000 20,000 20,000
Community Centre Community
Garden
Bendigo Volunteer Renewing 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000
Resource Centre BVRC direction
Creatability/Golden Strategic 25,000 25,000 20,000 20,000

City Support development
Services and
engagement
implementation
Karen Culture and Community 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000
Social Support Worker
Lifeline Central Vic Training of 9,200 18,952 9,200 18,952

& Mallee Crisis Support
Counsellors
Eaglehawk Community 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000
Neighbourhood Development
House programs in
Eaglehawk
Heathcote Preparing the 23,671 25,000 13,000 15,000
Community new centre in
Children’s Heathcote
Services Assoc. community
Bendigo Sustainable 25,000 25,000 15,000 15,000

Sustainability future activities
Group
Old Church on the Community 25,000 23,976 25,000 23,976

Hill Strengthening
project to
expand, reach
and increase
programs
Kangaroo Flat Building 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000
Community House community
connections and
implement new
PAGE 53
Organisation Project Amount Amount Amount

Description Sought Sought Recommended
2018/19 2019/20 2018/19 2019/20
programs
Heathcote Strengthening 25,000 25,000 20,000 20,000
Community House our community
by delivering
programs
Biolinks Alliance Creating and 25,000 10,320 20,000 10,000
supporting
Biolinks plans
for Heathcote
Guide Dogs Vic Improving local 25,000 25,000 25,000 0
outcomes by
establishing an
office in Bendigo
TOTAL 357,871 353, 248 312,200 287,928
Priority/Importance:
Successful and unsuccessful applicants are advised via email of their application
outcome following Council’s resolution.
Successful applicants are required to enter into a Funding Agreement (FA) with the City
of Greater Bendigo (City). The FA outlines the scope of the funded project as well as the
City’s and the grant recipient’s responsibilities. Funds are only released to grant
recipients upon receipt of the signed FA and an invoice.
Funding offers may be revoked if a signed FA and an invoice are not received within 30
days of the funding offer being made. Funds are only released annually to recipients
upon receipt of the signed FA and an invoice (Year One) and their progress/evaluation
report and invoice (Year Two).
Unsuccessful applicants are encouraged to contact the Strong Communities Officer for
clarification and assistance with future applications.
Timelines:
Initiatives funded under large grants are required to:
• Commence on or after October 18, 2018;

• Be completed within one year of receiving funds; and,
• Submit Project Evaluation Forms / Acquittals within 60 days of project
completion. Recipients who do not fulfil this requirement may be ineligible to
receive further City funding.
PAGE 54
Risk Analysis:
All applications were assessed in line with the Policy and Guidelines.
All Panel members were required to declare conflicts of interest prior to assessment of
applications. Where conflicts of interest were declared, Panel members were required to
leave the room when the respective applications were being assessed.
The Panel is required to recommend funding allocations that are within the set budget for
the category.
The Community Partnerships Unit facilitated two free grant seeking and writing
workshops in the lead up to the grant applications opening in July 2018. They were
attended by 42 representatives from various community groups.
Budget Allocation in the Current Financial Year:
The budget for Large Grants is $325,000 for 2018/19.
The Panel have recommended 15 of the 20 applicants (or 75%) be allocated funding.
The total amount of Large Grant funding recommended by the Panel for Year One
(2018/19) is $312,200.
The total amount of Large Grant funding recommended by the Panel for Year Two
(2019/20) is $287,928.
Attachments
1. Confidential Attachment; Unsuccessful Large Grants 2018
PAGE 55
Strengthening the Economy
Environmental Sustainability
Embracing Our Culture and Heritage Ordinary Meeting - 17 October 2018
5. STRENGTHENING THE ECONOMY
Nil.
6. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Nil.
7. EMBRACING OUR CULTURE AND HERITAGE
Nil.
PAGE 56
Lead and Govern For All - Reports Ordinary Meeting - 17 October 2018
8. LEAD AND GOVERN FOR ALL
8.1 AUDIT COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON’S ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018
Responsible Andrew Cooney, Director Corporate Performance

Director
Summary/Purpose
For Council to formally receive the Audit Committee Chairperson’s Annual Report for
2017/18 and to acknowledge the work of the Audit Committee.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council formally receive the Audit Committee Chairperson’s Annual Report for
2017/18 and acknowledge the work of the Audit Committee.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Policy Context
Council Plan Reference:

City of Greater Bendigo Council Plan 2017-2021
Goal: 1 Lead and govern for all
Objective:1.2 Be innovative and financially responsible
Report
• The role of the Audit Committee is to assist the Councillors, management and
staff by providing independent appraisals of Internal control systems;
• The arrangements in place to safeguard assets and resources;
• The overall effectiveness of the use of Council assets and resources.
• Compliance with legislative requirements and Council's policies and
procedures;
• The integrity of information;
• Organisational effectiveness in terms of program efficiency and economy
against the Corporate Plan;
• The effectiveness of the internal and external audit functions and the
communication between the external auditor, internal audit, management and
the Council; and
• To provide timely advice to Council on any matters which may be referred to it
by Council.
PAGE 57
The membership of the Audit Committee for 2017/18 comprised: Independent Members
Mr Ken Belfrage (Chair), Mr Graham Bastian and Mr Warren Pollock and Councillors
Margaret O’Rourke (Mayor) and George Flack.
Clause 12 of the Audit Committee Charter requires that the Chairperson shall report to
Council an annual summary of the activities and achievements of the Committee during
the financial year.
The Chairperson’s report is set out below.
Attachments
Nil
PAGE 58
Annual Report from the Audit Committee Chairperson
The Audit Committee is a formally appointed Advisory Committee of Council and is responsible
to that body. The Committee's role is to report to Council and provide appropriate advice and
recommendations relevant to its charter in order to facilitate decision making by Council. The
Audit Committee plays a key role in assisting Council to fulfil its governance and overseeing
responsibilities in relation to financial reporting, internal control, the risk management system,
ethical accountability and the internal and external audit functions.
The main objectives of the Audit Committee are to assist the Councillors, Management and Staff
by providing independent appraisals of:
• internal control systems;
• the arrangements in place to safeguard assets and resources;
• compliance with legislative requirements and Council's policies and procedures;
• the integrity of information;
• organisational effectiveness in terms of program efficiency and economy against the Council
Plan;
• the effectiveness of the internal and external audit functions and the communication
between the external auditor, internal audit, management and the Council; and
• to provide timely advice to Council on any matters which may be referred to it by Council.
The membership of the Audit Committee for 2017/18 comprised:
• Three Independent Members

o Ken Belfrage (Chair),
o Graham Bastian,
o Warren Pollock
• Two Councillors
o Margaret O’Rourke
o George Flack
The independent members serve a three year term on a rotating basis. The Audit Charter
requires that all reappointments following each independent member’s second term must be
publicly advertised. Graham Bastian completed his second term on 1 October 2017 and was
successful in being reappointed.
During the past 12 months the Audit Committee held four meetings. The key focus of the
Committee is to oversee the conduct of External Audit and Internal Audit, recommend the
approval of the Annual Financial Statements to Council, and review the management of risks for
Council. The Audit Committee also reviewed the relevant local government and sector wide
VAGO reports for applicability to City of Greater Bendigo.
During the year under review, Internal Audit services were provided by Crowe Horwath in the
third year of a three year contract. The program is not limited to financial matters but extends
to organisational performance, efficiency and effectiveness.
PAGE 59
The Internal Audit program undertaken by Crowe Horwath in 2017/18 included the following:
• Purchasing/Credit Cards
• Fraud Management and Prevention
• Human Resources
• Building Maintenance (Essential Safety Measures)
The recommendations made by the Internal Auditors, and adopted by the Committee, are then
transferred to management for implementation. A regular review is undertaken to assess which
recommendations have been completed.
At June 30, 2018 there were 15 high risk and 17 medium risk items that remained outstanding
from the audit recommendations. The outstanding high risk actions are in respect to:
• Portable and attractive asset management
• Management of contaminated lands
• Depot operations
• Purchasing/credit card review
The Committee remains of the view that opportunities exist for the improvement of processes
for the recognition and management of risks that may have an impact on the Council. Following
changes to personnel with the responsibility of this area we look forward to improvements in
reporting of the actions taken to manage this area.
Officers have been diligently actioning the recommended actions included in the reports which
has resulted in a significant reduction in the number if actions outstanding at the end of the
year. As a result a number of key improvements/changes have been made to policies and
procedures.
A function of the Audit Committee includes oversight of the External Audit activity. During the
year the Committee were provided with the Audit Plan together with the Interim Audit
Management Letter. At year end the Committee meets with the External Auditor to review the
Annual Financial Statements, the Closing Audit Report and the Final Management Letter.
I am pleased to report that the Committee has met its objectives during the past year.
Ken Belfrage
Chair
PAGE 60
8.2 AUDIT COMMITTEE DRAFT CHARTERS
Author/Responsible
Director Andrew Cooney, Director Corporate Performance
Summary/Purpose
For Council to consider and adopt the proposed Audit and Risk Committee Charter and a
new Internal Audit Charter.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council adopt the Audit and Risk Committee Charter and the Internal Audit Charter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Policy Context
Council Plan Reference:

City of Greater Bendigo Council Plan 2017-2021
Goal: 1 Lead and govern for all
Objective:1.2 Be innovative and financially responsible
Background Report
The Audit Committee is required to review the Audit Committee Charter annually to
identify and accommodate any changes to obligations and for the purposes of
continuous improvement.
The opportunity has also been taken to make modifications to reflect the requirements of
the new Local Government Bill. Whilst this Bill is yet to be adopted by Parliament it is
considered the proposals reflect good governance principles supported by Council.
In addition a new Internal Audit Charter has been developed to set out a framework on
how internal audit will function.
The Audit Committee has recommended both these draft Charters be adopted by
Council.
PAGE 61
Draft Audit and Risk Committee Charter
The Audit and Risk Committee Charter replaces the current Audit Committee Charter
and reflects an expanded role for the Audit Committee.
The Charter has been developed to comply with the new Local Government Bill, and will
provide greater oversight of the City’s risks. The first notable change is the expanded
role to include ‘Risk’.
Other key changes incorporated into the Charter include:
• More clearly defined roles and responsibilities of the Audit Committee,

• More clearly defined roles and responsibilities of members,
• Greater emphasis on risk management reporting,
• Easier to read format including index with a record of amendments to the Charter.
There is an emphasis on enhanced risk reporting which will provide the Committee with a
greater oversight of risks underpinning the Audit program. It will also allow a greater
capacity to check-in on City performance and provide insight into any uncertainties that
may be impacting the achievement of objectives.
In order to accommodate the expanded role of the Committee the new Charter enables
an increase in Councillors and independent members. In order to reflect the
requirements of the Local Government Bill currently before Parliament, the Committee
will continue to comprise a majority of independent members.
Draft Internal Audit Charter
This is a new Charter proposed to detail the obligations and function of Internal Audit.
The Charter sets out the framework for the conduct of the internal audit which is not
currently formalised as part of a Charter.
Details include:
• Roles and responsibilities of Internal Audit

• How Internal Audit is to be prepared and implemented
• How Internal Audit will report to the Audit Committee
• Clarity regarding the Internal Audit process
Attachments
1. Draft Audit and Risk Committee Charter

2. Draft Internal Audit Charter
PAGE 62
AUDIT and RISK COMMITTEE

CHARTER
REVIEWED July 2018
PAGE 63
Revisions
Council first adopted an Audit Committee Charter in April 2002.
The following amendments have been made since that date:
• Revised June 2009.
• Revised 7 December 2011. Updated Committee members.
• Revised 5 April 2011. Updated Committee members.
• Revised 23 May 2012. The Audit Committee
• Revised 20 November 2014. The Audit Committee reviewed the Charter,

but no changes were made.
• Revised 19 December 2016 (Various amendments including changing of

some Objectives). These amendments were as a result of a review
conducted by the Committee.
• Revised 9 March 2017 (Various amendments). These amendments were

as a result of a review conducted by the Committee, in accordance with
Section 6.8 of the Charter.
• Revised 2 March 2018. These amendments were recommended by the

Division of Local Government in their revised internal Audit Guidelines
issued in September 2010.
• July 2018 revised to expand scope of Charter to include Risk

management
PAGE 64
Table of contents
1. Committee Objectives 4
2. Authority 4
3. Composition and Tenure 4
3.1 Members (voting) 4

3.2 Attendees (non-voting) for all agenda items 5
3.3 Invitees (non-voting) for specific agenda items 5
3.4 Observers (non-voting for all agenda items 5
4. Role and Responsibilities 5
4.1 Risk Management 6

4.2 Control Framework 6
4.3 External Accountability 6
4.4 Legislative Compliance 7
4.5 Internal Audit 7
4.6 External Audit 7
4.7 Financial Reporting 8
4.8 Accounting and Finance Policies 8
4.9 Insurance Liability and Professional Indemnity 8
4.10 Other Significant Matters 8
4.11 Relationships 8
4.12 Responsibilities of Members 9
5. Reporting 9
6. Administrative Arrangements 9
6.1 Meetings of the Committee 10

6.2 Attendance at meetings and quorums 10
6.3 Secretariat 10
6.4 Agendas, Minutes, Internal Audit reports and
supporting papers 10
6.5 Conflicts of Interests 10
6.6 Remuneration 11
6.7 Confidentiality 11
6.8 Removal of a member 11
6.9 Dispute Resolution 11
6.10 Assessment Arrangements 11
6.11 Review of Audit and Risk Committee 11
6.12 Register of Audit and Risk Committee Members 11
PAGE 65
1. Committee Objectives
The main objective of the City of Greater Bendigo Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) is to
provide independent assurance and assistance to the Council on risk management, control,
governance, and external accountability responsibilities by providing independent appraisals
of:
• internal control systems;
• the arrangements in place to safeguard assets and resources;
• the overall effectiveness of the use of Council assets and resources;
• compliance with legislative requirements and Council’s policies and procedures;
• the management of risks by the organisation; reviewing of the organisations risk
appetite and integration of risk into business and strategic decision making.
• review of insurance adequacy and coverage
• the integrity of information;
• organisational effectiveness in terms of program efficiency and economy against the
Community Plan;
• the effectiveness of the internal and external audit functions and the communication
between the external auditor, internal auditor, management and the Council; and
• to provide timely advice to Council on any matters which may be referred to it by
Council.
2. Authority
The Council authorises the ARC as a whole, but not individual members of the Committee,
within the scope of its role and responsibilities, to:
• Obtain any information it needs from any employee or external party

(subject to their legal obligations to protect information).
• Discuss any matters with the external auditor or other external parties
(subject to confidentiality considerations).
• Request the attendance of any employee or councillor at Committee
meetings.
• Obtain external legal or other professional advice considered necessary to
meet its responsibilities.
• Access with the Chief Executive Officer at any time
• Recommend the instigation of special investigations to Council
3. Composition and Tenure
3.1 Members (voting)
ARC will consist of a minimum of five voting members. Voting members will include a
minimum of two Councillors and three independent members external to Council. The
independent external members shall be the majority of the number of voting members. One of
the independent members of ARC will be the chair of the Committee. The Chairperson shall
be appointed by the Committee and must be one of the three external members of the
Committee. The appointment of the Chairperson must take place annually at the first internal
Audit meeting after 1 January each year.
PAGE 66
The independent external members of the Committee will be appointed for a term of three (3)
years, after which they will be eligible for extension or re-appointment following a formal
review of their performance. All reappointments following each independent member’s second
term must be publicly advertised.
ARC members terms commence and are reviewed on 1 October each year.
Expressions of interest will be publically advertised no later 20 September each year for
vacating members.
A recruitment process is then undertaken with interviews of potential candidates with the:
Chair of The Audit and Risk Committee

Mayor
Chief Executive Officer.
If the recruitment is for a new Chair, then another member of the Risk and Audit Committee
will undertake the interviews.
Upon agreement of the newly selected ARC member, a recommendation of appointment

report is presented to Council and then a letter of appointment is mailed out.
Audit and Risk Committee members
The Councillor member of ARC will be appointed annually at the Council meeting to elect the
Mayor, Deputy Mayor and members of other committees.
Council may also appoint an alternate Councillor member to ARC to attend meetings in the
absence of the Councillor member. The alternate Councillor member will have the same
voting rights as the Councillor member.
The independent representatives will have expertise in financial management and risk and
experience in public sector management , demonstrated commitment to local communities
and be conversant with financial and other reporting requirements.
3.2 Attendees (non-voting) for all agenda items
ARC will also include the following as non-voting attendees:
• The Chief Executive Officer or nominated delegate.

• Director Corporate Performance
• Manager Financial Strategy
• Manager Governance
• Council’s Internal and External Auditors are to attend meetings as required to
present their reports and findings in an advisory capacity, unless requested not to
do so by the Chair of the Committee.
3.3 Invitees (non-voting) for specific agenda items
Representatives of Council’s external auditor and other Council officers may attend ARC
meetings by invitation as requested by the Committee.
3.4 Observers (non-voting) for all agenda items
Councillors who are not ARC members may attend meetings of ARC as observers.
PAGE 67
4. Role and Responsibilities
In carrying out its responsibilities, ARC must at all times recognise that primary responsibility
for management of Council rests with the elected Council and the Chief Executive Officer in
accordance with the Local Government Act 1989.
The responsibilities of ARC may be revised or expanded by the Council from time to time. As
set out below, the Committees responsibilities can be categorised under the headings of Risk
Management; Council’s Control Framework; External Accountability; Legislative Compliance;
and Internal and External Audit.
4.1 Risk Management
ARC is responsible for:
• To work with management to achieve a sound and effective approach in

managing the Council’s risk
• To assess the impact of Council’s risk management framework and its control and
insurance arrangements
• Reviewing the impact of the risk management framework on its control
environment and insurance arrangements; and
• To monitor that Council has established business continuity planning
arrangements
• To review fraud control arrangements and be satisfied that processes and
systems in place detect, capture and respond to fraud-related information
• In relation to fraud, review the fraud and corruption control plan any prevention
systems and controls.
4.2 Control Framework
• Reviewing whether management has adequate internal controls in place, including

over external parties such as contractors and advisors;
• Reviewing whether management has in place relevant policies and procedures,
and these are periodically reviewed and updated;
• Progressively reviewing whether appropriate processes are in place to assess
compliance with policies and procedures;
• Reviewing whether appropriate policies and procedures are in place for the
management and exercise of delegations; and
• Reviewing whether management has taken steps to embed a culture which is
committed to ethical and lawful behaviour.
4.3 External Accountability
• Satisfying itself that the annual financial reports comply with applicable Australian
Accounting Standards and are supported by appropriate management sign-off on
the statements and the adequacy of internal controls;
• Review the external audit opinion, including whether appropriate action has been
taken in response to audit recommendations and adjustments;
PAGE 68
• Considering contentious financial reporting matters in conjunction with Council’s

management and external auditors;
• Reviewing the processes in place designed to ensure financial information
included in the annual report is consistent with the signed financial statements;
• Satisfying itself there are appropriate mechanisms in place to review and
implement, where appropriate, relevant State Government reports and
recommendations;
• Satisfying itself there is a performance management framework linked to
organisational objectives and outcomes.
4.4 Legislative Compliance
• Determining whether management has appropriately considered legal and

compliance risks as part of risk assessment and management arrangements;
• Reviewing the effectiveness of the system for monitoring compliance with relevant
laws, regulations and associated government policies.
• The Committee is not a special committee under Section 86 of the Local
Government Act (1993). It is an advisory committee for the purposes of the Act.
4.5 Internal Audit
• To recommend to Council the contents of the tender specification for the provision
of internal auditing services
• To make recommendations to Council on the appointment and remuneration of
the internal auditor
• To undertake a three yearly assessment of significant risks and exposures to
establish the priorities for Internal Audit and recommendations to Council for
improvement
• To and recommend to Council an Annual Internal Audit Plan having regard to
Council’s budget and objectives
• To consider Internal Audit as completed and recommend to Council, actions that
result in improved performance in these areas
• Once per annum, receive a report from the Internal Auditor on completion of items
in the Annual Internal Audit plan and the implementation by management of
recommendations adopted by ARC
4.6 External Audit
• To obtain and review a copy of the external audit annual plan

• To review the performance of the external auditor
• To discuss matters arising from the external audit with the external auditor
• To review the Annual Financial Statements prior to their approval by Council
• To recommend to Council the adoption of the Annual Financial Statements and
Performance Statement
• To make comment on management’s response to the external auditor’s report
• To monitor the implementation by management of the external auditor’s
recommendations which are adopted by Council
• To meet with the external auditor as required
PAGE 69
• To obtain a copy of the Auditor General’s Annual Report for review and comment
ARC may, at any time, consider any other matter it deems of sufficient importance to do so.
4.7 Financial Reporting
• To work with management to ensure that Council receives reliable, timely,

understandable and meaningful financial information
• On a quarterly basis, receive the Council's financial report as presented to the
Finance Committee
• To monitor compliance with statutory requirements and Council policy for financial
reporting
• To review any litigation, claim or contingency which could had a material effect on
the Council’s financial position or operating result
• To obtain a copy of the adopted Annual Council Budget
4.8 Accounting and Finance Policies
• To consider recent developments in accounting principles or reporting practices

that may affect Council
• To at least annually review the Council’s accounting principles, policies and
practices as outlined in the Annual Financial Statements
• To review the Council’s Finance policies
4.9 Insurance Liability and Professional Indemnity Cover
• To review liability and professional insurance policies and covers for adequacy
• Receive from management, on an annual basis, a copy of insurance liability and
professional indemnity policies and review them for adequacy
4.10 Other Significant Matters
• To work with Management to embed a culture which is committed to ethical and

lawful behaviour
• To review the information included in the Council’s annual report to ensure it is
consistent with the signed financial statements
• To determine if management has considered legal and compliance risks as part of
the Councils wider council risk management plan
4.11 Relationships
The relationship between ARC, the Council and the External and Internal Auditors is an
important one and is summarised as follows:
The Council is primarily responsible for the preparation of financial statements of the
organisation and the establishment and maintenance of a system of internal controls.
It also manages the organisation's affairs, in compliance with applicable laws and
regulations.
ARC assists Council in the fulfilment of its duties by overseeing the financial reporting
process and interacting with the external and internal auditors on behalf of Council.
The Auditor-General, as the external auditor, expresses an opinion on the financial

statements prepared by management and may conduct performance audits of
activities of the organisation.
PAGE 70
The internal auditor forms a part of management's system of internal control.
4.12 Responsibilities of Members
Members of the Committee are expected to:
• Broadly be aware of and understand the relevant legislative and regulatory

requirements appropriate to City of Greater Bendigo, particularly as these pertain
to individual matters under consideration by ARC.
• Contribute the time needed to study and understand the papers provided.
• Apply good analytical skills, objectivity and good judgment
•
Express opinions frankly and ask questions that go to the fundamental core of issues.ARC is a
separate activity and acts independently of Council and does not have any role in relation to
financial management issues or have any executory role or powers.
ARC does not have executive powers or authority to implement actions in areas over which
management has responsibility and does not have any delegated financial responsibility. ARC
does not have any management functions and is therefore independent of management.
ARC does not have any role in relation to issues normally addressed by Council or a sub
committee of Council, which may have delegated powers and financial management
responsibilities in relation to budgets, financing decisions and expenditure priorities.
5. Reporting
The Director of Corporate Performance shall, after every meeting, forward the minutes of that
meeting to Councillors, including a report explaining any specific recommendations and key
outcomes if relevant.
The Work Plan shall include for September an agenda item for the chair to present an annual
report. Biannually the ARC must prepare a report to the CEO for tabling at the next Council
meeting. The report must include a summary of the activities and achievements of ARC
including its findings and recommendations
The Chairperson shall report to Council any other matter ARC believes needs to be reported
to Council.
6. Administrative arrangements
6.1 Meetings of the Committee
ARC shall meet at least four times per year.
A schedule of meetings will be developed and agreed to by the members. The schedule of
meetings will be provided to the Internal Auditor and should coincide with the audit plan.
Additional meetings shall be convened at the discretion of the Chairperson or at the written
request of any member of the Committee, Internal or External Auditor.
In the absence of the appointed Chairperson from a meeting, ARC members present will
appoint one of the other independent members as an Acting Chairperson.
Management, including the Chief Executive Officer, may be asked to leave a meeting at any
time should the Chairperson consider it appropriate.
PAGE 71
An agenda must be prepared for each meeting and shall include general business for
members to raise other matters. Members of the community will be able to request copies of
minutes of ARC meetings.
At one meeting per year, time will be set aside with only Councillors and the independent
members in attendance (no officers in attendance) for the purpose of open discussion with the
Internal and/or External Auditors.
6.2 Attendance at Meetings and Quorums
A quorum will be a Majority of three (3) members of ARC, two (2) of which must be
independent representatives. Meetings can be held in person, by telephone or by video
conference.
6.3 Secretariat
The Manager Governance is to provide secretariat support to ARC. The ARC Secretariat will
ensure the agenda for each meeting and supporting papers are circulated, at least one week
before the meeting, and ensure minutes of the meetings are prepared and maintained.
Minutes shall be approved by the Chair and circulated to each member within four weeks of
the meeting being held.
6.4 Agendas, Minutes, Internal Audit Reports and Supporting Papers
Agendas and minutes of ARC will be made publicly available on Council’s website.
Supporting papers to the agenda considered by the ARC will be made publicly available on
Council’s website unless the business is of the following kind:
(a). personnel matters concerning particular individuals. (b).

personal hardship of any resident or ratepayer.
(c). Information that would, if disclosed, confer a commercial advantage on a person
with whom Council is conducting (or proposes to conduct) business.
(d). commercial information of a confidential nature that would, if disclosed:
i. prejudice the commercial position of a person who supplied it; or
ii. confer a commercial advantage on a competitor of Council;
iii. reveal a trade secret.
(e). Information that would, if disclosed, prejudice the maintenance of law.
(f). matters affecting the security of Council, Councillors, Council staff and Council
property.
(g). advice concerning litigation, or advice that would otherwise be privileged from
production in legal proceedings on the grounds of legal professional privilege.
(h). information concerning the nature and location of a place or an item of Aboriginal
significance on community land.
If the subject /business is of a kind listed above then those documents will be issued under
separate cover and are to be treated as confidential. The grounds for restricting public access
to documents will be stated in the agenda of ARC and an explanation provided of the way in
which public access would be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.
PAGE 72
6.5 Conflicts of Interest
ARC members, attendees, invitees, observers and Council staff must declare any conflicts of
interest at the start of each meeting or before discussion of a relevant agenda item or topic.
Details of any conflicts of interest should be appropriately minuted and be in accordance with
the Council’s Conflict of Interest Guide April 2015.
Where ARC members, attendees, invitees, observers or Council staff at Committee meetings
are deemed to have a real or perceived conflict of interest, they will be excused from ARC
deliberations on the issue where the conflict of interest may exist in accordance with Council’s
Conflict of Interest Guide April 2015.
6.6 Remuneration
Independent members of the ARC will be offered remuneration for carrying out their duties.
The remuneration of independent ARC members is to be determined following benchmarking
against similar municipalities.
6.7 Confidentiality
ARC members shall not directly or indirectly release or make available to any person any
information relating to the work or discussions of ARC of which he or she is a member that is or
was in his or her possession except in accordance with such terms and in such a manner as
stipulated by the City of Greater Bendigo.
6.8 Removal of a Member
If the Council propose to remove a member of ARC, it must give written notice of its intention
to do so and afford the member an opportunity to be heard by Council.
6.9 Dispute Resolution
In situations where a dispute arises between any member of the ARC and officers of Council,
the Chairperson will have the opportunity to raise the grievance with the Mayor. The Mayor
will have the discretion to resolve the dispute by convening a meeting with the disputing
parties.
6.10 Assessment Arrangements
The performance of ARC is to be reviewed annually in the final quarter of the calendar year.
The review of the performance of ARC is to be included in the ARC annual report to Council.
6.11 Review of Audit and Risk Committee Charter
The Audit and Risk Charter is to be reviewed by ARC annually in the final quarter of the
calendar year.
PAGE 73
6.12 Register of Audit and Risk Committee Members
Independent Members
Committee Member Appointment Date Re-appointed Review Date
Mr Warren Pollock 1 October 2016 1 October 2017 1 October 2022
Mr Graham Bastian 1 October 2017 N/A 1 October 2020
1 October 2015
Mr Ken Belfrage N/A 1 October 2018
Council Representatives
Committee Member Initial Appointment Date Re-appointed Review Date
Cr Margaret O’Rourke 19 December 2016 N/A Annually
Cr George Flack 19 December 2016 N/A Annually
PAGE 74
INTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER
PAGE 75
Internal Audit Charter

Introduction
City of Greater Bendigo undertakes an Internal Audit (IA) program as a key component of the Council’s
governance framework in accordance with best practice.
This charter provides the framework for the conduct of the IA function in the Council and has been
approved by the Council on the recommendation of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Purpose of Internal Audit
IA provides an independent and objective review service to provide assurance to the Council, Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) and Management that financial and operational controls:
• are designed to manage Council’s risks to support the achievement of the entity’s objectives;
• are operating in an efficient, effective and ethical manner; and
• assist management in improving the entity’s business performance.
Independence
To be effective, the IA function must be able to operate without being influenced or inhibited in the
discharge of its duties.
Independence is essential to the effectiveness of IA. It is obtained primarily through organisational status
and objectivity. Therefore, IA has no direct authority or responsibility for the activities it reviews. IA has no
responsibility for developing or implementing procedures or systems and does not prepare records or
engage in original line processing functions or activities.
IA reports functionally to the Audit and Risk Committee and administratively to the CEO (or nominated
officer) and is accountable for the efficient and effective operation of IA in partnership with the Councils
Integrity Unit who has responsibility for the facilitation of the IA program.
IA has direct access to the Chief Executive, the Chair and other members of the Audit and Risk
Committee.
Authority and Confidentiality
For the effective discharge of their duties, IA staff are authorised to have full, free and unrestricted access
to all functions, premises, assets, personnel, records, and other documentation and information that the IA
Engagement Principal considers necessary to enable IA to meet its responsibilities.
All records, documentation and information accessed in the course of undertaking IA activities are to be
used solely for the conduct of these activities. The IA Engagement Principal and individual internal audit
staff are responsible and accountable for maintaining the confidentiality of the information they receive
during the course of their work.
IA reports are deemed to be confidential reports of the Council. However, under its Legislation, the
Victorian Auditor General Office (VAGO) or its appointed auditors have access to all relevant Council
documents including internal audit reports.
Roles and responsibilities
The IA’s responsibilities are influenced by the governance arrangements established by the Council.
While IA is responsible for examining and evaluating the adequacy and effectiveness of controls over risks,
IA is not primarily responsible for the detection of fraud. That is management’s responsibility. However,
IA’s activities may identify instances of fraud or areas of high risk of fraud.
PAGE 76
IAs must have sufficient knowledge to evaluate the risk of fraud and the manner in which it is managed by
the organisation, but are not expected to have the expertise of a person whose primary responsibility is
detecting and investigating fraud.
Scope of internal audit activities
IA activities may include, but are not necessarily limited to:
Risk management
• Assisting management to identify risks and develop risk mitigation and monitoring strategies
through recommendations in the IA reports
• Assessing, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of risk mitigation strategies as a part of
its annual internal audit plan.
• Providing insights into current risk and audit trends; hot topics and focus areas
• Insights into risk root causes arising as an outcomes of the IA program
In addition to the above, IA may be required to carry out special reviews from time to time at the direction
of the Chief Executive Officer (or nominated officer) or the Audit and Risk Committee.
Audit support activities
From time to time, IA may also be responsible for:

• Assisting the Audit and Risk Committee to discharge its responsibilities;
• Secretarial support to the Audit and Risk Committee;
• Monitoring agreed recommendations; and
• Disseminating across the Council better practice issues and lessons learnt from its audit activities.
• Working with the Committee and Executive to develop a 3 year rolling IA program
Other services
The IA may provide ‘other services’ to the Council as requested. The provision of ‘other services’ shall
only occur subject to approval of the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. Matters to be considered by
the Audit and Risk Committee Chair include:
• The scope and scale of the other services, and
• Potential conflicts between the provision of the other services and internal audit.
Advisory services
IA can be considered for advisory services, where it is agreed by Council and the Internal Auditor that no
conflict exists
Standards
IA activities will be conducted in accordance with relevant professional standards including:

• Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing issued by the Institute of Internal
Auditors Inc;
• Standards relevant to internal audit issued by the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, CPA
Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants;
• The Statement on Information Systems Auditing Standards issued by the Information Systems and
Control Association; and
• Standards issued by Standards Australia and the International Standards Organisation (if
applicable).
In the conduct of internal audit work, IA staff will:

• Comply with relevant professional standards of conduct
• Possess the knowledge, skills and technical proficiency relevant to the performance of their duties
• Be skilled in dealing with people and communicating audit, risk management and related issues
effectively
PAGE 77
• Exercise due professional care in performing their duties.

• Undertake a CoGB Corporate induction to ensure understanding of CoGB policies as contractors
Planning
Internal Audit will prepare a risk-based 3 year rolling work plan (including an annual internal audit plan) for
the Audit and Risk Committee’s consideration.
Reporting
Internal Audit will report to each meeting of the Audit and Risk Committee on:
• Matters arising from previous meetings;
• Internal Audits completed;
• Progress against the delivery of the annual internal audit plan;
• Provision of other services (if any)
The internal audit reporting process is briefly described hereunder:
• Prior to the commencement of each engagement, Internal Audit will seek input from the Chief
Executive Officer (or nominated officer) during the planning and scoping phase.
• A Memorandum of Audit Planning (MAP) will be prepared by internal audit and will outline:
Name of the audit
Commencement date
Auditor in charge
Council’s contact
A brief introduction summarising the engagement
Objectives and scope
Review approach
Key milestones
Key personnel
Documentation requirements
Resources required and acknowledgement.
• The following key milestone dates will be documented in the MAP:

Scoping meeting with process owner
Memorandum of audit planning completed
Documentation/files (as listed below) to be provided prior to audit fieldwork
Field work to commence
Issue of draft report for management comments
Provision of management comments to internal audit
Final report with management comments for Audit and Risk Committee papers
Audit and Risk Committee
• The MAP will be:

forwarded to the Chief Executive Officer, and relevant Director (or nominated
officer) for review and approval, and
Circulated to EMT for noting
• The MAP may be tabled at the Audit and Risk Committee for approval to proceed
• Issues arising during the course of the review will be discussed with the relevant Director (or
nominated review owner) and where appropriate the Chief Executive Officer (or nominated
officer).
• Findings and observations will be documented and discussed in an informal ‘close out’ meeting at
the conclusion of the field work. The relevant Director and other Council staff are invited to attend
this meeting.
PAGE 78
• A draft report will be issued to the Chief Executive Officer (or nominated officer) for review of facts
and management responses by the date specified in the MAP
• Internal audit will meet with management to clarify any matters of disagreement or to provide
further clarification in relation to observations made if and when required.
• Responses to the recommendations should clearly state

That management agree with the recommendation
The proposed course of action
The officer responsible for implementing the recommendation
The due date for implementation
• In the normal course, Management responses should be received by the date specified in the
MAP
• The final report will be issued to Chief Executive Officer (or nominated officer) for distribution and
consideration at the Audit and Risk Committee.
Review of the Charter
This charter will be reviewed every three years or earlier if decided by the Audit and Risk Committee. Any
substantive changes will be formally approved by the Council on the recommendation of the Audit and Risk
Committee.
PAGE 79
8.3 RECORD OF ASSEMBLIES
Author Jessica Clarke-Hong, Manager Governance

Director
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to provide the record of any assembly of Councillors, which
has been held since the last Council Meeting, so that it can be recorded in the Minutes of
the formal Council Meeting.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council endorse the record of assemblies of Councillors as outlined in this report.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Policy Context
City of Greater Bendigo Community Plan 2017-2021:

Goal 1 Effective community engagement will guide well informed,
responsive decision-making and financially responsible resource
allocations, which are transparent and accountable.
A meeting will be an assembly of Councillors if it considers matters that are likely to be

the subject of a Council decision, or, the exercise of a Council delegation and the
meeting is:
1. A planned or scheduled meeting that includes at least half the Councillors (5) and a
member of Council staff; or
2. an advisory committee of the Council where one or more Councillors are present.
The requirement for reporting provides increased transparency and the opportunity for
Councillors to check the record, particularly the declarations of conflict of interest.
PAGE 80
Report
Meeting Information
Meeting Hearing of public submission on proposed sale of 49 Napier
Name/Type Street, Eaglehawk
Meeting Date 31 July 2018
Matters discussed 1. Hearing of public submission on proposed sale of 49
Napier Street, Eaglehawk
Attendees/Apologies
Councillors Cr Margaret O'Rourke
Cr Rod Fyffe
Cr Andrea Metcalf
Cr James Williams
Staff/ Ms Debbie Wood
Community Mr Andy Walker
Representatives
Conflict of Interest disclosures

Matter Councillor/officer making disclosure Councillor/officer left
No. meeting
Nil
PAGE 81
Meeting Information
Meeting Councillors' Briefing
Name/Type
Meeting Date 13 August 2018
Matters discussed 1. Aged and Disability Reform Research Project
2. Home Support Service Review
3. Regional Library Agreement 2019-2023
4. Procurement Policy
5. Parking Services Review
6. Bendigo Tramways
Attendees/Apologies
Cr Jennifer Alden
Cr Matt Emond
Cr George Flack
Cr Rod Fyffe
Cr Andrea Metcalf
Cr James Williams
Apologies:
Cr Julie Hoskin
Cr Yvonne Wrigglesworth
Staff/ Mr Bernie O'Sullivan
Community Ms Vicky Mason
Representatives Ms Debbie Wood
Mr Steven Abbott
Mrs Jessica Clarke-Hong
Apology:
Mr Craig Niemann

No. meeting
Nil
PAGE 82
Meeting Information
Name/Type
Meeting Date 3 September 2018
Matters discussed 1. White Night
2. Councillor business planning
3. Rural roads
4. Flood management
5. Media events
6. Bendigo Volunteer Resource Centre
7. Organisation Health Check
8. Reimagining Bendigo Creek Plan
9. Strategic Heritage Assets
10. Place Interpretation and Naming Policy
11. Bendigo Maubisse Friendship Committee
12. Draft Ordinary Agenda Review
13. Subdivisions
Attendees/Apologies
Cr Jennifer Alden
Cr Matt Emond
Cr George Flack
Cr Rod Fyffe
Cr Andrea Metcalf
Cr James Williams
Apology;
Cr Julie Hoskin
Staff/ Mr Craig Niemann
Community Mr Bernie O'Sullivan
Representatives Ms Vicky Mason
Ms Debbie Wood
Mr Andrew Cooney
Mr Peter Hargreaves
Apology:

No. meeting
Nil
PAGE 83
Meeting Information
Name/Type
Matters discussed 1. MAV State Council Meeting resolutions
2. Home Support Service Review
3. Finance Committee Quarter 4
4. Planning matters and agenda review
5. Industrial Land Strategy
Attendees/Apologies
Cr Matt Emond
Cr George Flack
Cr Rod Fyffe
Cr Julie Hoskin
Cr Andrea Metcalf
Cr James Williams
Apology:
Cr Jennifer Alden
Ms Debbie Wood
Mr Andrew Cooney

No. meeting
Nil
PAGE 84
Meeting Information
Name/Type
Matters discussed 1. Local Government Taskforce - People Seeking Asylum
2. Review of Final Ordinary Meeting agenda
3. Big Hill and Mandurang Valley Landscape Amendment
4. Budget Process Feedback and Timetable 2019/2020
5. City Studio Pilot Review
6. Peter Krenz Leisure Centre Master Plan
7. Citizen of the Year process
8. Preparations for Annual Special Meeting of Council
November 2018
9. Review of 2018 Community Engagement
10. GovHub update
Attendees/Apologies
Cr George Flack
Cr Andrea Metcalf
Cr James Williams
Apology:
Cr Jennifer Alden
Cr Matt Emond
Cr Rod Fyffe
Cr Julie Hoskin
Ms Debbie Wood
Mr Andrew Cooney

No. meeting
Nil
PAGE 85
8.4 CONTRACTS AWARDED UNDER DELEGATION
Author Lee Taig, Contract Support Administrator, Governance Unit

Director
Purpose/Summary
The purpose of this report is to provide information on contracts recently awarded under
delegation.
RECOMMENDATION
That the contracts awarded under delegation, as outlined in this report, be noted by
Council.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Policy Context
Delivery of programs, projects and services that respond to community needs.

City of Greater Bendigo Community Plan 2017-2021
Goal 1 : Lead and govern for all
Objective: 1.2 Be innovative and financially responsible
PAGE 86
Report
Value Delegated
Contract No Project Successful Contractor Date Signed
(GST Excl) Officer
Service Contracts
Provision of Cash
Collection, Counting
Schedule 3 August
and Banking Services Linfox Armaguard Vicky Mason
of Rates 2018
CT000402 for Parking Payment
Stations
Current annual Council Budget for the goods/services contracted via this schedule of rates is
$50,000.00
1 Ashworth Demolition
Provision of Regional 2 DNA Earth Pty Ltd
Asbestos and 3 AAH Contracting Pty Schedule 28 August
Andrew Cooney
Hazardous Materials Ltd of Rates 2018
CT000387 Removal Services 4 Enviropacific Services
Pty Ltd
$160,000.00
Loading & Carting of
Schedule 3 September
Waste from Eaglehawk C & K Carter Haulage Craig Niemann
of Rates 2018
CT000410 Landfill
$2,400,000.00
PAGE 87
9. URGENT BUSINESS
Nil.
PAGE 88
10. NOTICES OF MOTION
10.1 NOTICE OF MOTION: EFFECTIVE WASTE AND RESOURCE

RECOVERY
CR ANDREA METCALF
That Council –
1. Needs to be adequately resourced to deliver effective waste and resource recovery.
2. Endorses the need for Victorian Local Governments to have a combined voice to
collectively represent all ratepayers and residents to advocate to the State and
Federal governments to recognise the “essential service” of waste recovery from
the homes of over 6.5 million people.
3. Supports the Local Government Waste Forum Chairs and the Municipal Association
of Victoria to advocate for the waste and resource recovery issues on behalf of the
Local Governments of Victoria.
Background/rationale
• Victoria has a network of regional waste and resource recovery groups whose role
includes the delivery of effective waste management and resource recovery for their
respective regions;
• Established under the Environment Protection Act the aim is to foster best practice in
waste management;
• Greater Bendigo is part of the Loddon Mallee Waste and Recovery Group;
• All regional groups are facing significant challenges in waste management and they
share the same problems and difficulties requiring a co-ordinated state wide
response;
• Waste management services are an essential service for the State of Victoria;
• Rate capping imposes restrictions on Council spending;
• Local Governments own, operate and manage significant waste management
services and infrastructure;
• Significant investment is required to implement projects and programs identified in
the regional waste management plans;
• Appropriate level of resources are required from Government to deliver effective
waste and resource recovery projects and programs;
• The need for Victorian Councils to have a combined voice to collectively represent all
ratepayers and residents to advocate to the State and Federal governments to
recognise the “essential service” of waste recovery from the homes of over 6.5
million people;
• This is the first time that the Combined Local Government Waste Forum Chairs
(representing 79 Councils in the State of Victoria) have come together and
collectively formed a position to highlight the ongoing concerns relating to waste
issues that the State is currently facing.
PAGE 89
11. COUNCILLORS' REPORTS
12. MAYOR'S REPORT
13. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORT
14. CONFIDENTIAL (SECTION 89) REPORTS
Nil.
PAGE 90

Council Agenda 17 October 2018

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Council Agenda 17 October 2018

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Council Agenda 17 October 2018

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

AGENDA

Ordinary Meeting of Council

6.00pm Wednesday 17 October 2018

*** Broadcast live on Phoenix FM 106.7 ***

Copies of the City of Greater Bendigo Council’s Agendas & Minutes

Greater Bendigo - creating the world's most liveable community.

• Presentation and Managing Growth

WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER 2018

ITEM PRECIS PAGE

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS 5

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME 5

RESUMPTION OF STANDING ORDERS 6

DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST 7

1. ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018 9

1.1 CITY OF GREATER BENDIGO ANNUAL REPORT 9

2. PETITIONS AND JOINT LETTERS 12

3. PRESENTATION AND MANAGING GROWTH 13

3.1 PRIORITIES FOR PLANNING STRATEGIES AND 13

3.2 GREATER BENDIGO PLANNING SCHEME REVIEW, 2018 - 20

3.3 PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT - RECOGNITION OF 39

4. WELLBEING AND FAIRNESS 47

4.1 BENDIGO MAUBISSE FRIENDSHIP COMMITTEE MEMBER 47

5. STRENGTHENING THE ECONOMY 56

7. EMBRACING OUR CULTURE AND HERITAGE 56

8. LEAD AND GOVERN FOR ALL 57

8.1 AUDIT COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON’S ANNUAL REPORT 57

8.2 AUDIT COMMITTEE DRAFT CHARTERS 61

8.3 RECORD OF ASSEMBLIES 80

8.4 CONTRACTS AWARDED UNDER DELEGATION 86

10. NOTICES OF MOTION 89

10.1 NOTICE OF MOTION: EFFECTIVE WASTE AND 89

11. COUNCILLORS' REPORTS 90

12. MAYOR'S REPORT 90

13. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORT 90

14. CONFIDENTIAL (SECTION 89) REPORTS 90

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

That Standing Orders be suspended to allow the conduct of [Community

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

Public Question Time – Purpose

Public Question Time – Where, When And Who

Residents are encouraged to lodge questions in advance so that a more complete

RESUMPTION OF STANDING ORDERS

That Standing Orders be resumed.

DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST

(a) direct financial interest

Councillors are also encouraged to declare circumstances where there may be a

Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Wednesday 19 September 2018.

• Petition: Request for a Dog Park in Heathcote

1. ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018

1.1 CITY OF GREATER BENDIGO ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018

Author Nathan Morsillo Manager Financial Strategy and Michael Smyth

Responsible Craig Niemann, Chief Executive Officer

• Report of Operations of the Council

The Report of Operations;

Audited Financial Statements

The Audited Performance Statement:

Following consideration by Council, residents will be informed by public notice of the

To meet legislative requirements the Annual Report, including audited financial

* Broadcast live on Phoenix FM 106.7 *