Petitions and Deputations

What is a petition?

Any elector or group of electors may petition the Council to take action on an item of interest. For example, petitions may ask the Council to change existing policy, Local Law, decisions of Council or take action for a certain purpose or for the benefit of particular persons.

The petition must relate to a matter Local Government can act on.

Petition requirements                                    

The City of Bayswater Standing Orders Local Law sets out a number of requirements governing the format and presentation of petitions. These are designed to ensure the authenticity of petitions and protect the intentions of petitioners and the Council.

A petition is to:

• Be addressed to the Mayor or to Council or the Local Government
• Be made by electors of the district
• State the request on each page of the petition
• Contain the name, address and signature of each elector making the request, and the date each elector signed
• Contain a summary of the reasons for the request
• State the name of the person to whom, and an address at which, notice to the petitioners can be given.

Getting the petition presented                           

A petition can be presented to Council at an Ordinary Council Meeting or Standing Committee. An Elected Member or the Chief Executive Officer can present a petition. The initiator is to ensure the petition is forwarded to a Councillor or the Chief Executive Officer prior to the start of the meeting at which they would like the petition presented. 

Presentation of a petition does not mean the City agrees with its content.

Details of dates, times and location of Ordinary Council Meetings can be obtained here.

What happens at the Council Meeting?                             

At Item 8.1 of the Order of Business on the Agenda, the Councillor or the Chief Executive Officer presenting the petition will read out the name and address of the initiator of the petition, a summary of the reasons for the petition along with the number of signatures collected.

At the time of presentation, no discussion or voting on the subject matter of a petition takes place.

The meeting is not to vote on any matter that is the subject of a petition presented to that meeting, unless:

(a)     The matter is the subject of a report included in the agenda

(b)     The Council or Committee has considered the issues raised in the petition.

Petitions are Public Documents

All petitions tabled at Committee and Council Meetings are public documents, which may be inspected by members of the public at any time. This is provided for under Section 5.94 (P)(i) of the Local Government Act 1995.

What happens next?    

Upon receiving a petition, the Local Government is to submit the petition to the relevant Officer to be included in his or her deliberations and report on the matter that is the subject of the petition.

A staff member will advise what action will be taken when dealing with the petition. A report may be prepared and presented to Council on the issue.

Even though petitions may seem to produce no immediate or obvious result, they serve as a way to make Council aware of community concerns.

The City has a petition template you can use as a guide.

Submit your petition:

• Electronically via this link
• In person at the Civic Centre
• By post to PO Box 467, Morley WA 6943
• Provide to an Elected Member.

Deputations by members of the public

A deputation is a statement or response made in relation to an item on a Council agenda. Deputations are an important part of community participation in the decision-making process, providing individuals or groups in the community with an opportunity to present their opinions at the meeting.

Procedure of seeking approval

A person wishing to present a deputation must apply online via the form below. Deputations are presented at the Agenda Briefing Forum Meeting which commences at 7pm and the application must be received by 1.30pm on the advertised date of the Agenda Briefing Forum meeting.

Written Deputations

If you are unable or do not wish to attend in person, you may submit a written deputation using the online deputation submission form below. Written deputations will be provided to Councillors in advance of the Agenda Briefing Forum, and will not be read out at the forum.

Time allocated

The time allocated for in-person deputations is 10 minutes in total, (comprising 5 minutes for the presentation and 5 minutes for the deputees to respond to questions raised by the meeting), unless Council approves otherwise.

Please contact the City's Governance team on 9272 0622 if you have any questions about the deputations process.