Petitions and joint letters

A petition is a formal written request which clearly appeals for action to be taken by the Council in relation to a specific issue.

It must comprise of 15 or more valid signatories, contain at a minimum the full name, residential or business address of each signatory, and the request of the petition must be featured on each page.

You may use Council's Sample Petition Template(DOCX, 195KB) to help prepare a petition.

Please note that for a petition to be valid it must:

• Be in a legible and permanent written form.

• Only comprise of signatories that have a residential or business address that is within a 10-kilometre radius of the Hobsons Bay municipal boundary.

• Ensure that every page of a written petition contains the whole of the petition or request.

• Ensure that every page of a written petition is on single piece of paper and is not pasted, stapled, pinned or otherwise affixed to any other piece of paper.

• Not be defamatory, indecent, abusive or objectionable in language or content or frivolous or vexatious.

Council will not consider a petition that:  

• Contains a complaint against the actions or failures of staff or a Council department.  This will be handled by Council as a letter of complaint and handled in accordance with Council’s Complaints Policy.
• Relates to a specific town planning application. The petition will be handled as a joint submission to the planning application.
• Relates to matters beyond the powers or functions of Council.

A joint letter is any correspondence signed by five or more people, it attempts to influence the Council’s decision making or actions.

The joint letter must contain at a minimum, the full name, residential or business address and the request of the joint letter must be featured on each page.

You may use Council's Sample Joint Letter Template to help prepare a joint letter [when approved by Julie].

Please note that for a joint letter to be valid it must:

• Be in a legible and permanent written form.

• Only comprise of signatories that have a residential or business address that is within a 10-kilometre radius of the Hobsons Bay municipal boundary.

• Ensure that every page of a joint letter contains the whole of the petition or request.

• Ensure that every page of a joint letter is on single piece of paper and is not pasted, stapled, pinned or otherwise affixed to any other piece of paper.

• Not be defamatory, indecent, abusive or objectionable in language or content or frivolous or vexatious.

Council will not consider a joint letter that:  

• Contains a complaint against the actions or failures of staff or a Council department.  This will be handled by Council as a letter of complaint and handled in accordance with Council’s Complaints Policy.
• Relates to a specific town planning application. The petition will be handled as a joint submission to the planning application.
• Relates to matters beyond the powers or functions of Council.

A joint letter or petition must:

• Be in a legible and permanent written form.

• Only comprise of signatories that have a residential or business address that is within a 10-kilometre radius of the Hobsons Bay municipal boundary.

• Ensure that every page of a written petition or joint letter contains the whole of the petition or request.

• Ensure that every page of a written petition or joint letter is on single piece of paper and is not pasted, stapled, pinned or otherwise affixed to any other piece of paper.

• Not be defamatory, indecent, abusive or objectionable in language or content or frivolous or vexatious.

Council will not consider a petition that:  

• Contains a complaint against the actions or failures of staff or a Council department.  This will be handled by Council as a letter of complaint and handled in accordance with Council’s Complaints Policy.

• Relates to a specific town planning application.  The petition will be handled as a joint submission to the planning application.

• Relates to matters beyond the powers or functions of Council.

Before submitting a petition or joint letter to Council, please ensure you have reviewed the petition and joint letter guidelines above.

A petition or joint letter can be submitted to Council by:

An online petition is a way for the community to ask the Council to look at an issue or take action.
If you want your online petition to be accepted, it needs to meet a few simple rules.

What You Must Do

1. Use a trusted petition website
Your petition should be set up on a recognised online petition site (such as a well-known community petition platform). This helps us check that it’s real and genuine.

2. Collect the right details from each person who signs
Every supporter must include:

• Their full name
• Their email address
• Their suburb or postcode

3. Make sure all signatures have all three details
If any signatories are missing these details, the petition won’t be considered by the Council.

Tips for Success

• Write your request clearly so people understand what they’re signing.
• Double-check that your petition website collects all the required information.
• Ask your supporters to fill in every detail.

How to Send Your Petition to Council

1. Download the list of all supporters from the petition website.
2. Make sure it includes all the required details for each person.
3. Email it to governance@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au or send it through our official contact page.

Need Help?

If you’re not sure whether your petition meets the rules, contact us before you start.
We’re happy to help you get it right the first time.