Code of Meeting Practice
Council meetings follow adopted practices for the orderly conduct and efficiency of meetings. These practices are set out in Council’s Code of Meeting Practice available for download here. The Code of Meeting Practice applies to both ordinary and extraordinary meetings.
Members of the public are most welcome to attend any official Council meeting to observe proceedings with the exception of closed sessions of meetings which are dealing with confidential matters.
Public Forum – give your viewpoint on Council meeting agenda items to our Councillors
Council welcomes participation by our community and is committed to providing an avenue for our community to engage in the management of our area.
Under the mandatory provisions of the Code of Meeting Practice, an address to Council may be made during a Public Forum session, which is a sitting held separately to a council meeting.
The current adopted arrangements for public forum sessions are as follows:
1)The Public Forum will be held prior to the commencement of ordinary council meetings for the purpose of hearing oral submissions (no audio-visual presentations are allowed under the new Code) from members of the community on agenda items only, commencing at 5.30pm prior to a scheduled ordinary council meeting.
2)A time limit of five (5) minutes per address will be applied with a maximum of six (6) time slots allocated at any one session. Each time slot shall before one (1) item on the agenda.
3)An appointment for addressing Council must be made by application via Council’s Office of the General Manager, with reference to the related agenda item. Applications for allocation of a time slot must be made by 4.30pm on the Monday prior to the scheduled meeting with details to be provided to Councillors by midday on the day of the meeting.
4)At all times during the address, participants will respect the right of the Chairperson to terminate the session.
5)Addresses are not to be directed to any specific individual.
How to request a public forum timeslot:
Please complete and return the Public Forum Application Form – which is available for download here.
The completed form must be returned to council@richmondvalley.nsw.gov.au by 4.30pm on the Monday prior to the public forum request date.
Timeslots are considered with regard to the number of applications received, the number of requests for a particular item on the published agenda, the public interest. The General Manager considers each application and will not unreasonably refuse a request. All applicants will be informed via email whether their request for a timeslot can be accommodated by 10am of the Tuesday morning of the meeting.
Presenting a petition to Council
Council will accept petitions from members of the public at any time. If you would like your petition to be tabled at a Council meeting, the following requirements apply:
• Each petition must clearly identify the name, address, phone number and email address of the person lodging the petition with Council; this person (the ‘main petition contact’) should be the first listed name on the petition
• The petition should be about a matter that Council can act on or influence
• It should contain a clear statement explaining the subject and purpose of the petition and the action the petitioners want Council to take
• State the request on each page of the petition
• Be signed by at least 50 people for general petitions or 10% of enrolled electors for petitions lodged under s218E (2)(a) of the Local Government Act, or 250 enrolled electors for petitions lodged under s218E (2) (b) of the Act.
• Include the name and address of each person signing the petition (hard copy submissions should also show the original signature of each person listed), and
• Use respectful language, and not be frivolous or vexatious in nature.
Petitions can be posted to:
General Manager
Richmond Valley Council
Locked Bag 10
CASINO NSW 2470
Or via email: council@richmondvalley.nsw.gov.au.
They may also be hand delivered to Council’s Casino Administration Office or sent directly to a Councillor with a request that they consider tabling the petition at a Council meeting. Petitions sent directly to Council will be acknowledged in writing to the main petition contact. If the petition is tabled at a Council meeting, the acknowledgment may be sent after the meeting. Note that petitions are not generally subject to discussion or debate at Council meetings.
In order for a petition to be considered at an Ordinary Council Meeting, it should be received a minimum of 10 business days prior to the meeting. Note that petitions that do not possess the required number of signatures can still be submitted to Council, however, will not be tabled at an Ordinary Meeting.
No specific format is required for a petition, as long as it meets the requirements outlined above and is clearly marked as a petition. Petitions received by Council are managed in accordance with the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 and the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.
It should be noted that this information does not cover petitions submitted in response to public exhibition of development proposals or other statutory matters.