The law (Section 50 of the Local Government Act 1999 (SA) requires every council to have a Public Consultation Policy. This policy explains the steps we will take to involve our community in decisions, while also meeting our legal obligations under the Act.

For the purpose of this project, ‘Community Engagement Policy’, ‘Community Consultation Policy’ and ‘Public Consultation Policy’ refer to the same thing.

In February 2025, Council asked Administration to:

• review the current Public Consultation Policy (Community Consultation Policy), and
• prepare a Community Communications and Engagement Charter and an updated Community Engagement Policy for the City of Adelaide.

Council formally endorsed consultation on the Draft Charter and Policy at its 26 August 2025 meeting.

Council also welcomed the development of a staff toolkit to guide how we engage with our community. The Community Engagement Toolkit is our practical guide for planning and delivering engagement. Feedback from this consultation will shape the toolkit so it reflects your priorities.

As community needs change over time, the toolkit will be updated to reflect these changes and ensure we continue to deliver best-practice community engagement.

These documents are planned to be in place by late 2025.

Changes at the State Government level

The State Government is creating a new Local Government Community Engagement Charter (State Charter) which will

• Set out the principles for how councils must engage with their communities.
• List the minimum actions councils must take to meet these standards.
• Replace certain sections of the Act, updating requirements that have been in place for more than 20 years.

A draft version of the State Charter was available for public consultation between 30 May 2025 – 29 June 2025. A final version is yet to be released.

How we’re preparing

To get ready, we have:

• reviewed our current Community Consultation Policy,
• developed a more streamlined Policy that aligns with the draft State Charter (released earlier this year), and
• built on feedback from Council Members and our community and created a draft CoA Charter

Our draft Charter and Policy reflect our commitment to engagement that is more open, meaningful, and accessible.

What happens next

Once the State Government’s Charter is finalised, the City of Adelaide will need to align our Community Engagement Policy to show how they will we will deliver engagement in line with the Charter.

By updating our approach now, we can make sure our policies are:

• up to date,
• easy to understand, and
• ready to respond to the final State’s final Charter.

Community feedback received through this consultation will directly inform refinements to the draft Charter and Policy before Council makes a final decision.

If needed, we will make further updates to ensure the CoA Charter and Policy aligns with the State Government’s version.