Council has no formal policy on Sister City and International Arrangements.

The Australian Government brought in a new Act in 2020 to govern Foreign Arrangements and this Policy aligns Council with that legislation.

The City of Adelaide participates in a range of international partnerships that support cultural exchange, knowledge sharing and collaboration with cities around the world.

One example is Adelaide's designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Music, which connects Adelaide with an international network of cities that recognise the importance of music and culture in creating vibrant communities.

These international arrangements help the City of Adelaide build relationships, share knowledge and explore opportunities that benefit our community.

A Sister City is a long-term partnership between two cities. It is a formal agreement, signed by the top elected officials of the two cities. A Sister City partnership provides the opportunity for two cities to collaborate in cultural, educational, business and technical exchange.

A City-to-City Memorandum of Understanding is a time-limited and purposeful agreement, a non-binding formal document outlining a formal agreement between parties, detailing their roles, responsibilities and shared goals.

City of Adelaide Sister City and Friendly City arrangements are not time-limited, have no review dates in place or options for expiry and so this new Policy requires that to happen. The new Policy also proposes that Council uses a new tool to assess all international requests for any potential new arrangements thoroughly, to assist in good decision-making.

This policy will provide an approach of review and ‘checking in’ with our international arrangements to ensure relationships are based on clarity, respect and where possible planned and resourced action for mutual benefit.