Submit a Question for a Council Meeting
Colac Otway Shire Council encourages questions from residents.
A 30-minute period is provided for questions at the beginning of scheduled Council meetings. Question time is specifically for short, direct questions, not for making statements or having discussions. Each question asked/submitted must not be greater than five (5) minutes in duration (or 225 words if in writing). The Chair of the meeting will exercise discretion so that the maximum number of people present will be permitted to ask their questions within the 30-minute period.
The Chair may disallow any question that is repetitive (including at previous meetings), objectionable, irrelevant, relates to confidential information (including questions relating to compliance, enforcement or other legal proceedings), is asked to embarrass a Councillor or member of the Administration.
Ways to ask a question
Members of the public may:
- Have their written question/s read out by the Chair of the meeting. (NOTE: question/s must be received by no later than 5pm the Friday prior to the meeting (two days prior) by either completing the form at the bottom of this page, emailing inq@colacotway.vic.gov.au, via post or hand delivered to our Customer Service Centres). Written questions are given preference and offer the best outcome in so far as a better-researched and more complete response can be provided at the meeting.
- Join the meeting via MS Teams or by phone to ask their question (NOTE: must register to join the meeting by no later than 5pm the Friday prior to the meeting (two days prior) by emailing governance@colacotway.vic.gov.au or phoning 5232 4000).
- Register their intent to ask a question upon entering the Gallery at a Council Meeting.
Questions in writing
Written questions to Council must be clearly marked as such and include the person’s:
- Name and address
- Organisation (if applicable)
- Date of Submission
- Question.
Questions submitted in writing will be read out at the next relevant Council meeting by the Chair (time permitting) and a response will be provided by the appropriate officer. Where time does not permit questions to be read out, a written response will be provided. The final response will be provided in the Minutes of that Council Meeting and uploaded to Council's website once confirmed.
Questions asked by videoconference during question time
Members of the public may register in advance (refer to details above) to join the meeting via MS Teams or by phone to ask a question. A member of the Council Business team will make contact to talk through the set up and process.
Questions asked verbally during question time
Members of the public gallery are required to register at the meeting to ask a question by submitting their name and the topic of their question in writing to a member of the Council Business team prior to the meeting. The public will then be invited by the Chair to ask their question/s. If the question/s is/are answered at the meeting, no written response will be provided, however the question/s, response/s and individual’s name will be recorded in the minutes of that meeting (made available on Council’s website).
Questions ‘taken on notice’
If a question cannot be answered at the meeting, then the question will be ‘taken on notice’ and the member of the public will receive a written response. Members of the public may be asked for contact details to facilitate a response being provided. The question taken on notice, response and individual’s name will also be recorded in the minutes of the following meeting (made available on Council’s website).
Meetings are livestreamed and recorded
Council and Committee meetings are streamed live and we encourage you to follow the live stream on YouTube if you can't attend in person. A link to the livestream recording will also be published on the website following each meeting.