We are providing an update on this complex issue as our Council Meeting on Wednesday 21 May includes two reports with community safety related recommendations for our Councillors to consider:
- Community Safety Response (including the Community Safety Roundtable Report).
- Local Laws Response.
These reports follow a Notice of Motion (NoM) adopted in December 2024 requesting a Community Safety Roundtable including health, housing, community legal and social service providers, Victoria Police and others to review models to address community safety and a further NoM adopted in February this year to investigate proposed changes to Local Laws, including camping on Council land.
The reports can be viewed ahead of the Council meeting to inform public discussion on the night. You can find the Agenda here.
The Community Safety Response report includes the separate Community Safety Roundtable Report and its 37 recommendations compiled by Chair Ian Gray AM.
These recommendations have a broad scope, from advocacy to processes for engaging with service providers and what Council may be able to fund by itself.
We appreciate the time and effort all Roundtable participants took to consider ways our Council, police and service providers could work better together. We are pleased the report noted our City has a long history of addressing the issue of community safety, and local perceptions of safety, in our diverse and changing community. This praise included our Local Laws officers who were described as performing a critical task very impressively and having the confidence of residents and traders.
All recommendations resulting from the Roundtable have been published as part of this paper and will form part of the information being provided to the community to inform and assist their feedback.
The Local Laws Response includes the outcomes of a review of potential changes to local laws to address concerns about public safety and amenity issues associated with large encampments on Council land while also considering human rights and other relevant issues. We have received legal advice that this proposed amendment does not conflict with the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. The Charter recognises that in some circumstances one person's right may come into conflict with the right of another person or group. In these circumstances it can be necessary to limit or restrict these rights. This will be further investigated if the amendment progresses to consultation.
Feedback from police, the findings and recommendations of the Community Safety Roundtable, legal advice and community feedback have also informed the Local Laws Response, which followed the two Notices of Motion.
Homelessness is an extremely complex issue and there is no "silver bullet" solution. Officers believe the Community Safety Roundtable has come up with some excellent recommendations which, if successfully implemented, could provide better support and reduce the occurrence of encampments.
Our Officers are strongly supportive of the neighbourhood policing model and support improved resourcing for police to enable more joint patrols with Local Laws officers. They also support development of protocols with police and better resourced support agencies regardless of any Local Laws changes.
The response recommendations do not support a blanket removal of the current exemptions to no camping laws due to enforcement, human rights and operational concerns.
However, officers have recommended that Council approves engagement with the community, key stakeholders and staff on a potential amendment to include the ability of the CEO, in consultation with key stakeholders, to temporarily designate a particular encampment as a 'hotspot'.
This would only happen after offers of support and when the application of existing laws had failed and there was a clear public safety and amenity problem warranting additional measures.
Under this proposal, rough sleepers and people with complex needs would continue to be exempt from no-camping rules elsewhere on Council land. However, if an area was designated no camping, they would not be exempt.
Enforcement fines are not being recommended to be issued to people experiencing homelessness. Instead, the potential amendment would be drawn on as a last resort after assertive outreach, requests to comply and warnings have been issued to impound belongings if they are not removed. Such enforcement would be conducted in accordance with defined protocols with police and support agencies and impounded items would be made available for collection.
As this is a complex issue, further analysis, refinement and feedback is needed to be undertaken, including through engagement with the community and key stakeholders.
No changes would be made to the Local Laws until a public consultation was held and a further report considered in the Chamber, if Councillors wish to investigate this option. A protocol with Victoria Police and service providers would be required for this proposed amendment to proceed.
Community Engagement
It's important to note that the Roundtable was always generally intended to help inform and develop our new, over-arching Community Safety Plan.
Community members wanting to provide specific feedback about the Roundtable recommendations, or any potential Local Laws changes which may be endorsed for consultation at the 21 May meeting, can provide their views during the Community Safety Plan consultation.
The broad community engagement approach proposed for this Plan, detailed in the Community Safety Response report, is extensive and has two phases to ensure we capture as much feedback as possible. Full details are expected to be up on our Have Your Say web page from Thursday 22 May.
This approach means our Council can have a deeper understanding of what our community thinks about a range of community safety topics and concerns when developing a new draft Community Safety Plan. The draft will be released for public comment in the second round of the consultation.
Future steps
We will continue to provide community safety updates, including the outcomes of the 21 May Council Meeting and when the Community Safety Plan consultation opens so as many people as possible can be informed and have their say.
Our Council remains committed to doing what it can, both in its own right and with agencies, for a safe and socially cohesive City. We are not waiting for finalisation of the Community Safety Plan.
As part of this, we have allocated funding in the draft Budget 2025/26 and long-term financial plan for community safety initiatives including additional local laws resourcing, CCTV renewal and support, and more social and affordable housing.
Officers will also be implementing Roundtable recommendations that are within existing budgets and the operational control of Council.
