Under the Local Government 1993 (the Act), a person can lodge a petition with Council by presenting it to the General Manager or an Alderman.
This page provides further information about the requirements for lodging a petition, including Council’s internal procedures. Alternatively, you can download our PDF Guide, below.
The rules about petitions are set out in Part 6 of the Local Government Act 1993.
You should read Part 6 of the Act before preparing your petition. The petition must comply with section 57(2) of the Act and you should ensure your petition contains all the information in that section so it can be tabled.
There are two ways you can lodge a petition. You can either use a paper petition (i.e. hard-copy) or you can collect signatures electronically using an e-petition platform.
For a paper petition, you must ensure there is:
- a clear and concise statement identifying the subject matter and action requested
- a heading on each page indicating the subject matter
- a brief statement on each page of the subject matter and the action requested
- a statement specifying the number of signatories (this is usually at the end), and
- at the end of the petition the full printed name, address and signature of the person lodging the petition.
An example paper petition is provided at the end of this document for guidance.
For an electronic petition, we recommend you use an existing online petition platform. For an electronic petition, you must ensure there is:
- a clear and concise statement identifying the subject matter and action requested
- a statement specifying the number of signatories, and
- at the end of the petition the full name and address of the person lodging the petition and a statement by that person certifying that the statement of the subject matter and the action requested, as set out at the beginning of the petition, has not been changed.
If you are setting up an electronic petition, you should ensure that any platform you use will allow you to meet the requirements in the legislation for presenting the petition.
If you are unsure whether your petition would comply, please contact Council for assistance prior to arranging signatures for the petition. If you lodge a petition that is not compliant, you may be required to have the petition resigned by all signatories.
If you want to seek a public meeting for the subject of your petition, you need to ensure that the following additional requirements are met:
- the petition must be signed by at least 1,000 of the electors in the municipal area, and
- the petition must specifically state that it requests Council holds a public meeting.
Please note that only signatures of registered electors in Glenorchy will count towards the 1,000 signature total. If necessary, Council will conduct a check against the electoral roll to confirm whether the required number of signatures has been reached.
You should refer to section 59 and 60 of the Act for the specific rules about petitions seeking public meetings.
All information about the petition that you want signatories to know must be included on the petition.
A covering letter is not part of a petition. If you put information about the petition in a covering letter and not in the petition itself, that the petition will not comply with the requirements of the Act.
This is important because if you put all the information explaining the reason/s for the petition on the petition, the purpose of the petition will be clear to anyone who signs it.
The best way to submit a petition to be tabled at a meeting is to it provide it to the General Manager (although under the Act you may also submit it to an Alderman).
You can submit your petition to the General Manager:
- in-person at our Customer Service Centre at 374 Main Road, Glenorchy
- by email to gccmail@gcc.tas.gov.au (please include a contact phone number in your message), or
- by posting it to PO Box 103, Glenorchy TAS 7010 (please allow 2-3 days for delivery if posting from the local area).