It was published: 11 months ago
- Agenda attachments September 1, 2025. (58.2 MB)
For more information and appendices for each item, view the Council Meeting Agenda above.
The below summary is unconfirmed until the Minutes of the Meeting are accepted by Council.
1. Opening Prayer & Original Custodians Statement
2. Apologies
None.
3. Confirmation of Minutes
That the Minutes of the Scheduled Meeting of Council held on 4 August 2025 be confirmed. (7-0)
4. Declaration by Councillors and Officers of any Conflict of Interest in any Item on the Agenda
Cr Benter Declared a Conflict of Interest in Item 7.11
5. Mayoral Presentation
6. Public Question Time
7.1. Long Term Financial Plan 2026-2035
The Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) provides a 10-year financially sustainable projection regarding how the actions of the Council Plan may be funded to achieve the Community Vision. The LTFP sets out the financial direction for Council over the next ten years. It highlights how Council will balance service delivery, capital investment, and financial sustainability in a challenging economic environment.
The LTFP shows that while Council is in a sound financial position, increasing cost pressures, a rate cap that is below key expenditure growth, and reliance on recurrent grants present ongoing challenges. Strong strategic actions will be required to maintain financial sustainability and continue meeting community expectations.
Council supported the following recommendation (7-0):
That Council approves the Long-Term Financial Plan to be put out for community feedback for a period of two (2) weeks beginning September 2, 2025.
7.2. Draft Operations Report, Financial Statements, Annual Performance Statement And Governance Checklist 2024-2025
The purpose of this report is to present the draft 2024-2025 Performance Statement and Financial Statements to Council for in-principle approval as recommended by Council’s Audit and Risk Committee and in accordance with Section 99 of the Local Government Act 2020.
It further seeks to nominate two Councillors to have the authority to sign the annual accounts and performance statement on behalf of Council, once final sign off has been received from the Victorian Auditor General’s Office (VAGO).
This authorisation will enable Council to meet its statutory obligations for the presentation of its Annual Statements (as part of the Annual Report) to an open Council meeting by 31 October 2025.
The Annual Report, which includes the Financial and Performance Statements, will return to Council for consideration at a future Council Meeting.
Also provided with this report for Council’s information is the draft Report of Operations, including governance information, which accompanies the Financial Statements and the Annual Performance Statement.
This report also seeks in-principle approval for the certifying of the Governance information by the Mayor and Chief Executive Officer.
Council supported the following recommendations (7-0):
1. That Council approve in principle the 2024-2025 Financial Statements which have been subject to external audit by the Auditor-General's agent, with the outcomes also having been reviewed by Warrnambool City Council’s Audit & Risk Committee.
2. That Council approve in principle the 2024-2025 Performance Statement which has been subject to external audit by the Auditor-General's agent, with the outcomes also having been reviewed by Warrnambool City Council’s Audit & Risk Committee.
3. That Councillor Ben Blain and Councillor Matthew Walsh be authorised to certify the 2024-2025 Financial Statements, after any changes recommended by the review of audit from the Victorian Auditor General have been made.
4. That Councillor Ben Blain and Councillor Matthew Walsh be authorised to certify the 2024-2025 Performance Statement, after any changes by the review of audit from the Victorian Auditor General have been made.
5. That the Mayor Councillor Ben Blain and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mason be authorised to certify the governance and management arrangements as contained in the final Operations Report.
7.3. Warrnambool 2040 Community Plan
Council is reviewing the long-term community plan, Warrnambool 2040 (W2040), which was formally adopted by Council in December 2018 after a rigorous process that included extensive community engagement over more than a year.
Council supported the following recommendation (7-0):
That Council releases the reviewed draft of the Warrnambool 2040 community plan for the wider community to provide feedback over a period of a fortnight from September 2, 2025.
7.4. Draft Healthy Warrnambool Plan 2025-2029
Victoria’s Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 recognises the Council’s key role of improving the health and wellbeing of people in their municipality. Section 26 of the Act requires each Council to prepare a Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing plan every four years, within 12 months of a Council general election.
Council had committed to develop the Plan internally and commenced community consultation in early July 2025 over a 6 week period. This engagement has resulted in the draft plan which introduces a new framework for the action areas and captures a wide range of initiatives across seven priority pillars which are impacting the Warrnambool Community. These actions are to be undertaken by Warrnambool City Council and agencies delivering services in the local community.
The draft document is currently being prepared for public release for comment by Council’s communications department. The draft is expect to be released 2 September for two weeks before the final plan is presented to Council for approval.
Council supported the following recommendation (7-0):
That Council endorses the draft Healthy Warrnambool Plan 2025-2029 for public release and community feedback for a two week period.
7.5. Draft Asset Plan 2025-2035
The Local Government Act 2020 requires Council to develop, adopt and keep in force an Asset Plan (the Plan) in accordance with its deliberative engagement practices.
The Plan must be for a period of 10 years and include information about maintenance, renewal, acquisition, expansion, upgrade, disposal and decommissioning in relation to each asset class of infrastructure under the control of the Council.
The Plan must be adopted by 31 October in the year following a general election.
This report provides the Draft Asset Plan and proposes that the document be approved to be put out for community feedback prior to it being issued to Council and recommended for adoption.
Council supported the following recommendation (7-0):
That Council approves the Draft Asset Plan to be put out for community feedback for a period of two (2) weeks.
7.6. North Merri Open Space Landscape Master Plan
The North of the Merri Open Space Landscape Master Plan (‘the Plan’) provides guidance and recommendations for appropriate landscape design outcomes on current and proposed public open space in the western portion of the North of the Merri Structure Plan Area - one of Warrnambool’s residential growth areas.
The Plan is guided by a similar project undertaken to the south of the River (South Merri Open Space Precinct Plan) which was adopted by Council in August 2020.
The Plan is informed by the Merri River Landscape Guidelines and integrates a number of existing features including emerging residential subdivisions, the Merri River School site, and
existing and future connections to key community assets anticipated in the related strategic plans.
The landscape design outcomes aim to improve the local habitat, conservation and cultural values of the area’s open space, whilst providing passive recreation opportunities and connectivity to the local community.
While the primary purpose of the plan is to demonstrate an optimal landscaping outcome for the area, two implementation scenarios were explored in an effort to understand the underlying financial implications. The recommendation is for Option A to be undertaken over an incremental period of several years. Option A is seen as an achievable solution that will ensure revegetation works, biodiversity and habitat values are continually enhanced and supported over an ongoing period of time.
The Draft Plan was issued for review and feedback from the Project Working Group (PWG), Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG) including Eastern Maar and DEECA. Feedback received has been considered in the final plan.
The draft plan was also released for public consultation, with a combination of online responses and written feedback received and integrated into the Plan.
Council supported the following recommendation (7-0):
That Council adopt the North Merri Open Space Landscape Master Plan (Rev D 21 August 2025).
7.7. East Local Area Traffic Management (LATM) Plan
Council was successful in obtaining funding through the TAC enabling the completion of the East LATM Plan, which has been identified as a key area requiring consideration and recommendations for road safety improvements. Ongoing growth and development in the area, including development out Hopkins Point Road and around Lyndoch, has significantly increased traffic movement from East Warrnambool and surrounds into the CBD and to other areas of the city.
Growth around Warrnambool's East has created several troublesome intersections, identified through residential feedback, peak traffic assessments and structure and development plans for the development area to the east of the Hopkins River. The continued growth within this precinct shows the local road safety issues across these junctions is only going to increase as traffic volumes increase, with vehicle, cyclist and pedestrian volumes growing due to population growth and the subsequent increasing usage and access of key areas such as Hopkins River, Logans Beach, Granny’s Grave, etc., accessed via movements through East Warrnambool.
Through the development of the East LATM Plan, the junctions of Nicholson/Flaxman, Otway/Hopkins, Hopkins/Marfell and Simpson/Verdon have been identified as key targets areas that will require improvement to accommodate growth, with an approach similar to the Botanic Local Area Traffic Management (LATM) Plan being taken.
Key stakeholders within the East Warrnambool Precinct have been liaised with as part of the development of the Draft East LATM Plan.
The Key Stakeholders have included:
• Warrnambool East Primary School
• Gunditjmara Health Clinic
• Lyndoch Living/Respect Group
• Proudfoot's Restaurant
• Warrnambool Cemetery Trust
• Warrnambool Cycling Reference Group
• Internal Council Working Group
• Residents within the precinct via historical customer requests
It is proposed that the draft document be released to the wider community via the Your Say website, stakeholder pop-ups and various stakeholder/community networks.
Council supported the following recommendation (7-0):
That Council approve the draft East Warrnambool Local Area Traffic Management Plan to be put out for community consultation for a period of 2 weeks prior to it being presented to Council for adoption.
7.8. Complaints Policy 2025
This report presents an updated Complaints Policy for adoption by Council, aligning it with legislative requirements and recommendations from the recent Customer Service and Complaints Handling audit. Key improvements include enhanced accessibility, clearer complaint-handling processes, guidance on challenging behaviours, and specific definitions and management strategies for serial and vexatious complainants.
Council supported the following recommendations (7-0):
That Council:
1. Revoke the Complaints Policy 2021.
2. Adopt the attached Complaints Policy 2025.
7.9. Itinerant Trading Policy 2025
The current Itinerant Trading Policy (Policy) was first adopted in 2019 and is due for review. The purpose of the Policy is to provide a clear, equitable and consistent process for the operation of itinerant trading within the Warrnambool City Council.
Itinerant trading sits between a licence that is permanently stationed, and public open space bookings (i.e. community events). The Policy applies to all mobile trading on Council owned and managed land within the Municipality. The Policy and does not apply to:
• Market stall holders as part of a Council approved event or market
• Free community services
• Private property
• Leases
• Licenses
The Policy’s default position is that itinerant trading cannot occur in any public place until a permit and/or a letter of approval has been issued by Council. This is to ensure that it does not interfere or conflict with the City’s established fixed retail and services that provide a long-term contribution to the City. In determining whether approval is provided, the Policy Principles are considered by Council’s Local Laws with input from other Council Units as necessary, particularly Economic Development.
Council supported the following recommendations (7-0):
That Council:
1. Revoke the Itinerant Trading Policy 2019.
2. Adopt the attached Itinerant Trading Policy 2025.
7.10. Budget Fee Changes - Retention Grant
The Worker Retention Grant is a Federal Government initiative designed to support a 15% wage increase for the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce over two years. To be eligible to apply for the Worker Retention Grant to increase wages for staff within the services there are clear guidelines around capped fee increases for services applying and as a result the fees can only rise 4.4% from August 2024 and 4.2% from July 2025 through to November 2026.
Council is an eligible provider and can apply for worker retention payment due to being:
• approved for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).
• operate Centre Based Day Care (CBDC) or Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services, including Vacation Care.
• engage workers through a workplace instrument that meets grant conditions.
Council would need to agree to:
• limit fee growth by a set percentage from August 2024 (council would be restricted in raising fees and this will restrict income).
• to pass funding on to all eligible workers through increased wages.
Council proposes to opt into the retention grant. The grant will provide an increase to Councils Childcare workers which will also support the workforce shortages by providing a retention option as well as bring Council into the same market as the other providers within the city who are receiving the retention grant and paying higher wages to attract staff.
The 2025-2026 Council budget includes fees set at $140.00 per day, which was approximately a 6.1% increase on previous year. In implementing the worker retention payment within the 2025-2026 financial year, fees would increase by a total of 8.6%. As this is an increase to the overall fees set within the 2025-2026 budget, this report seeks an amendment to the budget to reduce the fees to $137.80 (a 4.4% increase) for the July – December 2025 and then apply fees of $143.58 (4.2% increase) from January 2026- November 2026 to meet the grant application criteria.
Council supported the following recommendations (7-0):
That Council approve an amendment to the 2025-2026 Council Budget Fees and Charges in regard to the fees for Council’s three Early Learning Centres, to the required set percentage fee growth cap in accordance with the Federal Government Worker Retention Grant:
1. 4.4% for 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2025
2. 4.2% 1 January 2026 to 30 November 2026
7.11. Contract Award 2026010 - Botanic Road Rehab And Platforms
The Botanic Rd Platforms and Road Rehabilitation Project is proposed as part of Council's 25/26 Capital Works Program. This project will deliver a renewed road surface on Botanic Road between Bromfield Street and Queens Road (approx. 3700m2), whilst utilising the available Safe Local Roads and Street Program funding to improve safety for all road users.
The newly formed Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) procurement panel ensures value-based and prompt completion of required works with greater access to suitably qualified and experienced suppliers.
A tender evaluation was completed by the Tender Evaluation Panel and determined that Fulton Hogan Industries Pty Ltd is the recommended tenderer to be awarded the Contract as they are considered to be the best value for money and had the highest weighted score.
Council supported the following recommendations (6-0):
That Council:
1. Award Contract No. 2026010 to Fulton Hogan Industries Pty Ltd, for the tendered amount of $632,091.01 excluding GST, with a total award value of $695,300.11 including GST.
2. Authorise Council Officers to deliver the Botanic Road Rehab and Platforms in accordance with the contract under the financial delegations detailed within the Procurement Policy.
3. Accept Provisional Item value rates for additional material supply, to the value of $25,000 (excl GST) as directed by Superintendent to undertake any extra work if required.
4. That Council delegates financial authority to the Chief Executive Officer to approve contract costs provided that additional works can be accommodated within the Project budget.
5. Authorise the CEO to sign, seal and vary the contract as required.
7.12. Informal Meetings of Council Reports
Section 80A(2) of the Local Government Act 1989 required the record of an Assembly of Councillors to be reported at an ordinary Council meeting.
Assembly of Councillor Records are no longer a requirement in the Local Government Act 2020 as of 24 October 2020. However, under Council’s Governance Rules, a summary of the matters discussed at the meeting are required to be tabled at the next convenient Council meeting and recorded in the minutes of that Council meeting.
The record of the following Informal Meetings of Council are enclosed:
1. Monday 11 August 2025 – refer Attachment 1.
2. Monday 18 August 2025 – refer Attachment 2.
3. Monday 25 August 2025 – refer Attachment 3.
Council supported the following recommendation (7-0):
That the record of the Informal Meetings of Council held on 11, 18 and 25 August 2025, be received.
7.13. Mayoral & Chief Executive Officer Council Activities - Summary Report
This report summarises Mayoral and Chief Executive Officer Council activities since the last Ordinary Meeting which particularly relate to key social, economic and environmental issues of direct relevance to the Warrnambool community.
Council supported the following recommendation (7-0):
That the Mayoral & Chief Executive Officer Council Activities – Summary Report be received.
8. Notice of Motion
9. General Business
10. Urgent Business
11. Suspension Of Standing Orders
11.1. Resolution To Suspend Standing Orders
11.2. Resume Standing Orders
12. Section 66 Confidential Meeting
13. Resolution To Re-Open Meeting
14. Close Of Meeting