Bega Valley Shire Council has many responsibilities and performs many tasks to maintain and improve the Shire and make it a great place to live, work and play.

Policies and procedures are essential to ensure that legal, fair and consistent decisions are made across the Council. They support Council in achieving its corporate objectives and provide crucial guidelines for Councillors, staff and other stakeholders. Without sound policies and procedures there is a greater risk of inconsistency, confusion and inefficiency.

Each Bega Valley Shire Council policy statement expresses Council’s position on a particular issue or subject. It records the ‘why’ and ‘what’ of Council decision making. Procedures describe the specific steps that are to be followed in order to implement a policy. Specific requirements covered in procedures often provide a step by step guide on who is responsible for carrying out which part of the policy and when and how it should be carried out. Both policies and procedures must be formally adopted in a meeting of Council and comply with Council’s legal obligations and relevant community standards.

Each of our policy statements includes the policy objectives and what Council has resolved should be done to achieve the objectives. Each policy statement also lists all the procedural documents that form part of and support the policy.