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Petitions

Council

Petitions

Members of the public have the opportunity to raise concerns about issues in their area at Council and Council Committeee meetings. This can be by way of submitting a petition.

A petition is a formal document to Council containing the names, signatures and addresses of a group of people who have a common issue of concern or idea to bring to Council for consideration.

As petitions are regarded as a legitimate form of communication with the Council, it is incumbent upon petitioners to ensure certain procedures are followed. Following are some guidelines to assist in this process.

Submitting a Petition

Step 1

View the Local Government (Procedures at Meetings) Regulations 2013 to find out how to format your petition and how it will be handled by Council. Each page of the petition must:

  • legibly written, typed or printed; and
  • clearly set out the request or submission of the petitioners (at the top of each page); and
  • include the signature, name and residential address of each person who signed or endorsed the petition; and
  • be addressed to the Council and delivered to the principal office of the Council.

Step 2

Prepare you petition using Council's petition template and distribute it to the community. This template provided as part of this guide is provide as a suggestion only, it contains all of the basic information which the Council requires that a petition contain.

It is up to the Head Petitioner to determine the information which the petition contains and its format;

If further assistance is required in preparing a petition or have any questions about the petitions process please contact the Council for further assistance.

Step 3

The Head Petitioner is required to provide a covering letter with the petition detailing the name, address and contact details of the Head Petitioner(s) to whom we can address correspondence.

Other requirements include:

  1. The petition should be in the English language (or be accompanied by a translation and certified as such by a host petitioner)
  2. The petition must be signed personally by every petitioner unless a Power of Attorney exists.
  3. Photocopies or signatures pasted on to the petition are unacceptable.
  4. Corporations must be signed under Seal.
  5. No letter or affidavits or other document(s) can be attached.
  6. The wording should not be disrespectful to the Council or individuals and generally should be temperate in tone.
  7. The original copy of each page of the petition must be provided to Council.

To note:

  • If your petition does not meet the requirements mentioned above, it will not be accepted as a petition
  • Electronic petitions must meet the requirements for a petition listed above. 
  • Pages or names that don't meet the criteria contained in the regulations and code of practice cannot be included as part of the petitions.
  • Petitions that do not meet the criteria contained in the regulations and code of practice will be treated as joint letters. At least ten (10) signatures are require for a petition to be considered by the Council as a petition.
  • Under the Local Government Bylaws, it is not legal to collect signatures on Local Government Land without permission. If you are collecting signatures on private land, eg shopping centre, you will need the permission of the centre owner or manager. 
  • There is no specific provision for the lodging of petitions as such under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016.

Step 4

A petition will need to be submitted with a cover letter to the Chief Executive Officer via:

  • Post: PO Box 425 Coober Pedy SA 5723
  • Email: dccp@cpcouncil.sa.gov.au
  • In person: Council office at Lot 773 Hutchison St Coober Pedy SA 5723

Petitions need to be received nine (9) days prior to the next scheduled Council meeting to allow fo a covering report to be prepared.

After your petition is received by Council

The Head Petitioner will be contacted to confirm receipt of the petitions and will be advised of the Council Meeting it will be presented to.

Any petition lodged with Council will be reported to the next available Council or relevant Committee meeting. A covering report containing a statement as to the nature of the petition, along with the number of signatures on each petition will be provided in the agenda. It is important to note that duplicate signatures will be counted as one entry and any signatures which do not have a full name or postal address (street number, street name and suburb or full PO Box details) will not be counted.

The petition will not be copied and circulated, however a copy will be available for Administrators or Committee  Members to inspect.

Members of the public are welcome to attend all Council and Council Committee meetings but cannot participate in the debate at these meetings.

If the Head Petitioner wishes to speak to the petition a request for a Deputation, which is an oral way of presenting an issue at a Council meeting, nees to be made separately to submitting the petition.

Notification of the outcome

After the Council meeting the outcome of the Council's deliberation will be included in the minutes of that meeting and the Head Petitioner advised. It is up to the Head Petitioner if they wish to communicate the outcome of the petition to signatories.