Submitting a Petition to Council

Petitions should adhere to certain standards to ensure that the intended message is conveyed in a clear and succinct manner. Some of the requirements for submitting a petition to Frankston City Council are:

• A petition should be addressed to the relevant Ward Councillor or the Chief Executive Officer.
• A petition must be clearly written, typed or printed, and be signed by at least five people.
• Every page of a petition must contain:
  • the name of the head/principal petitioner; and
  • the page number (eg. page 1 of 8, page 2 of 8 etc); and
  • the request of the petitioners/signatories, consisting of the following words:

“We the undersigned hereby petition Frankston City Council …………”

• The request, suggestion or grievance should be set out using language that is respectful and not offensive.
• Every petition or joint letter must include the name, address and signature or mark of each petitioner/signatory.
• Each petitioner/signatory must sign the petition only once, directly onto the petition form.
• Every page of a petition must be a single page of paper; it is not acceptable for signatures to be cut and pasted or otherwise affixed or transferred to the petition.
• The pages of a petition must be free from erasures and alterations. 
• A submission which is presented on an incorporated association’s letterhead, and which purports to be on behalf of the incorporated association, must be appropriately authorised.
• A petition can only address issues within the ambit of Council’s authority.  State and Commonwealth issues cannot be dealt with by Council; links to the relevant sections of State and Commonwealth government websites are included to the right of this page.

The petition may be either

• posted to Frankston City Council, PO Box 490, Frankston VIC 3199; or
• submitted in person, by handing it to a Council officer at a Council Customer Service Centre; or
• submit to email: governance@frankston.vic.gov.au

Once received, the usual process is that the relevant Ward Councillor will present the petition to Council at an Ordinary Council Meeting. The Council may resolve that the petition be received and referred to the relevant area of Council for investigation.  A report will then be prepared and presented to a subsequent Ordinary Council Meeting for a formal decision.  However, if the petition relates to an operational matter, Council must refer it to the Chief Executive Officer for consideration. Once a decision has been made in relation to the matters raised in the petition, the head/principal petitioner will be advised in writing of the decision.