Council meeting process

About Council Meetings

The City of Rockingham Council and Committee meetings are guided by the Council Policy - Governance and Meeting Framework.

Council and Standing Committee Meetings are livestreamed and recorded in accordance with Council Policy Recording and Streaming Council, Standing Committees and Annual Electors Meetings.

The dates of the public meetings are made available on the City's website.  

The public has the opportunity to participate at public meetings. If you have a question you would like to ask at the Standing Committee or Council meetings or participate in the Annual Electors' Meeting, see Public Participation for more information.

Council Meetings

Ordinary Council Meetings are the formal meetings of the Council as defined by the Local Government Act 1995  in which decisions are made by the Council, the peak decision-making body of the City of Rockingham.

A monthly cycle of meetings commences in February of every calendar year. Ordinary Council Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month  (exceptions do apply), starting at 6pm in the City's Council Chambers. 

Committee Meetings 

The City has two Standing Committees:

• Planning and Asset Services Committee
  • Held at 5pm on the Monday the week before the Ordinary Council Meeting 
• Corporate and Community Development Committee
  • Meetings held at 5pm on the Tuesday the week before the Ordinary Council Meeting.

Standing Committees consider matters relevant to the particular Standing Committee’s areas of consideration and make recommendations to the Ordinary Council for determination.

Committee recommendations are placed before the Council Meeting for decisions. Council may accept Committee recommendations, amend them, or send them back to the appropriate committee for further consideration. Correspondence from individuals or organisations which cannot be handled through the routine processes and policies of the City are referred to the appropriate committee through an officer's report.

The Standing Committees are held in the City of Rockingham Council Chamber at 5pm and members of the public are welcome to attend.

Advisory committees

Advisory committees are made up of Council members and community members. They provide recommendations to Council in line with their terms of reference. We have advisory committees that range from culture and the arts to community safety.

Advisory committees meet as and when required as determined by the committee members or Council. Their role is providing professional advice and executive support.

To keep our advisory committees vibrant and relevant, Councillor memberships to these committees are reviewed after each ordinary local government election. Community membership and membership from specific organisations and government agencies are reviewed every two years between July and September each non-election year. 

​You can find the terms of reference and membership of each advisory committee on the Representations on Council and Non-Council Committees document.

Public participation

Public Question Time 

Members of the public present at the following public meetings will have an opportunity to ask questions during public question time, with questions limited to a maximum of three minutes. Any person who wishes to ask a question at the meeting must be present or have arranged a person to ask the question on their behalf, otherwise the questions will be responded to in the City's normal procedural manner and not recorded in the minutes of the meeting.  

• Questions at Standing Committee Meetings must relate to a report contained in the agenda. 
• Questions at Ordinary Council Meetings must relate to a matter that affects the City of Rockingham.
• Questions at Special Council Meeting must relate to the purpose for which the meeting has been called.

It is encouraged that questions are submitted as early as possible prior to the meeting, as this may allow time for a response to be provided at the meeting. Where a response to the question is unable to be provided, the question will be taken on notice and the question and response will be included in the next month's agenda.

To submit a public question to a Council or Committee meeting please complete the Public Question Time online form or alternatively questions can be submitted via customer@rockingham.wa.gov.au.

Public Question Time guidelines can be viewed below.

Petitions

Information regarding Petitions can be found under Clause 3.4 in the Standing Orders Local Law 2001.

A petition, in order to be effective, is to:

1. be addressed to the Mayor;
2. be made by electors of the district;
3. state the request on each page of the petition;
4. contain the names, addresses and signatures of the electors making the request, and the date each elector signed;
5. contain a summary of the reasons for the request;
6. state the name of the person upon whom, and an address at which, notice to the petitioners can be given.

Deputations

Information regarding Deputations can be found under Clause 3.12 in the Standing Orders Local Law 2001.

1. A deputation wishing to be received by the Council or a committee is to apply in writing to the CEO who is to advise the Mayor, or the presiding member as the case may be.
2. The Mayor, if the request is to attend a Council meeting, or the presiding member of the committee, if the request is to attend a meeting of a committee, may either approve the request, in which event the CEO is to invite the deputation to attend a meeting of the Council or committee as the case may be, or may instruct the CEO to refer the request to the Council or committee to decide by simple majority whether or not to receive the deputation.
3. A deputation invited to attend a Council or committee meeting— (a) is not to exceed five persons, only two of whom may address the Council or committee, although others may respond to specific questions from the members; and  (b) is not to address the Council or committee for a period exceeding 15 minutes without the agreement of the Council or the committee as the case requires.

4. Any matter which is the subject of a deputation to the Council or a committee is not to be decided by the Council or that committee until the deputation has completed its presentation

To request to make a deputation, please email the CEO via email  customer@rockingham.wa.gov.au. with the details of the deputation by 12pm on the day of the meeting.

If the deputation wishes to distribute printed material in support of the deputation, please bring 20 copies to the meeting for distribution.