Council meeting process

Council is represented by a Mayor and 11 councillors. The Mayor and councillors, with their wealth of experience and commitment, serve to meet the requirements of the community at all times and are readily available to residents. Decisions are made through the following avenues.

Committee system

Much of the City's business is handled by two standing committees which meet monthly. The committees comprise six councillors who review reports presented by City officers on a wide variety of topics. 

The committees are held in the City of Rockingham Council Chamber at 5pm and members of the public are welcome to attend. The Planning and Engineering Services Committee meeting is held on the Monday prior to the Council meeting and the Corporate and Community Development Services Committee meeting is held on the Tuesday prior to the Council meeting.

Committee recommendations are placed before the monthly meetings of full Council 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.

If you have a question you want to raise at these committees during public question time, direct them to the relevant committees by checking the topics below.

Council meetings

Meeting process

Council meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6pm in the Council Chamber at our Administration Building. Members of the public are welcome to attend. (Always confirm before attending as times can change without notice.)

At the Council Meeting, council members make decisions on the reports and recommendations from the committee meetings.

Public Question Time

To assist the City in responding to questions during Public Question Time, please complete and submit the Pubic Question Time Form before the start of the Council or committee meeting. Guidelines for Public Question Time are included with the form.

If you would like to submit the form earlier than at the Council or committee meeting, please hand deliver or send your form by mail to the City of Rockingham. Alternatively you can email the form to customer@rockingham.wa.gov.au. If you provide your form earlier, please note you or someone on your behalf needs to ask the question(s) at the committee or Council Meeting. If someone is not present to ask the question(s), they will be taken as normal correspondence. 

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 -

(a) be addressed to the Mayor;

(b) be made by electors of the district;

(c) state the request on each page of the petition;

(d) contain the names, addresses and signatures of the electors making the request, and the date each elector signed;

(e) contain a summary of the reasons for the request;

(f) state the name of the person upon whom, and an address at which, notice to the petitioners can be given;

(g) be in the form prescribed by the Act and Local Government (Constitution) Regulations 1996 if it is—

(i) a proposal to change the method of filling the office of Mayor;

(ii) a proposal to create a new district or the boundaries of the local government;

(iii) a request for a poll on a recommended amalgamation;

(iv) a submission about changes to wards, the name of a district or ward or the number of councillors for a district or ward.

Advisory committees

Advisory committees are made up of elected 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.

Annual Meeting of Electors

The Annual Meeting of Electors is held in December. The purpose of the meeting is to accept the City's Annual Report for the previous financial year and give City of Rockingham electors the opportunity to raise any matter as General Business.

The agenda for the Annual Meeting of Electors is published from 4pm on the Thursday of the week before the meeting.
 
A report is prepared to confirm the minutes of the Annual Meeting of Electors and the outcomes.  This report is considered at the following Ordinary Council Meeting in February, as meetings are not held in January.