Community Consultation Priciples by Queensland Councils and Community Consultation Practices in Councils Internationally

Russo C¹*

1. Gold Coast City Council, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia

The Framework for Good Practice in Local Government Community Consultation aims to provide standards for establishing community consultation programs across whole-of-Council operations however it has real applicability to all organisations interested in establishing a program of community consultation.

By establishing the Framework of Standards Councils will find that community consultation activities and experiences will achieve enhanced benefits. These include:

• informed decision-making
• better issues management
• improved communications and relationships
• improved project management and coordination
• increased community satisfaction and appreciation
• quality project outcomes
• greater understanding of council operations.

The Framework discusses how organisations can:

1. Demonstrate Leadership & Commitment
2. Build Relationships
3. Practicing our values
4. ‘Skill-up’ & Support Staff
5. Planning and Resourcing of Consultation Programs
6. Program Implementation and Management

Councils have been working hard at consultation for some time. Setting each standard in place will result in an effective foundation for applying the community consultation policies, strategies and manuals that are currently available in Local Government (and in other organizations including other tiers of government).

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