Council’s online engagement platform, Shape Mount Alexander provides ongoing opportunities for the community to give input into plans, strategies and service design.

The online platform is being used to engage with the community on a range of consultations from streetscape designs to animal management strategies.

Between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025, there were 42 active projects on Shape Mount Alexander, with projects collectively receiving more than 36,963 views and 24,610 visits to the website.

2,126 individual community members made 3,493 contributions to projects showing a 45% increase in active engagement from our community compared to the previous year. This increase can be attributed in part to the higher number of projects listed online, the breadth and size of the projects, the growing public awareness and effectiveness of Shape and Council’s ongoing commitment to robust engagement.

Community engagement is defined as the range of opportunities for public involvement in Council decision-making, relationship building and community strengthening.

Council is committed to effective engagement with the community to ensure the needs of the community are acknowledged in key Council projects, plans and strategies.

Council’s Community Engagement Policy, Community Engagement Framework and Youth Engagement Charter guide community engagement activities and our efforts towards continuous improvement.

These are our issue or project specific events where we will bring a number of people around a table to share ideas and create place-based solutions.

These events are professionally facilitated and offer information and expert advice to the attendees to inform their contributions. Participants share their perspectives from their lived and living experiences while also being encouraged to think about future needs of the community.

Council has a number of Advisory and Reference groups, Project Committees and Community Asset Committees who we engage with on a project-by-project basis or in an on-going annual and triennial capacity.

Council’s advisory committees and reference groups help guide and support decision making across a range of areas within the shire. They include the Community Waste Reference Group, Audit and Risk Committee, Youth Advisory Group, Mount Alexander: A Healthy Shire Community Advisory Committee, Indigenous Roundtable, Early Years Steering Group, LGBTIQA+ Steering Group, Municipal Fire Management and more with over 1000 community members participating from across our shire with a variety of viewpoints and backgrounds.

Due to the ongoing and diverse memberships of these groups, and their access to experts and detailed project or subject matter materials, they are able to give informed advice and options to our Staff and Councillors and have high influence on project outcomes and specific service delivery. This is an example of Deliberative Engagement in an on-going capacity.

This strategy sets out an approach to community engagement and communications which puts these principles front and centre.

With this strategy, we have a roadmap of continuous improvement, and collaboration with our smart, engaged community. The community talked to us about their desire to work with us. They highlighted our commitment to working with them, and identified barriers to us doing that more effectively.

We are committed to effective communications and meaningful community engagement. We have great stories to share that demonstrate the volume and depth of our work that serves the community, and we strive to put the community’s best interests at heart in all our decisions.

This strategy has been developed in consultation with the Mount Alexander Shire community, Councillors and Council staff.

Alongside the Strategy itself, you can also read the Consultation Report which outlines what the community told us, and how it influenced the ultimate design of the Strategy.

The Community Engagement Policy outlines Council's commitment to engaging with the community and its intent to ensure clear and thorough communication in all stages of each community engagement process.

The Community Engagement Policy outlines Council's commitment to engaging with the community and its intent to ensure clear and thorough communication in all stages of each community engagement process.