This page provides frequently asked questions about petitions.
Petitions inform the Council, in a public way, of the views of sections of the community and they serve as a way of placing community concerns before Council.
Any elector of the City of Stirling, or group of electors, may petition the Council to take some form of action over a particular issue. For example, petitions may ask the Council to change an existing Policy, Local Law or recent decision, or for the Council to take action for a certain purpose or for the benefit of particular persons.
It is important to note that the subject of a petition must be a matter on which the Council has the power to act.
Care must be taken in the wording of petitions as the City requires certain information and content.
To be presented to Council, a petition must:
- Be addressed to the Mayor, a member or the CEO;
- Be made by electors of the district;
- State the full request and a summary of the reasons for the petition on each page;
- Contain the legible names, addresses and signatures of the electors making the petition request, and the date each elector signed. Please note that signatures are recorded electronically for ePetitions
- State the name of the person upon whom, and an address at which, notice to the petitioners can be given;
- Be respectful and temperate in its language; and
- Comply with any form prescribed by the Act or any other written law.
Although a petition only needs to have two electors' signatures to be accepted, it will appear more representative of public feeling if it is signed by as many people as possible. Although anyone can sign a petition, only those who are City of Stirling electors will be recorded in the official signature count.
All the signatures on a petition must meet the following requirements:
- For hard copy petitions, every signature must be written on a page bearing the terms of the petition, or the action requested by the petition (see the Petition Information and Submission Form). Please note that signatures are gathered electronically for ePetitions
- Signatures must not be copied, pasted or transferred on to the petition nor should they be placed on a blank page on the reverse of a sheet containing terms of the petition
- Each signature must be made by the person signing in his or her own handwriting.
A petition can only be presented to Council at an Ordinary Council Meeting by the Mayor, the Chief Executive Officer, or a Councillor. This can be any City of Stirling Councillor, and does not have to be a Councillor from a particular ward.
For hard copy petitions, the person initiating the petition must forward it to the Chief Executive Officer or a Councillor prior to the commencement of the Ordinary Council Meeting at which they would like the petition presented. Although the Councillor is not bound to present a petition, it is traditionally accepted that he or she will present it, irrespective of personal views. Presentation of a petition by a Councillor does not mean that he or she necessarily agrees or disagrees with the intent of the petition.
ePetitions are submitted online via our online facility and will follow the same process outlined above.
One of the first items of business at a Council meeting is to receive any petitions that has been presented. The Chief Executive Officer or Councillor presenting the petition will read out a summary of the reasons for the petition being submitted and the amount of signatures within it.
When the petition is received, no discussion on the matter will take place, however the petition will be referred to the responsible Business Unit within the City for appropriate action.
For more information on Council meetings, visit the Council meetings page.
No. Only one petition of the same wording can be active at any one time.
No. Only electors of the City can sign a petition and therefore must be 18 years or older.
If you sign an ePetition, your initials and the suburb of electors who sign an ePetition will be available on the City’s website.
Details included on hard copy petitions will not be publicly available on the City's website.
You can share your petition on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and via email by using the ‘Share this petition’ option on the petition page, or by copying the URL and pasting it on your desired platform.
Please note that this feature is applicable to ePetitions only.
