Draft Community Engagement Strategy


Community engagement describes how we work together with the community to shape the decisions Council makes about projects, plans, policies and programs.

It helps us to understand varied perspectives, meaning that Council is better positioned to enhance projects and make decisions that are influenced by community aspirations, needs, knowledge, and lived experience.

Council’s Community Engagement Strategy (CES) outlines our approach and key focus areas related to engaging with the community as part of Council’s decision-making processes.

We reviewed and revised our CES and made further updates following the Public Exhibition process.

Some Background

The CES is a requirement under the Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) framework, alongside documents such as the Community Strategic Plan, Delivery Program and Operational Plan. The current version of our CES was developed and adopted in 2022; informed by legislative requirements, NSW IP&R Guidelines and Handbook, Council’s Community Participation Plan, best practice examples, community feedback, and the local Wollondilly Shire context. With the new term of Council, we reviewed the 2022 CES.

An Overview

The redrafted 2024 CES streamlines the information about Council’s approach to engagement and recalibrates our focus areas for 2024-2028. It outlines what engagement is; values and principles; why, when, and who we engage; how we engage – process and methods; levels of engagement; and focus areas for the coming four years. Each focus area has key actions, broadly outlined as:

1. Strengthen Council’s relationship with community by engaging effectively

  • Ongoing support and good practice
  • Specific goals

2. Capture a broad range of perspectives

  • Providing variety in methods
  • Ensuring inclusion and accessibility

3. Bring our community with us as we grow

  • Engaging on big picture plans and projects
  • Advocating for community priorities

4. Embed a culture of community engagement across the organisation

  • Providing training and resources to elevate skills

5. Continually improve our engagement

  • Exploring ways to facilitate
  • Monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating.



Community engagement describes how we work together with the community to shape the decisions Council makes about projects, plans, policies and programs.

It helps us to understand varied perspectives, meaning that Council is better positioned to enhance projects and make decisions that are influenced by community aspirations, needs, knowledge, and lived experience.

Council’s Community Engagement Strategy (CES) outlines our approach and key focus areas related to engaging with the community as part of Council’s decision-making processes.

We reviewed and revised our CES and made further updates following the Public Exhibition process.

Some Background

The CES is a requirement under the Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) framework, alongside documents such as the Community Strategic Plan, Delivery Program and Operational Plan. The current version of our CES was developed and adopted in 2022; informed by legislative requirements, NSW IP&R Guidelines and Handbook, Council’s Community Participation Plan, best practice examples, community feedback, and the local Wollondilly Shire context. With the new term of Council, we reviewed the 2022 CES.

An Overview

The redrafted 2024 CES streamlines the information about Council’s approach to engagement and recalibrates our focus areas for 2024-2028. It outlines what engagement is; values and principles; why, when, and who we engage; how we engage – process and methods; levels of engagement; and focus areas for the coming four years. Each focus area has key actions, broadly outlined as:

1. Strengthen Council’s relationship with community by engaging effectively

  • Ongoing support and good practice
  • Specific goals

2. Capture a broad range of perspectives

  • Providing variety in methods
  • Ensuring inclusion and accessibility

3. Bring our community with us as we grow

  • Engaging on big picture plans and projects
  • Advocating for community priorities

4. Embed a culture of community engagement across the organisation

  • Providing training and resources to elevate skills

5. Continually improve our engagement

  • Exploring ways to facilitate
  • Monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating.