Outback Communities (Administration and Management) Act 2009

The Authority must prepare and adopt a public consultation policy for use in connection with—

strategic management plans (see section 15); and

annual business plans and budgets (see section 16); and

community affairs resourcing and management agreements (see section 17); and

the making of decisions or the taking of action by the Authority under a provision of the Local Government

Act 1999 applied by this Act that requires the following of a public consultation policy (see

Part

3Division 2); and

the making of regulations applying the provisions of an Act (see

Part

3Division 3); and

the making by the Authority of decisions of a kind prescribed by the regulations.

The public consultation policy—

must provide interested persons with a reasonable opportunity to make submissions on the matters subject to consultation and require the

Authority to consider submissions made in accordance with the policy; and

must comply, in respect of the making of decisions or the taking of action by the Authority under a provision of the Local Government Act 1999 applied by this Act that requires the following of a public consultation policy, with any applicable requirements of that Act as if it were a public consultation policy of a council; and

may provide for any other matter considered appropriate by the

Authority; and

may provide for processes that vary according to the classes of decisions that are within the scope of the policy.

The Authority may, from time to time, vary or substitute the public consultation policy.

However, before the Authority adopts, varies or substitutes a public consultation policy, the Authority must—

prepare a document that sets out its proposal in relation to the matter; and

make the document publicly available (including on a website) and invite submissions to be made within a specified period (of at least 1 month);

and

consider submissions made in response to the invitation.

The Authority is not required to do so for a variation or substitution that the Authority determines is of only minor significance that would attract little (or no) community interest.