What is a petition?

Petitions allow the community to bring matters of concern to Council’s attention. Council can be petitioned for any matter that comes under its jurisdiction. 

Council considers a document to be a petition when it:

• Makes a request of Council, or expresses an objection or viewpoint
• Is signed by five or more persons
• Contains the names and residential addresses of individual signatories

Who can submit a petition?

Anyone who is an Australian resident or citizen can sign or organise a petition.

You may want to use the petition to Council form as guidance.

Where do I send a petition?

Petitions to Council may be addressed to the Chief Executive Officer and be:

• Posted to Northern Beaches Council, PO Box 82, Manly 1685
• Delivered in person to a Customer Service Centre
• Submitted via email to council@northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au
• Tabled at Council meeting, subject to the petition requirements being met.

How does Council action a petition?

Council will review your petition to see if it meets petition requirements. If your petition meets requirements, we will acknowledge its receipt within 10 working days and let you know which area is dealing with the petition. An internal memo is then drafted by the relevant area with the redacted petition attached (signatures and contact details redacted, names remain) and sent to the Councillors for their further information and/or action.

Petitions relating to a Development Application

As outlined in Council's Community Participation Plan petitions received which relate to a Development Application will be considered as a single submission, irrespective of the number of signatories.  Only the organiser of the petition will be notified of Council's determination of the application.

How to petition other levels of government

Before you submit a petition check with Council to see if we are already acting on your concerns and to confirm if Council is the most appropriate body to act on your petition.

State legislation may affect Council’s ability to respond to some petitions, including those related to development assessment, tendering or electoral laws, in the period immediately before an election. Council may need to deal with your petition differently or in a different timeframe. If this is the case we will contact the principal petitioner to explain.

• Petition to NSW Parliament
• Petition to Parliament of Australia

Protecting your privacy

Information provided in a petition is protected by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. Our privacy page gives more information.

No personal information such as petition signatures, names and addresses will be reported to a Council meeting or published on our website. The Council report will only provide a summary of the petition’s terms and the number of signatories.

Petition requirements

Before you start collecting signatures, make sure you meet petition requirements.