2025 By-Law Review

City of Mount Gambier is seeking community feedback on its proposed By-Laws.

One of the ways that Council regulates activity in our city is through the adoption of By-Laws. The Local Government Act 1999 (the Act) provides councils with the power to set certain rules about what activities are permitted, what activities require permission and what activities are prohibited. By-Laws are used, along with a range of other mechanisms, to ensure that residents and visitors of our Council can enjoy a clean, safe and enjoyable city.

Why are the By-Laws being reviewed?

By-Laws must be reviewed once in every seven years. The review includes consideration of changes in relevant legislation, changes in the compliance requirements or activities of the council and issues of particular significance to the community which may be reasonably regulated by a By-Law. Importantly, By-Laws cannot overlap onto subject matter which is already covered by Federal or State legislation.

What makes up the review?

By-Laws operate in a two-part system. The first part being the By-Law document itself, which contains the necessary power for Council to regulate a certain activity (e.g. gives Council the power to set ‘dog on leash’ areas). The second part is how Council resolves to apply that regulation (e.g. dogs must be ‘on leash’ at Blue Lake Sports Park and the Railway Lands). Council cannot resolve to apply a regulation to an activity which is not provided for in the By-Law documents themselves, however they will not necessarily apply a regulation to all activities which are included.

Council current has five (5) By-Laws, including:

• No. 1 – Permits and Penalties
• No. 2 – Local Government Land
• No. 3 – Roads
• No. 4 – Moveable Signs
• No. 5 – Dogs

Further to previous feedback received from our consultation on the proposed Dog and Cat Management Plan, Council is also proposing the introduction of a new By-Law, which will be:

• No. 6 – Cats

An overview of the relevant changes can be found under the ‘Documents’ section to the righthand side of this page, as well as some FAQs, and a marked up version of each of the By-Law documents for your reference.

The By-Law review consultation will be conducted in two (2) phases, aligned to how the By-Laws operate:

1. Feedback on the By-Law documents themselves – during this phase we are seeking your feedback on the powers contained in By-Law documents (e.g. should there be a provision which enables Council to regulate dogs), and
2. Feedback on the application of the By-Law documents within Council’s area (e.g. what areas should dogs be allowed off leash).

The current consultation is phase one (1), where we are seeking your feedback on the By-Laws themselves. Phase (2) of consultation will be conducted in the second half of 2025.

How to have your say:

Council invites community feedback by providing a submission to the proposed By-Law changes before 5:00 pm on Monday 12 May 2025, by:

• Completing an online submission form
• E-mail: city@mountgambier.sa.gov.au
• Mail: City of Mount Gambier, PO Box 56, Mount Gambier SA 5290
• In person: Civic Centre, 10 Watson Tce, Mount Gambier.

All submissions will be presented to Council for consideration at the Ordinary Meeting in June, following closing of the consultation. After consideration of submissions, the Council shall make any requisite amendments in line with subject matter expert legal advice, and endorse final By-Laws for adoption.