Governance Information

Delegated correspondence introductions

New correspondence introduction templates have been developed for when you respond to correspondence (letters, emails, etc) on behalf of the Mayor or CEO.

If any correspondence from a resident or ratepayer is delegated to you by the Mayor or CEO’s office for a response, there are now some standard introductory sentences to be used. 

It’s also important to remember that all signed letters must be scanned and saved back in to Objective so they have the correct date and signature included.

Select the introduction that best suits the response:

Option 1:

Thank you for your correspondence of [insert date] addressed to the [insert Mayor and/or CEO].

The [insert Mayor and/or CEO] has noted your letter and has requested that I review and respond to the matters you raise therein.

Option 2:

Thank you for your correspondence of [insert date] addressed to the [insert Mayor and/or CEO].

The [insert Mayor and/or CEO] has noted with concern the situation you face and has referred this important matter to me as the officer responsible for resolution and response.

Option 3:

Thank you for your correspondence of [insert date] addressed to the [insert Mayor and/or CEO].

The [insert Mayor and/or CEO] has requested that I respond to you in this matter and brief them as appropriate on the resolution of your concerns.

Option 4:

Thank you for your correspondence of [insert date] addressed to the [insert Mayor and/or CEO].

As the concern you raise is of an operational nature, Council requires that for expedience, these matters be addressed by responsible officers as a matter of priority.

Procedure for dealing with subpoenas

From time to time Council may be served with a subpoena.  Subpoenas are usually requiring information in the form of documentation but can sometimes be requiring attendance by a council officer to give evidence at a county or district court. There is always only a defined and short period of time in which Council must respond to a subpoena so time is critical.

Subpoenas can be issued by the clerk of the court itself or by solicitors as officers of the court acting on behalf of any party involved in a particular issue.

In all instances, the CEO, as Council’s delegated representative, must be issued with the subpoena.  Governance, on his behalf, will then seek the information and liaise with the appropriate officers.

Subpoenas may be served in one of two ways:

• They can be delivered directly to the organisation via Customer Service or through Records. Customer Service staff will then give the subpoena to Records who will process it in Objective, send it to Governance for action and copy the CEO.  The relevant or named officers to the subpoena will be contacted directly by Governance.
   
• Occasionally, subpoenas will be served directly to an officer from the other party or by our Council’s solicitors.  In this instance, the officer receiving the subpoena should not action it at that time but immediately forward it to Records for the appropriate processing in Objective. Records will send it to Governance for action and copy the CEO. The relevant or named officers will be contacted directly by Governance. 

So, if you receive a subpoena for any reason, please immediately forward it to Records for Objective processing. They will take it from there and you will be contacted directly as to how you will be needed to assist the process.

This system is designed to keep the CEO informed at all times as he is the officer initially responsible for responding to any subpoena on behalf of this organisation. It is also important that any subpoena is saved correctly in Objective only once and that all the relevant people mentioned above are given the appropriate advice. Some subpoenas are related in some way to issues that are being dealt with in different areas of council such as Freedom of Information requests or insurance claims.  It is crucial that the above process is followed so that all the appropriate parties can be included, that diligent and thorough searches for documentation are undertaken across the organisation, that Council provides a consistent method of response to all subpoenas and that Council is not exposed to any other unnecessary risks through any action arising from issued subpoenas.

NB: It is understood that some units deal with subpoenas in a different format. If this includes you, please always advise Governance when receiving subpoenas.

If you are in any doubt, please call Governance at governance@cgd.vic.gov.au

The City of Greater Dandenong does not have a Certificate of Incorporate, but the Victoria Government Gazette of when we amalgamated may be used.

Linked below is a copy of the Victoria Government Gazette (Special) No. S 97 from Thursday 15 December 1994, where along with nearly all other Councils in Victoria, the City of Dandenong was abolished, and merged with sections of the City of Berwick, City of Springvale, and Shire of Cranbourne into the new City of Greater Dandenong.

Victoria Government Gazette (Special) No. S 97 - Thursday 15 December 1994 - 32KB

National Competition Policy (NCP) is about delivering benefits to the Australian community. NCP reforms are designed to enable and encourage competition.

The Trade Practices Act covers anti-competitive and un-fair market practices, mergers or acquisitions of companies, product safety/liability, and third party access to facilities of national significance.

Positive Compliance Action conducts Trades Practices Act (TPA) training each year, and provides articles that discuss individual council officers' responsibilities, as well as your rights as individuals.

The articles also serve as a refresher for people who attend the training, and are a good introduction to the TPA.

Under the Victorian Local Government Act, each Council is a body corporate and a legal entity in its own right. Each Council must therefore have a common seal (like any corporate entity) that is an official sanction of that Council.

Sealing a document makes it an official document of Council as a corporate body. The Council Seal need only be affixed to documents ‘usually’ as follows:

• Planning Schemes
• Land Transaction Documents (including Sales, Purchases, Developments, Usage)
• Mortgages, Loans and Debentures
• Memorandums of Understanding
• Contracts and Legal Instruments (where required)
• Ceremonial documents (at the CEO's discretion)

If you need to have a document signed and sealed, then that document must go before Council at a Council Meeting. You will need to carry out the following steps.

1. Complete a Documents for Sealing form
   Documents for Sealing form - 206KB
    
2. A form is available here (it must be printed on yellow paper). Alternatively you can obtain forms by emailing Governance at governance@cgd.vic.gov.au
3. Ensure your original documents and duplicates are signed by the other party(ies)
4. Ensure any amendments in your original documents and duplicates are initialed by the other party(ies)
5. Ensure your original documents and duplicates are dated where required.
6. Highlight every place where documents are to be signed or amendments initialed
7. Attach the completed Documents for Sealing form to your documents and forward to Governance

It is crucial that all documents are signed and dated by the other party(ies) involved before they are sealed by Council.

Documents for Sealing are placed in the Agenda for each Council Meeting. That means they are due to Governance eighteen days before each Council Meeting at 12 midday, as per Report Deadlines. 

Once all the documents are signed and sealed, Governance will retain one copy for Records Management. The remaining copies will be sent back to you within three days of the Council meeting. 

Please do not hesitate to contact Governance at governance@cgd.vic.gov.au if you have any questions.

Please note that service recognition letters are not sealed under the Common Seal or included as an item in Council meeting agenda's under 'Documents for Sealing'.  The People & Culture team are now looking after this process, please refer to https://thesource.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au/safety-health-and-wellbeing/reward-and-recognition or contact them directly for further information on the new process.