Community Local Laws

Our Community Local Laws enable us to maintain a thriving Ballarat by ensuring everyone enjoys a safe and vibrant environment. They guide how we look after public space, trees and properties, how we manage waste and recycling, community safety, amenity concerns, how businesses operate, how many pets you can have at home and so much more. These Community Local Laws prevent individual actions from negatively impacting our shared community.

These Community Local Laws empower us to uphold community health, safety, and amenity by setting clear guidelines for public and private behaviour, with appropriate consequences for non-compliance.

The objectives of this Community Local Law are to:

• encourage and promote peace, order and community connectedness within the municipality
• create a safe, healthy and accessible environment for residents and visitors
• maintaining and enhancing community amenity
• provide provisions for keeping of certain animals
• to provide a consistent and fair application of this Community Local Law
• ensure compliance with the relevant legislation
• foster vibrant and prosperous businesses in the municipality

and, to achieve these objectives the intended effect of this Community Local Law is to:  

• regulate and manage activities of people within the municipality which may be dangerous, unsafe or detrimental to the quality of life, people, or the environment of the municipality
• regulate and manage the use of and activity on Council land, roads and Council assets; and
• provide standards and conditions for specified activities to protect the safety and welfare of people within the municipality, as well as the health and integrity of the local environment. 

The Community Local Law covers a significant number of matters that happen within our community. There are 94 clauses or parts within our Community Local Law 2017.

This Community Local Law applies throughout the whole of the municipality of the City of Ballarat but does not apply where any act or thing is authorised by or under any Act, Rule or Regulation, or by the Ballarat Planning Scheme.

The Community Local Law is made by Council under the Local Government Act 2020 to address local issues. It focuses on things like community safety, protecting public assets and neighbourhood amenity across our municipality.

The Ballarat Planning Scheme is different; it is part of the Victorian planning system and sets the rules for how land can be used and developed.

The Community Local Law does not apply where matters are already covered under other regulations, such as the Ballarat Planning Scheme or other state legislation.

Event or activities such as:

• fundraising / raffle ticket sellers
• highway intersection collection
• walkathons / fun runs
• fireworks
• advertising signs
• recreational activity for commercial gain
• hosting of events in public spaces

Other activities such as:

• keeping certain animals
• burning off or lighting fires
• operating a food or mobile business
• placing goods or signage on footpaths
• busking 

Ballarat has many parks, waterways and sporting reserves that can be used for a wide range of events and activities.

To manage these on behalf of our community, those responsible for planning and delivering the event, must apply to the City of Ballarat for a permit to use the public space. 

Go to Ballarat event application guide

Often a permit is required to place items such as:

• advertising signs
• outdoor dining furniture
• skip bins or building materials.

This helps ensure safety and accessibility for everyone. 

Go to Preparing your street presence for information.

City of Ballarat can act where a matter breaches a Community Local Law. However, purely private disputes may need to be resolved between neighbours or through the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria. 

City of Ballarat’s approach is to work alongside residents wherever possible. Officers may provide advice, guidance, or extensions of time when appropriate.

However, if issues are not resolved, City of Ballarat may issue formal directions, or issue fines. In some cases, City of Ballarat may arrange for the works to be completed and recover the cost from the property owner.