Advocacy and Lobbying
The City of Ballarat regularly advocates to the Victorian and Australian governments for funding for important programs and projects that will benefit the Ballarat community and the broader region.
What does advocacy involve?
Our advocacy effort is focused on engaging with other levels of government and key organisations in our community to gain support for Council and community priorities.
It includes regular meetings and representations to ministers, members of parliament and key decision-makers in government. At election time it involves discussing our priorities with candidates from all parties.
Advocacy wins for Ballarat
During the recent federal and state election cycle, $238.4 million in funding has been committed by both levels of government towards projects the City of Ballarat is advocating for.
Part Funded - Ongoing Advocacy
- Art Gallery of Ballarat – Skylight and Humidifier Upgrades - ($536,000 Victorian Government via the Regional Collections Access Program – Creative Victoria)
- Sebastopol Community Hub - ($4.5 million - Australian Government)
- Ballarat-Carngham Road Upgrade - ($6.6 million funding for design works Victorian Government)
- Ballarat Soccer Club Facilities Upgrade - pitch resurfacing and clubrooms, stage two ($500,000 Victorian Government, City of Ballarat $725,618)
- Learmonth Oval Upgrades - ($250,000 Victorian Government via the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund for netball courts and lighting).
- Continuous Voices Memorial - ($500,000 Victorian Government, $520,000 City of Ballarat)
Funded
- Redan Wetlands Revitalisation - loop path and bridges along the Yarrowee Trail - ($1.89 million Australian Government)
- Alfredton Community and Early Years Hub - (Ballymanus) - ($2.25 million Victorian Government, $4.68 million via the Ballarat West Development Contributions Plan, Balance City of Ballarat)
- Ballarat Regional Animal Facility - ($11.5 million Victorian Government)
- Ballarat Major Events Precinct - ($150 million Victorian Government ahead of the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games)
- Ballarat Railway Station Accessibility Upgrade Works ($50 million ahead of the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games
- World Heritage Bid - Central Victorian Goldfields – ($500,000 from Regional Development Victoria's Investment Fast Track Fund)
- Brown Hill Reserve Redevelopment - redevelopment of the Brown Hill Reserve following finalisation of a master plan for the site – ($1 million Victorian Government)
Why is advocacy important?
If we work alone, there are limits to what the City of Ballarat can achieve within our legislative and budgetary capabilities.
That means support from other levels of government is critical to the effective delivery of priority projects, programs, and infrastructure for Ballarat.
Our priority projects
The City of Ballarat has identified a range of priority projects which we are directly advocating for to the Victorian and Australian Governments.
Projects are categorised as follows
Tier 1 - Transformational projects, projects of regional significance
Tier 2 - Projects of city/municipality-wide significance
Tier 3 - Projects of local significance
Details about our Tier 1 projects - Ballarat Link Road Next Stages, Circular Economy Precinct anchored by a Materials Recovery Facility and Major Events Precinct can be found on the pages below.
Details about our Tier 2 – projects of city-wide significance, and Tier 3 – projects of local significance can be found on the pages below.
See all of the priority projects in the City of Ballarat Priority Projects Advocacy Overview Document
Partnership
City of Ballarat also works in partnership with other Ballarat organisations to present our combined priority projects to the Victorian and Australian Governments.
During the most recent state and federal election cycles, Ballarat. Now and Into the Future 2022 sought state and federal government support for six transformational projects for Ballarat and the western region of Victoria.
