Over the past 12 months, the City of Melbourne ran more than 50 community engagement consultations, hearing from more than 10,000 people. We are proud of our community engagement but also know that we can improve.

We are particularly interested in ways to increase participation from young people, people born overseas, people who speak a language other than English at home and business owners. We are also interested in how we can make our community engagement processes more transparent – so you feel well informed and can see how your feedback is used in Council decision making.

Our current Community Engagement Policy outlines our commitment and approach to community engagement. It was developed in 2020 and endorsed in 2021. About 1,200 people shared feedback to help inform this policy, but a lot has changed since then and we are keen to hear what is still working well and what needs a refresh.

To ensure the 2025 Community Engagement Policy and Practice review builds on what we already know, we have reviewed a range of information:

• Our operational data, including our participant numbers and demographics.
• Participate Melbourne website analytics.
  
• Community feedback gathered through a range of engagements, including the 2024 Neighbourhood Survey and the 2020 Community Engagement Policy consultation.
  
• Feedback from participants at the M2050 Summit, the M2050 People’s Panel and the People’s Panel on Affordable Housing.
  
• The 2025 Community Satisfaction Survey.

• As a capital city, our community includes residents, workers, visitors, students and business owners. Overall, we hear from business owners less frequently than people in the other groups.
• Our resident population is relatively young and multicultural when compared with other municipalities, but people who participate in our engagements don’t always reflect this.

How people like to engage

• Community have told us they want lots of different ways to participate, based on what suits them.
• Many people prefer online surveys because they allow them to quickly share feedback when it suits them. Some people prefer in-person activities to hear from, and connect with, other people.
• Feedback from the People's Panels for M2050 and Affordable Housing show more in-depth activities can increase trust and confidence in the City of Melbourne.

What makes it hard to engage

Community have told us there are several things that can make it harder for them to participate:

• not being aware of opportunities
• limited time – particularly for business owners, workers and those with caregiving responsibilities
• not feeling welcome or included
• finding the information hard to understand
• language barriers
• not feeling confident – either speaking in person or using technology
• not feeling like feedback will make a difference.