Wyndham City and the community have a shared responsibility to protect public amenity and maintain community safety. With this shared commitment, council has the legal responsibility to ensure there is compliance with local laws, rules or obligations. Residents, businesses and visitors have a responsibility to understand and comply with these laws. The need for enforcement action is reduced with voluntary compliance.
When compliance is not achieved, enforcement action is one of the key ways in which Council helps achieve the economic, social and environmental objectives outlined in the Wyndham 2040 Vision. It is critical that enforcement activity is well designed, targeted and efficiently administered.
This policy describes Council’s commitment to a shared responsibility with the community in achieving compliance. It provides a framework upon which Council officers will base their enforcement decisions and actions. It will provide a consistent approach in the use of community awareness, education and enforcement actions by officers to achieve compliance outcomes.
The policy does not cover instances where there is a legislative or legal requirement for a Council officer to take a prescribed enforcement action.
Council will, at times, have joint enforcement responsibilities with other regulatory agencies. This policy sets out a collaborative and cooperative approach to working with other agencies to support the protection of public amenity and maintenance of public safety in Wyndham.