Council Meetings

The Mayor and Councillors of the Glenelg Shire welcome all members of the community to attend these Council Meetings.  Seating is provided in the public gallery at the rear of the Council Chamber.  When attending meetings, members of the public are bound by Council’s Governance Rules and are not permitted to interrupt the meeting proceedings.

The only formal decision-making process of a Council is via Council Meetings, which Councillors attend and are eligible to vote.  At these meetings Council makes decisions on Council policy, financial and resource allocation, community development, infrastructure and planning requirements. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and members of the Executive Management Team also attend the meetings, to provide information or advice when called upon by the Council but do not participate in the voting process.

Council Meetings are generally held on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Portland Municipal Office – Council Chambers, 71 Cliff Street Portland, from 5.30pm, however a varied program may apply to accommodate public holidays or over the Christmas / New Year period. Council will also conduct meetings at other Glenelg Shire Venues in March, April and September. The Council meeting schedule is assembled according to the Mayoral Year (December to November).

The Mayor and Councillors may occasionally call an unscheduled Meeting of Council to deal with urgent items.  These meetings are usually held in the Council Chambers at the specified time and date advertised under the public notices in the local media and Council’s website.

Council Question Time

• Council will hold Question Time for up to 30 minutes duration at each scheduled Council Meeting to allow community questions of Council, except for meetings held during an election period.
• Community members wishing to ask questions at council meetings may do so, in writing, by submitting their questions by midday the business day prior to the council meeting.
• Questions (maximum 100 words including any pre-amble) may be submitted by mail (noting Australia Post delivery times), email enquiry@glenelg.vic.gov.au or delivered in person to a Council customer service centre, but are limited to three (3) questions per person per Meeting.
• Offensive, trivial, and repetitive questions or questions which have been recently answered, may be excluded at the discretion of the CEO.
• Both the question and answer will be read out at the meeting by the Mayor.

The Council Meeting Dates for 2025-2026 Mayoral Year: 

A Statutory Council Meeting will be held on 18 November 2026.

November 2026 and December 2026 Council Meeting dates to be decided at the Statutory Council Meeting to be held in November 2026.