Legislation and policy
Public engagement is embedded in a broad range of legislation, regulations and directives. They guide why, when and how Victorians are engaged in government projects and decisions. Legislation and policies that have informed the framework are:
- Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006
- The Child Safe Standards, Commission for Children and Young People
- Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees 2015
- Code of Ethical Practice, Youth Affairs Council of Victoria 2007
- Disability Act 2006
- Equal Opportunity Act 2010
- Heritage Act 2017
- Information Privacy Act 2000
- National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2018
- Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004
- Outcomes Reform in Victoria 2018
- Planning and Environment Act 1987
- Privacy and Data Protection Act 2004
- Public Administration Act 2004
- Public Participation in Government Decision-making, Better Practice Guide, Victorian Auditor-General’s Office 2015
- Subordinate Legislation Act 1994
- Transport Integration Act 2010
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989
- United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007
- Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018-2023
- Victorian Guide to Regulation 2016
- Victorian Public Sector Values
- Victorian State-Local Government Agreement 2014
- Victoria’s Value Creation and Capture Framework 2016
Other legislation and policy were indirectly considered as part of the development of the framework. These have not been listed above.
Public engagement best practice
The Public Engagement Framework 2021-2025 provides a guide to best practices. It builds on the values and standards developed by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2), and nuances this for the Victorian Government context. IAP2 is a leading organisation in public engagement practice. IAP2 has a series of tools that support the delivery of engagement, including:
- Core Values informing best practice engagement and defining expectations of the process
- Public Participation Spectrum defining the role of the public in engagement processes
- Code of Ethics for public participation practitioners, a guide for ethics in public engagement
- Quality Assurance Standard describing the important elements of public engagement processes.
Engagement practitioners must be familiar with the IAP2 values, spectrum, ethics and quality assurance standard. These tools should inform engagements with the public.
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