Your Local Law Review
Council adopted the new General Local Law 2025 at the September 2025 Council Meeting. The new Local Law came into effect on 20 October 2025.
The new law provides a modern framework to maintain community safety, protect public assets, and enhance local amenity across the shire.
The 2015 Local Law was due to expire after a 10-year period, prompting a comprehensive review.
The development of the new law involved a rigorous consultation process, with Council engaging the community through surveys and workshops that generated more than 180 responses to help shape the final document.
Chief Executive Officer, Peter Harriott, said the updated law reflects the changing needs of the community.
"This new Local Law gives Council the tools to respond to both current and emerging issues raised by our residents," Mr Harriott said.
"We are grateful to everyone who participated in the consultation process. This feedback was crucial in shaping a law that is fair, clear, and relevant to the Central Goldfields Shire."
The 2025 Local Law introduces several changes, including new regulations and the removal of outdated clauses.
For example, there's a new rule for shopping trolleys, which was created in response to community feedback.
The new law places a clear obligation on retailers to manage their assets. Businesses must now have a regular collection system in place, ensure trolleys are clearly marked with their business name, and collect any abandoned trolleys within 12 hours of being notified by a Council officer.
Another change involves the removal of the specific clause from the 2015 law that prohibited dogs in retail precincts.
This decision was also made following community consultation. While the blanket ban is gone, dog owners are reminded of their ongoing responsibilities.
Owners must still prevent their dog from causing a nuisance and are required to clean up any excrement.
Other new additions to the Local Law address common community issues such as ensuring refuse is properly contained on building sites; managing planting on nature strips; dealing with dilapidated buildings to improve neighbourhood amenity; and prohibiting the use of drones at Maryborough Aerodrome without permission.
The General Local Law 2025 will be available for viewing on this page and the Council website. It will come into effect after it’s published in the Victorian Government Gazette in the next few weeks.
Community engagement process
In late 2023 we asked the community how we should draft the laws, paying particular attention to common complaints and requests we receive. We received 89 responses during this engagement.
Following this online and in-person engagement process, the Local Law 2025 was drafted. Based on community feedback in 2023, some new laws have been drafted, as well as clarification and changes to some existing laws.
The summary of proposed amendments were provided with the Draft Local Law in July and August 2024, with an online survey to ask the community if we have got it right based on the earlier consultations. This survey received 92 responses from the community, detailed in the Community responses report.
List of changes
The following table highlights the main amendments to the General Local Law 2025;
No. | Excerpt from Local Law | Explanation for Inclusion / Removal |
1.6 | Definitions | Old version had only 13. Now contains 32 definitions which reduce ambiguity in the use of the instrument |
2.1 | Behaviour in Municipal Places | Provides staff with powers to approach people to resolve issues raised by the community not addressed by Victoria Police |
2.2 | Consumption and Possession of Alcohol | Changes to facilitate a Local Laws Permit for alcohol on Council managed land. |
2.4 | Fireworks | Identified gap in law |
2.6 | Bulk Rubbish Containers | Previous combined with industrial and commercial waste related local law |
2.7 | Obstructions to the Safe Use of the Road | Complaint driven law that council was previously unable to respond too. |
2.8 | Commercial Waste | Currently no control over amenity impacts from commercial waste and containment prior to disposal |
2.10 | Repair of Vehicles | Inclusion of vehicle maintenance to current law |
2.11 | Sale of Motor Vehicles | New law to respond to control use of public land for sale of motor vehicles. |
2.13 | Toy Vehicles | Clarification of external regulation of drones and e-scooters |
2.15 | Shopping Trolleys | New law obliging trolley owners to maintain control over the location and use of shopping trolleys |
2.16 | Refuse on Building Sites | New law will allow Compliance Team to improve standards within building sites |
2.18 | Damaging or Interfering with Roads or Municipal Places | New law controls inappropriate use of council assets for personal use. |
2.20 | Drains and Storm Water Discharge | Issue identified within infrastructure and compliance |
2.21 | Planting on Nature Strips | Obliges compliance with Council’s Nature Strip Landscaping Policy |
3.1 | Dangerous and Unsightly Land | Expanded clauses responding to identified gaps in the current law |
3.2 | Vegetation | Responds to gaps in the current law for overhanging vegetation and obstruction of council assets |
3.3 | Dilapidated Buildings | Assists in the rectification of issues before they escalate to more complex building compliance issues. |
3.4 -3.10 | Burning in the Open Air (and associated clauses) | Provides instructions to the community on what can be burnt and when. Resolves confusion over the zoning of land and applicable law. |
3.11 | Motorised Recreation Vehicles | New law provides limits and controls for the use to motorised recreation vehicles on appropriate land. |
3.12 | Heavy Vehicles | Revised law to align with state legislation |
3.13 | Camping, Caravans, and Motorhomes | Provides clarity on when a permit is required for use of a caravan on private property. |
3.15 | Storing Machinery Materials, Goods or Vehicles on Land | New law facilitating permit triggers for secondhand trading and or recycling. |
3.16 | Shipping Containers | Clarifies requirements in relation to building and planning controls |
3.17 | Charity Collection Bins | New law triggering permit requirements for charity bins |
4.1 | Animal Keeping | Updated laws to set limits on maximum number of animals permitted without a permit. |
4.2 | Keeping Excess Animals | Improvements identified to permit system |
4.3 | Animal Housing | Revised law increases clarity of expectation on animal owners. |
4.6 | Pests, Stray Animals and Wildlife | New laws to control proliferation of animals |
4.7 | Wasps and Bees on Private Land | Expanded law for greater clarity. |
6 | Administration | Improved permit application information, process, fees and charges, conditions, amendments and exemptions |
N/A | Dogs in Public Places | Law removed entirely |
You can still ask our Local Laws team to contact you and discuss further
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