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The 2025 Local Law introduces several changes, including new regulations and the removal of outdated clauses.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.
