Events

To provide guidance on councils support to event organisers in Moyne Shire.

This policy applies to events staged in Moyne, including those that are:

• Established, new or proposed;
• One-off or recurrent;
• Managed by not-for profit community organisations or commercial organisations;
• Held on public or private land.

Excluded from this policy are:

• Business events (i.e. conferences, workshops, seminars);
• Private functions; and
• Political rallies and demonstrations.

Event

A gathering of people, which is free or ticketed, at a predetermined location, for a specific purpose, for a specified time. Can occur in either open space or within a building or enclosure. Examples include, but are not limited to festivals, markets, concerts, or outdoor entertainment.

Categories of events include

Local or community

Organised by community groups, not-for-profit organisations, special interest groups, trader groups or council, intended to create positive outcomes through attendance and volunteerism. They provide participation and social connection opportunities for a local audience for the purposes of entertainment, recreation, celebration, education and/or fundraising.

Major

Often larger in scale than local or community events, which attract regional, state, national and/or international audiences. These events may be managed by professional event organisers and can demonstrate direct impact on the local economy.

Civic

Cultural and recognition activities of local or higher significance. They are usually ceremonial, remembrance, advocacy or celebratory in nature and align with national days or events of significance, such as Australia Day, NAIDOC Week, ANZAC Day.

Sporting or recreational

local or visiting events with a competition and/or participation focus, which offer spectator and/or participant opportunities such as road cycling tours, fun runs, triathlons etc.

An event excludes a private function, except where it is specifically included in the categories of events outlined above.

Festival

A series of events or programs linked around a theme (i.e. music genre, food), purpose (cause) or place (i.e. town, natural asset). Festivals are larger in scope, delivered over multiple days with a range of events and/or activities attracting local residents and visitors.

Major festival

large scale with a state, national or international profile. May be managed by professional event organisers. These are often held annually and generate substantial and demonstrable economic, tourism, social, community and cultural benefits.

Private function

Hosted (on private land or public land) for a closed or invited group e.g. weddings, parties, and ceremonies. Functions not guaranteed exclusive use of public land.

Market

An organised gathering of traders and producers for the public sale of goods, merchandise and produce direct. Often includes itinerant food and beverage vendors and entertainment.

Private land

Any land which is not council owned or managed, or under the management of another government / public body.

Public land

Any land within Moyne managed by council or other public authorities, which are accessible to the public for community use or environmental protection.

Council recognises a diverse, inclusive and accessible event calendar contributes to the economic, environmental, and social wellbeing of the community.

Council understands that empowered and engaged communities are best placed to deliver events and commits to support local volunteers to plan and deliver events.

Council seeks to support community event organisers to achieve the following objectives.

Increase community benefit and build capacity

• Supporting opportunities for community volunteering.
• Enhancing the skills and capacity of local residents including development of local leadership.
• Providing social connection, participation and enjoyment for both residents and visitors.
• Creating platforms and means for charity, fundraising and awareness raising campaigns.

Increase cultural and entertainment experiences

• Providing opportunities for creative expression and celebration of diversity.
• Building an inclusive community that embraces diversity and celebrates our collective heritage.
• Enabling recognition, remembrance, celebration and commemoration of local, state and national occasions.

Enhance community safety

• Creating a safer community by building a sense of belonging, community identity and community pride.
• Encouraging respectful and inclusive environments, including the creation of cultures of child safety and the inclusion of young people.
• Supporting compliance with laws and regulations in delivering events that eliminate or minimise negative impacts upon the community.

Maximise visitation and economic impact

• Generating benefit to the visitor economy by creating local investment and spending within the retail, hospitality, and accommodation sectors.
• Increasing tourism visitation by promoting the location and lifestyle advantages that make Moyne Shire as a great place to live, work and visit.

Events employ sustainable practices

• All events managed under this policy must reflect council’s strong commitment to environmental sustainability.
• Council will prescribe minimum requirements for waste management and other measures. Annual and repeat events must demonstrate continuing improvement in sustainable environmental practices and progress toward best practice in event management, waste management and sustainable transport.

Council provides several roles in the support and assistance of event organisers. These roles are described below:

To provide technical advice and general support to ensure efficient and effective events.

Council provides support to organisers through:

• Event management guidelines providing organisers with technical advice, guidance and tips in event planning.
• Event marketing guide providing organisers with advice, guidance, and tips in marketing and social media.
• Access to officers of council who can provide professional advice and access broader government resources (including opportunity for pre-event and post-event meetings).

Council’s networks create an awareness of what is occurring in the local and regional events landscape that can assist to identify audience burn out, avoid event clashes and manage event impact on communities.

Attractor

To encourage, facilitate and attract events that enhance diverse entertainment offerings with consideration of seasonal and geographic dispersal.

Working with key stakeholders and the events community to:

• Attract new events to the Moyne Shire region.
• Disperse events throughout the year and across all seasons to maintain visitor investment and local entertainment options. 
• Support and influence a spread of events throughout the municipality.

Capacity builder

To build the skills and capacity of event organisers in the delivery of successful and sustainable events.

Provide skill development and networking sessions directly through council and its partners (i.e. regional and local tourism associations, adjacent council’s, Regional Development Victoria etc.)

Connector

To identify potential partnerships and opportunities that support a vibrant festival and events program.

Identify and broker relationships to improve knowledge and resource sharing between:

• Other event organisers
• Key suppliers and support agencies
• Other potential new events
• Local businesses and community members.

Enabler

To support communities to deliver inclusive, well managed and safe events.

Allow permission and provide assistance via permit processes, in the form of:

• An event permit (festivals and events held on public land)
• A planning permit (festivals and events and held on private land)
• A place of public entertainment permit (Occupancy permit for larger events that are usually contained within a substantially enclosed indoor or outdoor venue).

Council receives notification of private functions proposed to be held on public land but cannot confirm exclusive use of public spaces such as beaches, or botanic gardens etc. In response, council provides:

• Advice on issues, works and/or considerations in using these spaces; and
• When appropriate and reasonable to do so, endeavour, to undertake maintenance so as to reduce negative impact on the private function.

Partner

To assist events to be financially viable, environmentally sustainable and evolve successfully.

Council assists in the provision of direct funding opportunities through its community funding program; and advising of grants and sponsorships available through other levels of government and philanthropic trusts.

Producer

Coordinate local events that provide civic recognition to local projects, commemorations and launches.

Council contributes to the local event calendar through the direct planning and implementation of a number of events including but not limited to:

• Port Fairy Street Fair
• Love Local annual program
• Official openings and launches (new services, programs and assets)
• Conferences and seminars
• Facility and service open days
• Special civic events that celebrate and commemorate important community and cultural traditions such as Reconciliation Week, Australia Day etc.
• Programs such as FREEZA events for young people.

Council also actively participates at festivals and events, where available and appropriate, to showcase and share information with visitors and promote council services.

Promoter

To support opportunity for publicity and marketing to ensure audience reach and promotion of Moyne’s event calendar.

Council assists with promotion of local events and festivals by:

• Posting on partner websites (i.e. peak tourism body websites and social media channels).
• Posting on Council managed websites and social media channels and visitor information services (including accredited information centres and ticket agencies).
• Making connections with print, digital and other media, to maximise the benefits arising from events.
• Ensuring organisers access maximum audience reach by using avenues such as the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse.
• Leveraging opportunities through Council service promotions and its visitor services team pop up promotions, that promote the region.
• Professional advice and guidance from Council’s event, customer service and communications staff.

Regulator

To ensure a vibrant and successful event program meets community needs and safety.

Council ensures the regulation of events according to Council standards and compliance requirements, including traffic management, liquor licensing, environmental health, risk and emergency management.

Supporter

To provide resources, material and equipment that supports event delivery.

Council hires out goods and services to support events including:

• Event games trailer
• Signage
• Waste wise trailer;
• Street barriers and road closures;
• All abilities assistive equipment including portable accessible toilet, portable PA system and hearing loops;
• Grounds maintenance (i.e. mowing)
• Provision of community venues and public facilities.

Council receives many requests for support and provides resources where appropriate and in a fair and equitable manner based on need and event scale.

Council is committed to ensuring that events are run safely, and all compliance requirements are met, while minimising negative impacts upon the community. Events delivered in Moyne Shire must demonstrate compliance with legislative requirements such as those outlined in:

• Planning and Environment Act (1987)
• Liquor Control Reform Act (1998)
• Road Management Act (2004)
• Transport Act (1983)
• Building Act 1993 and Building Regulations (2006)
• Food Act (1984)
• Moyne Shire General Local Law No. 1 (2015)
• Moyne Shire Planning Scheme.

Moyne Shire Council is a child safe organisation and takes a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse, ensuring respectful attitudes, behaviours and beliefs are shaped within the culture of the organisation.

Council is committed to the safety, participation, and empowerment of all children within council run services and events.

Council encourages all event managers to adhere to the standards for all organisations that provide services to children to ensure the creation of cultures of child safety where children feel safe and are safe.