An update from the most recent Council Meeting that took place on 15 April 2025.
More information is available at 2025 Council Meeting Agendas and Minutes.
Draft Financial Plan 2025-2035, the draft Annual Action Plan and Budget 2025/2026 and the draft Revenue and Rating Plan 2025-2029
Council endorsed the release of the draft Financial Plan 2025-2035, the draft Annual Action Plan and Budget 2025/2026 and the draft Revenue and Rating Plan 2025-2029 for community consultation from 17 April until 15 May 2025.
The draft Financial Plan outlines a plan for Council’s financial sustainability in the short, medium and long-term to deliver on future projects and address challenges, while ensuring strong financial management.
The draft Annual Action Plan includes 69 actions that respond to what Council heard and understands is important to the community, including dumped rubbish, health and wellbeing, community spaces and building stronger connections.
Council’s total budget for 2025/2026 includes a total operating expenditure of $273.2 million to fund 76 different services, ranging from maternal and child health, arts and culture, statutory planning and parks and public realm.
Council is proposing to spend $56.7 million on capital works projects for essential infrastructure and assets, such as roads and drainage upgrades, improving sports, community and early learning facilities, parks, playgrounds and gardens.
The draft Revenue and Rating Plan provides a medium-term plan for how Council will generate income to deliver on the Council Plan, program and services and capital works commitments from 2026-2029.
For more information and to have your say visit yoursay.brimbank.vic.gov.au
Council’s Response to Dumped Rubbish
Brimbank Council has endorsed a comprehensive action plan to tackle the issue of illegal rubbish dumping and keep Brimbank clean and beautiful. The plan will introduce tighter controls, stronger deterrents, tougher enforcement, more targeted and highly accessible community-wide education and communication programs, and also more collections.
Some of the 15 measures to help tackle the problem of rubbish dumping will be undertaken right away, with other actions proposed to be undertaken in the next financial year 2025/2026. Under the plan, Council proposes to increase its investment in dealing with dumped rubbish by more than 50 per cent.
The prevention measures in the action plan include:
- The expansion of the Resource Recovery Centre, Keilor Park to accept additional problematic items such as soft plastics and Styrofoam.
- A range of targeted engagement and education campaigns aimed at residents, landlords, estate agents, households and businesses, with a focus on people who speak languages other than English.
- Developing new services to support the community to responsibly dispose of difficult items.
- New programs that engage the entire community in the monitoring and reporting of dumped rubbish, with Council partnering with community groups for clean-up initiatives to foster a sense of responsibility and pride in local spaces.
To strengthen enforcement, Council will:
- Install additional CCTV cameras in rubbish dumping hotspots.
- Increase resources to support investigations and prosecutions.
Council will also expand the existing collection service to assist with the high volume of dumped rubbish services by undertaking additional proactive weekend collections.
For more information click here.
Planning Activity Update and Delegate Decisions including Planning Scheme Amendment Update
This report provided Council with an update on:
- The status of Planning Permit Applications in March 2025,
- Decisions made under delegated authority in March 2025 and
- The status of current Planning Scheme Amendments over the same period.
In March 2025 Council officers made 59 planning determinations and 22 subdivision determinations under delegation, and 49 new planning permit applications were received. The value of development for these 49 applications is $15.25 million.
At the end of March 2025, four planning appeals were lodged at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) that had not yet been determined. This is one less than at the end of March 2024.
There are currently two planning scheme amendments where Council is awaiting a decision by the Minister for Planning, including Amendment C219brim (Heritage Update) and Amendment C239brim (Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategy), which were submitted for authorisation on 20 December 2022 and 19 July 2024 respectively.
Planning Application P537/2024 for 110 Milburn Road, Keilor
Council resolved to refuse planning application P537/2024 for the construction of a telecommunications facility at 110 Milburn Road, Keilor.
The permit was refused on a number of grounds. These included the proposed development:
- Failing to protect the rural landscape setting and visual amenity of the area, due to its siting and scale being inappropriate for the Sunbury Green Wedge in which the location falls.
- Being inconsistent with the objectives and strategies to protect and sustain agricultural land uses.
- Having potential impacts on:
- agricultural sustainability and productivity of the Keilor Market Gardens, and birdlife
- Being inconsistent and incompatible with certain clauses in the Municipal Planning Strategy and Planning Policy Framework, and in the Brimbank Planning Scheme.
Planning Application P461/2024 for 45 and 47 Bardsley Street Sunshine West
Council resolved to refuse planning application P0461/2024 for the use and development of a childcare centre at 47 and 45 Bardsley Street Sunshine West.
The permit was refused on a number of grounds, such as:
- The proposal failing to:
- protect community health, safety and amenity
- ensure land use is compatible with the land uses in the surrounding areas
- avoid or minimise adverse off-site impacts.
- Failing to comply with certain clauses in the Planning Policy Framework of the Brimbank Planning Scheme, to:
- minimise adverse offsite impacts,
- encourage non-residential uses to locate on sites that have frontage on a main road,
- ensure streets adjoining early childhood facilities are designed to encourage safe bicycle access and
- encourage flexible, multi-purpose and adaptable early childhood facilities that can support varied community uses.
- Failing to comply with Section 60 of the Planning and Environment Act, the orderly planning of the area and failing to protect the amenity of the area.
Planning Application P315/2023 for 65A Imperial Avenue, Sunshine North
Council consented to Planning Permit P315/2023 being granted for the use of the land for fertiliser production at 65A Imperial Avenue, North Sunshine, subject to certain conditions.
In June 2024 Council had initially refused the permit based on odour and other impacts to amenity that the proposed use could cause. The applicant then lodged an application for review of the Council decision at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). In February 2025, the applicant provided additional information at VCAT to address the concerns about odour, and later submitted an Odour Report to Council.
Council had referred the application to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) who did not object to the grant of a planning permit. EPA confirmed that the odour mitigation measures proposed in the applicant’s Environmental Management Plan would be suitable in meeting best practice in achieving odour suppression.
Overall, council officers were satisfied based on the additional information provided and a site inspection, that there would be no unreasonable impact to neighbourhood amenity by odour from the proposed fertiliser production. Council has therefore decided to consent to the planning permit being granted.
Council will advise VCAT, the applicant and all objectors that Council has consented to the permit being granted.
Integrated Water Management Strategy
Brimbank Council has endorsed its Draft Brimbank Integrated Water Management Strategy 2025–2035.
Integrated Water Management considers all aspects of the water cycle. It also recognises that Council must work closely with other groups with a stake in water management to get the best outcomes for the community and environment.
Managing water comes with many challenges that includes:
- Population growth and its increased need for water,
- Climate change and reduced rainfall and
- Heavy rain events caused by climate change with increased risk of flooding.
The strategy sets out how we will manage water effectively to cope with these challenges and ensure our waterways, environment and community can continue to thrive.
Preliminary community engagement to inform priorities for the new Strategy occurred through the Brimbank Community Voice workshop in March 2024.
External stakeholders consulted have included Melbourne Water, Greater Western Water, Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation and Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation.
The strategy goes out to community consultation from 16 April to 15 May. Brimbank residents can visit yoursay.brimbank.vic.gov.au to provide their feedback.
Approval of Borrowings
Council endorsed delegation to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and any Acting CEO, the power to authorise and execute loan documentation, for the value of $14 million, to fund capital works projects carried out during 2024/2025.
The borrowings are in line with Council’s adopted Financial Plan and Annual Budget.
In the 2024/2025 Annual Budget, Council made provision to borrow $14 million to fund capital works projects scheduled for the financial year, increasing Council’s total borrowings to $90.6 million.
The borrowings, together with other factors such as operating surplus and government grants, fund Council’s capital works program.
It is important that Council maintains a healthy level of capital works expenditure to ensure maintenance of existing infrastructure and building of new infrastructure to meet the changing needs of the community.
These borrowings are included in Council’s adopted Financial Plan and approved as part of the annual budget process.
Governance Report April 2025
This included a report on the exercise of delegated authority, Councillor Representatives’ and delegates’ reports from committees, Councillor declarations of Representations by Members of Parliament, and records of informal meetings of Councillors.
In addition, Council also:
- Adopted the revised CEO Employment and Remuneration Policy.
- Noted and endorsed the proposed increase of the Works Value threshold nominated in Brimbank’s Asset Protection Code of Practice to $40,000, enabling works below that value to be undertaken without the need for an Asset Protection Permit or payment of a bond.
- Noted and endorsed a Brimbank Submission to Infrastructure Victoria about the Draft 30-year Infrastructure Strategy.
- Noted and endorsed a Brimbank Submission to the Department of Planning and Transport about Planning for Waterways
- Noted the Audit and Risk Committee Biannual Activity Report February 2025 and also:
- Appointed a current Independent Member as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for the remainder of her second term, concluding December 2027
- Appointed a new Independent Member to the committee for an initial three-year term, starting 1 July 2025.
Brimbank Annual Community Grants Program 2025/2026 Categories
Council has approved six categories for the Brimbank Annual Community Grants 2025/2026 as follows:
- Community Wellbeing and Strengthening Grants (up to $10,000)
- Climate Emergency Grants (up to $10,000)
- Youthtunities: Grants for Young People (up to $10,000)
- Community Festival and Event Grants (up to $10,000)
- Major Festival and Event Grants (up to $25,000)
- Seniors Operational Fund (up to $1,000)
The grants provide assistance to not-for-profit organisations and community groups to deliver projects that improve Brimbank’s health and wellbeing, life-long learning, sustainable living and build capacity through partnerships and networks.
Council will continue to provide support for grant applications to give applicants the best chance of success. This includes information sessions about the grants, drop-in sessions to help people with questions and their application, drop-in sessions specifically for seniors, or one on one meetings with individuals available upon request.
The Brimbank Annual Community Grants Program 2025/2026 opens for applications on 5 May 2025 and closes on 22 June 2025. For more information, call the Grants Hotline on 9249 4036 or visit www.brimbank.vic.gov.au/grants
