Community safety is a priority for the City of Port Phillip. It influences how people use and interact with our public places and spaces: the built environment, local amenities, parks and community facilities. A safer city contributes to positive health, social and economic outcomes for our community.
A Community Safety Plan demonstrates Council’s commitment to working in partnership with the community and key stakeholders to provide a safer and more vibrant community for all. It details the City of Port Phillip’s contribution to making our community a safer and more resilient place to live, work and visit. It also aligns with a range of state and federal strategies that relate to crime prevention, family violence, reducing harm from alcohol and drugs, emergency response and community safety.
Our new Community Safety Plan will replace the current Community Safety Plan 2019 - 2025.
We’ve listened to many voices in our community and heard from the experts as part of the Community Safety Roundtable. Now we want to make sure we’ve captured your priorities in the draft Community Safety Plan.
What's happened so far?
To date we have undertaken three lots of community engagement which have informed the draft Community Safety Plan. This includes:
Phase 1: Pre-engagement (September 2024)
We met with our Advisory Committees and other key stakeholders to understand how to best engage the community and stakeholders about the new Community Safety Plan.
Phase 2: Community Safety Roundtable (March 2025)
Key stakeholders met to discuss community safety and possible approaches, chaired by former Chief Magistrate, Ian Gray AM.
Read the Roundtable pre-reading paper
Note: all of the recommendations from this Roundtable have been included either in the draft Community Safety Plan, or the draft Homelessness and Affordable Housing Strategy (which is also currently seeking feedback)
Phase 3: Broad Engagement (May–June 2025)
We engaged a wide range of community members and stakeholders to:
- Understand current community sentiment around community safety.
- Identify community and stakeholder needs and priorities related to community safety.
In addition to engagement on the Community Safety Plan, we asked community for their views on a proposed Local Law Amendment that would provide Council with the ability to temporarily designate an area as a 'no encampment' area in consultation with key stakeholders. More information about what this proposal was is available at City of Port Phillip's website.
Read the Round 3 Engagement Report
In addition to the above, there are also a range of other engagement activities that have been considered, including engagement related to the Plan for Port Phillip (including budget) 2025-35.
Read about the Plan for Port Phillip (including budget) 2025-35
What can you influence?
Your feedback will be used to determine whether any changes are made to the draft Community Safety Plan prior to it going to Council for adoption.
At this stage your feedback is unable to influence aspects such as:
- Community Safety Plan timelines and/or duration
- Community Safety Plan budget
- Elements outside of Council’s scope of influence, such as policing and law enforcement.
Looking for more information?
For further up to date information about Community Safety in Port Phillip including the new Community Safety Plan, Local Laws, Rapid Response and joint patrols, CCTV and more, visit the City of Port Phillip's Community Safety website.
