We are pleased to advise the Community Service Awards Policy was adopted by Council at the 22 August 2023 meeting.

The policy was adopted as recommended in the report to Council.

Read the meeting minutes and the adopted policy below:

• Council minutes (Item 10.3, page 17)
• Community Service Awards Policy

The Community Service Awards Policy (the Policy) provides the framework for Council to recognise the outstanding contributions of people making a difference in our community.

The current Policy was adopted by Council on 26 November 2019 and required review by 30 June 2023. We identified some amendments to the Policy and guidelines, and we invited you to review the changes and let us know what you thought.

We proposed the addition of a new award category, Community Group of the Year, that will enhance Council’s recognition of outstanding community groups.

Many people contribute as a member of a broader group of committed community members. The addition of this category will allow for better recognition of these collective efforts to improve the lives of people on the Northern Beaches.

We also proposed two process changes below.

1. Change the Nomination Guidelines and Criteria to allow non-Australian citizens to be eligible for the Outstanding Community Service Awards.
2. Change an operational process that allows Council to invite the current Citizen of the Year to participate on the judging panel as one of the five community members selecting the next year’s award winners.

We invited the community to view the proposed changes and have their say by completing a submission form, emailing, or in writing to us.

All submissions in their entirety are made publicly available in the Community Engagement Report. Personal identifying information and inappropriate language are redacted.