The Public Health and Wellbeing Act (the Act) recognises the key role of councils in improving the health and wellbeing of people in their municipality. Section 26 of the Act requires each council to prepare a municipal public health and wellbeing plan every 4 years, within 12 months of a council general election.
Section 27 of the Act provides an option for the municipal public health and wellbeing plan to be incorporated into a council plan or strategic plan subject to an exemption being granted by the Secretary of the Department of Health. The Local Government Act requires the council plan to be approved by the council by 31 October in the year following a council election. Further information on the Local Government Act and its implementation is available from Local Government .
Next municipal public health and wellbeing plans and councils plans will both be due in October 2025.
View links to municipal public health and wellbeing plans for .
Relationship to the Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2023–2027
The Public Health and Wellbeing Act requires councils to have regard to the state public health and wellbeing plan when developing their municipal public health and wellbeing plans. This is intended to encourage state and local governments to work together to strengthen the health and wellbeing of communities and people.
The Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2023-2027 sets 10 priorities for public health and wellbeing in Victoria. The priority areas are:
- improving sexual and reproductive health
- reducing harm from tobacco and e-cigarette use
- improving wellbeing
- increasing healthy eating
- increasing active living
- reducing harm from alcohol and drugs
- tackling climate change and its impacts on health
- reducing all forms of violence
- decreasing antimicrobial resistance across human and animal health
- reducing injury
Co-benefits of a healthy lifestyle for mental wellbeing
Through the municipal public health and wellbeing planning process, councils engage with their communities to identify immediate and future needs and ways to respond. Councils reconcile this with the priorities outlined in the Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2024–2027. The resource Co-benefits of a healthy lifestyle for mental wellbeing summarises the co-benefits of action to address a number of priorities identified in the plan.
Department of Health regional operations staff work with councils to support the development, implementation and review of their municipal public health and wellbeing plans.
Reviewed 03 September 2024