BACKGROUND
The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (the Authority) was established on 1 December 2020 to deliver better protection and management of the iconic coast and parks of the Great Ocean Road.
We exist to care for, protect and manage the coast and parks traversed by the Great Ocean Road so that they can be enjoyed by all, now and for generations to come.
Our role includes:
- Guiding sustainable tourism, supporting local employment, and enhancing the visitor experience
- Strengthening the protection of land and seascapes from the impacts of climate change
- Improving economic development for a prosperous and livable region.
We’re committed to building strong relationships with our Traditional Owners, communities and stakeholders in the delivery of our work, with a shared commitment to the vision for one integrated model of governance and land and marine management for the entirety of the Great Ocean Road region.
To find out more about the creation of the Authority and our role, vision, values and principles click here.
OUR DRAFT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMITMENT AND FRAMEWORK
We know that we won’t be able to deliver on our vision of the Great Ocean Road region thriving as one integrated living entity without a genuine relationship with the communities that we serve.
Community consultation and participation plays an essential and effective role in the protection, improvement and promotion of the Great Ocean Road coast and parks, and our draft community engagement commitment and framework outlines how we will bring this to life.
As part of our commitment, we will ensure that our communities have the knowledge and the opportunities necessary to participate fully in the future of our Great Ocean Road.
To ensure that our Community Engagement Framework consistently aligns with our values and principles, we have highlighted five core elements of engagement. These elements are each designed to meet a specific purpose, as well as integrate into a broader structure for reaching our vision.
Our five core elements of engagement are:
- To strengthen capacity and enable strategic leadership
- To increase community participation and build collective knowledge
- To connect with and learn from our communities and knowledge holders
- To be transparent and keep our communities informed
- To receive and respond to feedback from our communities.
As you will see in our draft framework, each purpose corresponds with our community commitment and outlines potential associated forums and channels, including community leadership groups, open deliberative forums, place-based engagement and social and traditional media.
For the purposes of this framework, communities includes, but is not limited to, the Wadawurrung and Eastern Maar peoples, as Traditional Owners, residents of the Great Ocean Road region, visitors to the Great Ocean Road region, advocacy organisations and local, state and national government departments and agencies.
View Draft Community Engagement Commitment and Framework
View the recording of our community webinar for the Draft Community Engagement Framework below:
WHAT HAS INFORMED OUR DRAFT COMMITMENT AND FRAMEWORK?
Our Draft Community Engagement Commitment and Framework has been informed by several key pieces of work, legislation and consultation to date, including:
- Great Ocean Road Action Plan recommendations and actions
- Great Ocean Road and Environs Protection Act 2020
- Great Ocean Road and Environs Protection Amendment Bill 2021
- Minister’s Statement of Expectation
- Great Ocean Road Taskforce Community Views Reports from 2018 –2020
- Board, staff, community group and stakeholder meetings and workshops
- Best practice community engagement frameworks and models.
In addition, the Authority Board, internal staff, key stakeholders and community groups have all provided significant guidance and feedback on what matters to them.
WHAT ENGAGEMENT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE?
| Mar– Apr 2018 | Consultation on governance of the Great Ocean Road |
| Oct 2018 | Consultation on Great Ocean Road Action Plan |
| May – Aug 2019 | Consultation on community aspirations for the Great Ocean Road region |
| Nov – Dec 2019 | Consultation on community involvement and funding options for the Authority |
| Dec 2020 | Creation of the Authority |
| Feb – Oct 2021 | Strategy brief developed, tender process conducted, consultant engaged |
| Oct – Dec 2021 | Desktop Review of 21 documents from 2015-2021 |
| Oct 2021 | Workshop with Authority Board |
| Dec 2021 | Workshop with Authority staff |
| Workshop with external stakeholders (incl DELWP, 5 LGA’s, CMA’s, GORRT, DoT) | |
| Stakeholder mapping completed | |
| Jan 2022 | Meeting with Great Ocean Road Communities Network |
| Feb 2022 | Workshop with staff and consultants to consolidate key learnings |
| Mar 2022 | Workshop with Authority Chair and CEO |
| Draft framework developed |
HAVE YOUR SAY
Engagement for the Draft Community Engagement Framework has now closed.
Thank you to all those that took the time to give us their feedback.
TIMELINE
| March 2018 – December 2019 | Community engagement on governance, aspirations, funding and community involvement for Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority |
| October – December 2021 | Desktop review and stakeholder mapping completed |
| November 2021 – March 2022 | Draft Community Engagement Commitment and Framework development |
| April – May 2022 | Community engagement on draft Community Engagement Commitment and Framework |
| May – August 2022 | Feedback analysed and Community Engagement Framework and Strategy finalised |
| August 2022 | Authority Board to adopt final Community Engagement Strategy |
| September 2022 | Final Strategy made available to public |
| September 2022, ongoing | Strategy implementation |