Petitions
Petitioning is one of the traditional ways by which members of the community can have their say on issues affecting them.
A petition is a formal, written request, signed by a minimum of 10 persons.
Petitions must represent personal interests or may only represent the interests of another person with their express permission.
Certain personal information must be provided with a petition, such as the full name of petitioners, addresses, signatures and email addresses.
All information, including personal information, may be publicly disclosed when a compliant petition is presented to an Ordinary Meeting of Council.
Council may contact individuals identified in a petition about the petition matter.
Please Note
If your request relates to an application on public notification under the Planning Act 2016, your request should be lodged formally as a properly made submission. For further details on this process please visit:
If you are reporting a problem, please submit your request through:
If you wish to join the conversation on range of projects and initiatives visit Have Your Say Townsville.
Rules for Petitions
A petition should:
- be written in English,
- be brief and to the point,
- be polite and modest in their language,
- not contain any language or a request which is offensive or likely to be offensive to any individual.
- not breach the privacy of others,
- not request a grant of public money or a remission of any duties or debts,
- not promote anything that may constitute spam, such as commercial interests, solicitations, advertisements or endorsements, and
- not contain external website links.
- Have a minimum of 10 signatures
Council reserves the right to review any submitted petitions to ensure compliance prior to presentation to council.
How to lodge a petition
Paper Petition
In addition to the rules for petitions, the paper petition must:
- Be an original document. Photocopies will not be accepted.
- On each page contain the request, suggestion or grievance and name of the Principal Petitioner.
- Be clearly written with no alterations.
- Be written in English or accompanied by an English translation if written in another language and certified by a qualified translator that it is a true and correct translation of the petition details. Contact details of the translator are to be included.
- Be a standalone petition and not have letters, affidavits or other documents attached.
- Be signed by the Principal Petitioner on each page.
This templated Petition to Townsville City Council Form (PDF - 745KB) may be used as a guide.
Your completed paper petition can be submitted in the following ways:
- At a Customer Service Centre at either 103 Walker St, Townsville or Citylibraries Riverway, 20 Village Boulevard, Thuringowa Central
- Email: enquiries@townsville.qld.gov.au
- Post: The Chief Executive Officer, Townsville City Council, PO Box 1268, Townsville, QLD 4810
- Handed to your local divisional councillor
e-Petitions
Besides the traditional paper petition, a petition can be started and signed online. These are called e-Petitions. E-Petitions enable petitioners to access a broader target audience and allow community members to respond to a petition online by registering personal details in support. e-Petition participation.
By participating in an e-Petition, you accept the following statements to be true:
- You have a legitimate interest in the matter being raised.
- You have not previously recorded your support to this particular e-Petition.
- You are representing personal interests. Otherwise, you are registering someone's interest because they are physically incapable of entering their own details. They have given you express permission to do so, and that permission was not revoked at the time of registering interest.
- You have entered your correct details. Otherwise, you entered the correct details of someone whose interest you hold permission to represent. You accept that it is fraudulent to represent yourself as someone else, whether that be a real or imaginary person.
The e-Petition and your decision to support the issue will form part of a document that Council receives. You should note:
- The document will become a public record.
- Your e-Petition support will be specifically identified in the document.
- On this website, it is not possible to participate in an e-Petition as an anonymous person.
For e-Petition purposes, your personal details are provided to Council. At its discretion, Council may contact you about the e-Petition matter.
Within this website your initials and suburb will be automatically added to the e-Petition (for example, GB Alderley).
e-Petitioners' personal information
Council understands that visitors and users of the e-Petitions website are concerned about their privacy, and the level of confidentiality and security provided by Council.
Council is committed to protecting user privacy. Council, however, requires certain personal information of e-Petition signatories as mandatory information to form a valid petition. This information is a means of verifying the person and their eligibility to sign the e-Petition.
When a petition is submitted to an ordinary meeting of Council, all information, including personal information may be disclosed publicly. Council may also contact individuals identified in a petition in relation to the petition matter.
The personal details of e-Petition signatories cannot be seen on the website, other than initials and suburb listed under 'signatures'.
Request an e-Petition
The process to request an e-Petition:
- Select the menu 'Request an e-Petition'.
- Enter your personal details and the exact e-Petition wording in the respective fields. Include the e-Petition title, opening and closing dates, Division within the local government area, issue or grievance and action required.
- Be clear and concise with your message and read over it carefully before submitting.
- Ensure the discussion point is something that Council has jurisdiction over (that is, something Council has the power to change).
Before any e-Petition is published on Council’s website, the e-Petition is checked to ensure it is a compliant petition, for example, checking the e-Petition submitter details are correct and that the language and subject are appropriate and comply with the rules.
Signing an e-Petition
Council's e-Petition website allows community members to respond to a petition online by registering personal details in support.
- To sign an e-Petition, select the e-Petition which you wish to support from the 'Current e-Petitions' page.
- Select the 'sign e-Petition' link and complete the contact details.
- Read and ensure you understand the ‘terms and conditions’. If you agree to the ‘terms and conditions’, accept the ‘terms and conditions’ via the check box.
- You will receive an email via the email address supplied to verify your contact details and support for this e-Petition. NOTE: e-Petition confirmation emails may be treated as spam or junk mail by some email providers, please check these areas for your confirmation email to ensure you verify your support.
- Your initials and suburb will be published as a signatory next to the e-Petition signed (for example, GB Mundingburra).
- Please contact Customer Service on 13 48 10 if you are experiencing any difficulties.
Whilst your initials and suburb will be published on Council’s e-Petition website, your personal details may be disclosed after a petition is accepted when the petition is presented to the ordinary meeting of Council.
Council's e-Petition website will not allow you to sign a petition twice. It is fraudulent to represent yourself twice, even if under a different name.
e-Petition closure
When the e-Petition closes, it is removed from the 'current e-Petitions' section and stored under 'Expired e-Petitions'.
When a completed petition is received
Upon receipt of a compliant petition the Principal Petitioner will be sent an acknowledgement letter within five business days and the petition will be provided to the relevant divisional Councillor for presentation at the next available ordinary meeting date. In accordance with Council's Code of Meeting Practice Policy the Council will determine whether:
- the petition be received and no further action taken
- the petition not be received,
- the relevant department investigate and report back to the council for further consideration.
If the petition is to be investigated, Council will make a final decision to the petitioners' request when the department reports back to a future meeting of the Council.
If a petition is deemed non-compliant, the Principal Petitioner will be advised in writing that the petition will not be presented to an ordinary meeting.
When a decision is made
The Principal Petitioner will be informed in writing of Council's decision following the relevant Ordinary Meeting of Council, and the e-petition site will be updated with the Council decision.
e-Petition Terms of Use
This e-Petition website is operated by Townsville City Council.
The personal details provided on the Townsville City Council ePetition website by both the Principal Petitioner and persons signing a petition, forms part of the public record. The service is not anonymous and the accuracy of personal details will be checked if necessary.
Terms of Use
In the 'terms of use' the words 'we', 'us' and 'our' refer to Townsville City Council and the words 'you' and 'your' refer to the person using this website. Those who access or use this website are deemed to have accepted the 'terms of use'.
The 'terms of use' include these 'terms and conditions' along with Council’s website terms of use.
These 'terms and conditions' apply, in addition to any 'other terms', to a part or page of this website. However, if the 'other terms' are inconsistent with these 'terms and conditions', the former will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
For further information, please contact Council Customer Service on 13 48 10.
