Key messages
- Councils are ideally placed to develop, lead and implement local policies to influence many determinants of health.
- Climate change is a leading threat to public health and wellbeing.
- Councils are required to ‘have regard to climate change’ when preparing municipal public health and wellbeing plans.
- Guidance is available to support councils in addressing climate change and its impacts on health through their municipal public health and wellbeing plans.
Local government legislative obligations
Under the Climate Change Act 2017, councils are required to ‘have regard to climate change’ when preparing a municipal public health and wellbeing plan (MPHWP).
Under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, councils are required to prepare a four-year municipal public health and wellbeing plan within 12 months after each general election of the council and are required to have regard to the state public health and wellbeing plan when preparing a MPHWP.
The Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2023-27 recognises that climate change is a leading threat to health and wellbeing and tackling climate change and its impact on health is included as 1 of 10 key focus areas in the plan.
Updated