When organising an event, you must consider access and parking for people with disabilities. Consideration should be given to spacing of stalls or seating, location and type of toilets. Promotional material should specify if the event is wheelchair accessible.
Event advertising must not be undertaken until the event application has been completed with Council.
Ararat Rural City Council has several platforms to advertise community events including an events calendar, advertisements, website, and social media platforms. Event applications should include a brief description of the event along with a high-resolution image to be included in these communications.
Entrance Bollards are available to event organisers to promote upcoming events. Event signs will be erected 4 weeks prior to an event and will be taken down within 1 week of the event finishing.
Costs for manufacturing the sign are at your expense and final design of the sign is to be approved by Ararat Rural City Council. Specifications are available from the Event Development Officer.
Erection of signage at the event site is permitted on the day only unless prior permission has been obtained from Council. Signs and banners must not exceed 6m x 1m and must be adequately secured, but not tied, drilled, or nailed to trees, posts or council property. All sings must be removed immediately following the event.
Noise levels affecting the surrounding community must be taken into account when planning your event or activity. You must take all reasonable and practical measures to minimise noise nuisance.
The sound level should not exceed 65 dBA at the boundary of the event site and should not cause a nuisance.
A Noise Management Plan may be required if amplified music and/or public announcements are proposed and where noise is likely to be audible at neighbouring residential properties.
We recommend you use sound level monitoring equipment throughout the duration of the event. Penalties may apply if noise levels are exceeded. Please visit Environmental Protection Authority Victoria for more information.
All electrical leads must be tagged and tested regularly and should be fitted with a Residual Current Device (RCD) to prevent electrical shocks in the event of a power outage. No piggy back plugs or double adaptors are permitted. If access to council controlled electrical facilities are required, details on how to gain access along with any fees for use will be provided in the confirmation documentation.
Generators may be used, however location, fuel storage, noise and refuelling must be addressed in your risk assessment.
An Emergency Management Plan should be developed to ensure the safety of staff and patrons.
The Emergency Management Plan outlines how you would respond in the event of an emergency. The plan must consider:
- Possible emergency interruptions
- Access and evacuation routes
- Personnel responsible in emergencies and evacuations
- Emergency services meeting points
- Ambulance and emergency vehicle loading areas
- An incident control centre
- Arrangements for additional emergency services personnel
- Lines of communication in order of authority
In the event of an emergency at an event, contact 000.
You must take all reasonable measures to minimise environmental impacts. These include:
- The release of any material that may cause environmental harm via the stormwater system into any waters or the banks of any waters.
- Make you event butt free.
- The release of materials into the air such as dust, fumes and smoke
- Liquid spillages are to be cleaned up immediately using sawdust and other absorbent materials and bagged and disposed of accordingly
In the best interests of the environment please refrain from using balloons or mass balloon releases as part of the event.
First aid is important to have at your event.
The level of first aid will range from a first aid kit for low risk events up to a well equipped first aid posts manned by qualified first aid officers for high risk events. Access to first aid must be indicated on your site plan.
A qualified first aid officer must hold a current first aid certificate from an accredited training provider.
The appropriate number of qualified on-site first aid and medical personnel can be estimated using the following formula:
- two level 2 First Aid qualified person for events catering for less than 500 patrons
- two level 2 First Aid qualified person (or higher) for each additional 1,000 patrons up to 5,000.
- one level 2 First Aid qualified person for each additional 1,000 over 5,000.
Ambulance Victoria should be provided with a description of the event and access details in the event of an emergency at least 1 month prior to your event.
Only licensed pyrotechnicians, persons under their direct supervision, or persons with a valid single occasion licence are allowed to discharge fireworks in Victoria. If you include fireworks display in the event, you must engage a licenced pyrotechnician to carry out the display who must comply with all WorkSafe requirements.
It is a requirement for food vendors and community groups serving food at public events to submit a registration/notification and Statement of Trade with the Department of Health through the Streatrader website.
Food sales must not occur at your event until all food vendors have received confirmation from the Streatrader system.
You must supply Council with a list of all food vendors no later than 2 weeks prior to the event. In addition, your site plan must clearly identify the food vendor name and location.
Environmental Health officers may require an inspection of food vendors prior to commencement of the event to ensure compliance with health conditions.
Community groups organising events in the municipality can apply for funding assistance to help with the costs associated with running, coordinating and delivering events. This events funding aims to bring the community together and actively engage them in an event or activity.
Funding must not be regarded as a recurrent commitment from Council and applicants must show measures undertaken to improve the long term sustainability of the event. Applications can be made throughout the year.
An Event Application Form must be submitted prior to a funding application being considered.
Selling or serving liquor will require a temporary limited liquor licence from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation. The process can take some time, so your application should be made early in the planning process. All liquor providers should be registered with Streatrader.
To apply for a licence, please visit the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation or call 1300 182 457.
A copy of your liquor licence must be submitted with this application.
Where smaller temporary structures being marquees/prefabricated buildings 100m2 or less, stages 150 m2 or less, and seating stands for 20 persons or less are proposed the structures must be properly erected and safely secured.
Marquees and tents should not be erected in high winds.
Marquees, tents or booths with an area greater than 100m2, seating stands for more than 20 people and stages or platforms with an area greater than 150m2 require an occupancy permit.
All temporary structures are to be removed by clean up date.
Parks Victoria requires events to lodge an application form for any events held within a park or reserve. Please allow a minimum of eight weeks for the processing of your event application. A longer period will be required for major events. If your event will be held on Parks Victoria land, please contact Parks Victoria on 13 19 63.
Events are required to apply for a PoPE Permit if the event is conducted in a building or place which has an area greater than 500m2 unless the organising group is a community-based organisation and the number of persons in the place at any one time does not exceed 5000.
A Community based organisation means a body whether incorporated or not that:
is not established primarily for the purposes of profit or gain; and does not distribute any profit or gain made in the conduct of its activities to members, and operates in a community wholly for either:
- a philanthropic or benevolent purpose (eg. A school council); or
- any sporting or recreational purpose (eg. A football or netball club).
A Planning Permit is required for any change of land use and includes events held on private property. Event location is site specific and depending on the zoning of the land, the overlays and type of event, a planning permit may be required.
All events must have Public Liability Insurance.
Managing a public event includes ensuring the safety of event organisers, event staff, volunteers, contractors, and the public. The Insurance Policy must be in the legal name of the event organiser and cover all activities at the event to an amount of $10million. Ararat Rural City Council’s Public Liability Insurance Policy cannot be extended to cover external groups or businesses.
As an event organiser, you must also ensure all contractors, food stalls, entertainment hold current and adequate cover.
You must provide a copy of your Certificate of Currency when submitting this application. The event process cannot be completed until your Certificate of Currency is received.
It is the event organiser’s responsibility to provide a safe environment for all staff, patrons, volunteers and contractors. Dependent on the type, scale and scope of the event, Council and the local Police may require you to engage Police Officers on special duties, security guards and/or crowd control at your expense.
Police, SES and CFA should be provided with a description of the event and access details in the event of an emergency at least 1 month prior to your event.
Any event, regardless of the size type and location, will have risks associated and it’s important that the event organiser has given consideration on how to manage the risks.
A Risk Management Plan requires you to undertake a risk analysis to ensure that you manage and control the risks posed by your event. The purpose of a Risk Management Plan is to identify, analyse and evaluate risks and report on the effectiveness of risk treatment.
A ‘risk’ is a measure of the magnitude of a hazard that may arise as a result of your event, the probability of an accident resulting from the hazards at an event may also be expressed in terms of costs resulting from an incident.
In assessing risk, there are two factors to consider: the likelihood of something happening and the consequences if it does.
Some aspects of your event may present potential risks and should be given special consideration for example, alcohol, crowd demographics, weather, structures and marquees, hazardous activities, road safety, electrical equipment.
Public spaces are available for the use and enjoyment of the community. When choosing the event site, consideration must be given to the following:
Vehicle access: the risk of damage to vegetation by wheel rutting. This increases following wet weather and alternative arrangements will need to be made for setup/clean-up of the event site.
Vegetation Care: the proximity of trees/shrubs/garden beds to event infrastructure.
Any damage caused as a result of the event will be recovered at your expense.
Event organisers must provide adequate toilet facilities under the Building Code of Australia. The guide will assist you to determine the number of toilets required for the event. If you are using public toilets for your event, you will need to arrange for them to be cleaned and opened on the day. Contact the Council office on 5355 0200 for assistance.
Toilets must be serviced throughout the event. Where portable chemical type units or effluent holding tanks are used for events longer than four hours, they must be located so that they can be pumped out during the event.
Depending on the event, a Traffic Management Plan (TMP) may be required. A TMP shows how traffic will be controlled during the event and how road users will be warned, instructed or guided around the event site. This includes any road closures required for an event.
Traffic Management Plans must be completed by an authorised person suitably experienced and competent in traffic management
For events which effect VicRoads controlled roads, a permit or Memorandum of Authorisation may also be required.
You must advise residents or businesses directly impacted by any changes to road conditions, including closures, and advise council of any objections. A Public Notice must also be published advising of the road closure two weeks prior to the event.
It is your responsibility to develop a waste management plan and remove all rubbish and recycling material from the event site. The objective of such a plan should be to minimise waste generation, maximise recycling and prevent littering at the event.
A recycling trailer is also available through council. The trailer includes 15 recycle bins and is available for a charge for event organisers across the municipality to use in public places and at community events.
Council recommends as a guide the minimum number of bins for attendee use (not to include existing bin infrastructure), as follows:
- 1 x 240L bin per 100 attendees – if no food or drinks served or sold
- 2 x 240L bins per 100 attendees – if food or drinks served or sold
- 2 x 240L recycle bin per 100 attendees
- 1 x 3m front load skip bin for greater than 1,000 attendees
