FAQs

A Public Health Plan is a guide to help improve and protect the health and wellbeing of people living in a local government area. It explains the health needs of the community, sets priorities and actions for the next five years, and includes ways to measure progress.

Public Health Plans provide local government areas with a clear guide to enact Part 5 of the Public Health Act 2016 (External link), which is legislation to regulate public health in Western Australia. Key features of the Public Health Act 2016 (External link) include:

• Promoting public health and wellbeing in the community
• Help prevent disease, injury, disability, and premature death
• Inform individuals and communities about public health risks
• Encourage individuals and their communities to plan for, create and maintain a healthy environment
• Support programs and campaigns intended to improve public health
• Reduce the health inequalities in public health of disadvantaged communities.

Public health planning is a coordinated approach to improving the health and wellbeing of communities. It involves understanding the health needs of the community, deciding on the most important priorities, and creating programs and actions that support healthier lives for everyone. The focus is on preventing health problems before they happen and helping communities stay healthy in the long term.

The Department of Health and local governments both share responsibility for public health. This means that state and local governments work together to plan and support the health and wellbeing of all residents.

Public Health Plans provide local government areas with a clear guide to enact Part 5 of the Public Health Act 2016 (External link).

The City reviewed its previous Public Health Plan 2020-2025 (External link) to understand what worked well and identify future priorities. The review found that many successful programs and services had been delivered.

The City continued to provide important regulatory public health services, including food safety, mosquito management, and responding to noise and other complaints. A major achievement was expanding mosquito control activities across the whole City and securing extra funding to support the program.

The City also delivered programs to encourage healthy lifestyles and help prevent chronic disease. These included Junior Kitchen workshops for children, community events promoting physical activity, youth alcohol education programs, and activities to raise awareness about dementia.

Mental health and wellbeing also remained a focus. The City promoted the "Act Belong Commit" message at events and supported affordable yoga and mindfulness classes that were popular with residents.

Read the review of the City of South Perth Public Health Plan 2020-2025.

All feedback will be analysed and will inform the timeline of actions across the five years of the Public Health Plan.

Once all feedback has been analysed and the draft Public Health Plan revised as required, it will be presented to Council for consideration at an Ordinary Council Meeting.

The City coordinates the Public Health Advisory Group which meets quarterly. Community representatives are called upon to nominate for this Advisory Group, in line with Council elections occurring in October every second year. The City will be calling for nominations following the local election in October 2027.