Project objective

The Budget 2025-26 outlines the services and initiatives to be funded for the next financial year.

Following Council’s in-principle approval of the proposed Budget 2025-26 on 29 April 2025, community members and project stakeholders are encouraged to provide their feedback on the proposed Budget between 1 and 21 May 2025 for the consideration of Council.

Community consultation on the Annual Budget is conducted in accordance with the Local Government Act 2020 and Council’s Community and Stakeholder Engagement Policy 2021.

Project impacts

This year’s proposed $202.6 million budget reflects the aspirations of Bayside's new Council in responding to the cost of living crisis with a zero percent rate increase and a strong focus on the fundamentals – maintaining and building the infrastructure that our community uses every day.

Key actions we’ll deliver over the next 12 months:

Goal 1: Our People

Bayside is a safe, inclusive, and active community with opportunities for social connection and wellbeing.

Goal 2: Our Place

Bayside remains a desirable, well-planned community with valued open spaces, neighbourhood character, and sustainable growth for current and future generations.

$17.5 million to be spent on buildings, including:

$23.2 million will be invested in Bayside's foreshore, parks, and open space including:

*Funded by Federal Government

Funding for essential infrastructure includes:

  • $3.6 million on roads
  • $4.4 million on footpaths and cycleways
  • $2.7 million on drainage and $0.6 million for a new proactive drainage maintenance and condition inspection program
  • $1.5 million increase for maintenance and cleaning services, including new toilets, new open space, legislated tree pruning, new building operations.

Goal 3: Our Promise

Bayside delivers transparent governance, sound financial management, and excellent customer service.

  • Review of the 10 year financial plan
  • Implementation of the 2025/26 Annual Action Plan.

$58.6 million is earmarked to deliver important community infrastructure via the capital works program. This continues Council’s multi-year program to address historic under-investment and is enabled by continuing strong financial management.

What new initiatives are included in this year’s budget?

The $202.6 million budget will fund over 100 different services to the community and almost a third $58.6 million will be spent on capital projects improving community infrastructure including:

  • Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve Gateway Building $4.4 million
  • Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve Wetlands $4.7 million
  • Wangara Road Remediation $3.2 million
  • Billilla Mansion and precinct restoration $1.8 million
  • Hampton foreshore precinct: all access improvements $2.8 million
  • Banksia Reserve Sportsground reconstruction $1.7 million
  • Dendy Park athletic pavilion renewal $1.0 million

This year’s drainage investment is focused on designing flood mapping, with a significant spend on upgrades planned over the next four years to mitigate flooding risks. We are also increasing our maintenance and cleaning services, including upgrading public toilets along the foreshore.

We are also investing in our activity centres over the next four years, ensuring they remain robust and thriving precincts for employment, shopping and social connection.

Another highlight of the budget is the continued growth of our fully funded Home Care Package service, with an expected increase of 40% in the number of clients during 2025–26. We are also welcoming a $6.8 million increase in funding to support the expansion of our highly regarded aged care services.

What projects are defered and/or not funded in this year's budget?

Our warm water pool project ($25.979 million) is being deferred while we undertake an aquatics feasibility study to better understand the needs of our community.

The money allocated towards the project will be distributed across four years towards fast tracking the following projects:

  • Playground strategy $2.885 million
    • Over four years, starting with Cheltenham Recreation Reserve and including playgrounds in Pennydale, Boss James Reserve, Hampton, Sue Kirkpatrick Park Playground, Beaumaris, Glen Edward Rice Reserve and Dendy Park playgrounds in Brighton.
  • Middle Brighton Baths toilet and shower upgrades increase $0.5 million
  • Activity Centre renewal $5 million
    • Our activity centres provide a hub for employment, shopping and social connection. We will be strengthening our centres with a $5 million investment of over the next four years to ensure they are robust and thriving.
  • Dendy Beach Visitor Management Plan $5.6 million
    • With over a million visitors a year to Dendy Beach, we are spending $5.6 million on upgrading the tourist precinct at Green Point in Brighton over the next four years.
  • Dendy Park irrigation $1.5 million

The following recurrent projects have also been removed from the operating budget ($1.183 million) in 2025–26 resulting in a net reduction in operating budget of $11.83 million over 10 years:

  • Additional tree planting program ($0.35 million)
  • Urban Forest Strategy ($0.172 million)
  • Carbon offset scheme ($0.117 million)
  • Green money program ($0.044 million)
  • New initiative program reduction of ($0.5 million) from $1.5 million to $1 million.

What information do we need from the community?

We are engaging with our community to seek feedback on Council’s proposed Budget 2025-26.

What can the community influence?

  • Budget 2025-26, noting that funding priorities have been informed by community priorities articulated in the Bayside 2050 Community Vision, aspirations and priorities of Bayside’s new Council and the draft Council Plan.

What can’t the community influence?

  • Legislative requirement for Council to adopt an annual budget by 30 June 2025
  • Council operations, resource allocation and projects Council has resolved to deliver
  • Waste charge: Direct cost recovery determined by the State Government landfill levy, cost of hard waste collections, recycling processing costs, and green waste and garbage collection and disposal costs.
  • Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund which Council collects on behalf of the State Government.

Stakeholders and community

This stakeholder assessment is a generalised understanding of sections of the community that have a connection to the project or matter. This information is used to understand the types of tools and techniques that will achieve the strongest and most effective outcomes for engagement and communication.

  • Impact: What level of change the stakeholder / community segment may experience as a result of the project / matter
  • Interest: What level of interest has been expressed or is anticipated
  • Influence: Reference to the IAP2 Spectrum

Stakeholder / community

Impact

Interest

Influence

General Bayside community

L

L

Consult

Individual community members with broad interests in the business of Council and governance

L

H

Consult

Organisations/groups/individuals affected by deferred/rescheduled projects

H

H

Consult

Stakeholders with new projects financed through the budget

H

H

Consult

Stakeholder groups/associations/organisations

L

M

Consult

Local businesses/traders

L

M

Consult


Selected tools and techniques

The tools and techniques selected for this project are informed by the project content, stakeholders and type of feedback sought.

Key tools for communicating the project

  • Email notification to Have Your Say members, including those who subscribe to projects affected by this year’s budget.
  • Council website and e-newsletter, This Week in Bayside
  • Social media
  • Video and/or infographics
  • Digital screens in Corporate Centre and libraries

Key methods for gathering feedback

  • Have Your Say project webpage, including feedback forms and opportunities to ask questions
  • Post, phone and email correspondence.

Project timelines

  • Proposed Budget 2025-26 endorsed by Council - 29 April 2025 Council meeting
  • Community consultation - 1 - 21 May 2025
  • Adoption of Annual Budget 2024-25: Council is expected to consider community feedback at its 3 June briefing meeting and adopt its Budget 2025-26 on 17 June 2025.

Decision-making process

Following the close of community engagement on 21 May 2025, community and stakeholder feedback will be considered and amendments made to the proposed Budget, if required.

Council will consider a report on community engagement on the Budget at its 3 June briefing meeting and is expected to adopt a Budget 2025-26 at its meeting on 17 June 2025. The agenda for this meeting will be available to view here when published on 11 June 2025.

Interested community members will also have an opportunity to request to be heard at the Council meeting on 17 June 2025 and speak to Council at the meeting or provide a written statement which will be published in the meeting agenda.

Under the Local Government Act 2020, Council must adopt an annual budget by 30 June.

More information

For more information about this project please contact Bill Shanahan, Finance Manager, on 03 9599 4340 or bshanahan@bayside.vic.gov.au