Local government provides a wide range of social and community services including, community care, disability access, maternal and child health, and multicultural.
Ageing
Local government is the major public sector provider of home-based community care services including, home care, personal care, respite care, property maintenance, delivered meals, assessment and care management.
Children & families
Local government makes a significant contribution in helping families raise their children.
Councils also work in partnership with each other to shape local environments and policy directions impacting on the education, care and health of children, young people and their families.
All councils build and maintain infrastructure that is used by local communities for children’s activities and services.
Councils also invest in community activities to increase social connections and create learning opportunities for children and their parents.
Community libraries
Local government operates Victoria's public library services, which play a critical role in the development of online information and communications access to local communities.
Disability
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, local government has responsibility to provide equitable access to all services, facilities and programs it delivers to the community.
Gender equity
Victorian local governments are becoming increasingly involved in work to prevent violence against women.
Councils are also becoming more aware of the unique role they can play in engaging community partners and promoting important messages about the benefits to individuals and communities of respectful relationships and greater equity between men and women.
Indigenous
By developing partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, councils can encourage greater unity, knowledge and respect.
Multicultural
Local government plays an important role in providing for, and bringing together, culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
The sector has developed systems to deliver services that enable increased responsiveness to cultural diversity.