Case Study: Melton City Council

Inclusive Language Guide for Councillors

Why it is important

Through the 2022-2025 Free from Violence Local Government Program, staff have worked to strengthen councillor engagement in primary prevention and gender equity.

A need was identified to better support councillors in understanding the small, everyday actions they can take to contribute to prevention efforts and help create safer, more inclusive outcomes for the community.

In collaboration with GenderWorks, Melton City Council staff developed the Inclusive Language Guide, tailored to the everyday interactions councillors have with the community and the workforce.

The guide explains why language matters, offers simple language swaps, examples of use in different settings, and practical scenarios.

GenderWorks delivered a gender equity and family violence prevention workshop to the newly elected council, where the guide was introduced as a tool to apply learnings into practice.

Feedback from the facilitator highlighted that the resource was well received and that councillors were keen to improve their understanding in this space but were often held back by the ‘fear of getting it wrong’.

Having GenderWorks as an independent expert to deliver the guide during the workshop created a safe space for questions and reinforcing that it’s okay to make mistakes while learning. The guide will remain an ongoing resource and is also planned to be adapted into a quick-access version for all staff.

Call to action

We encourage other Councils to use, adapt or replicate the guide to suit their organisation’s needs. This is to ensure the limited resources everyone has to do prevention work are used as efficiently as possible and encourage community leaders elsewhere to create safer and more inclusive communities.

Melton City Council - Inclusive Language Guide (Word - 82KB)

Melton City Council - Inclusive Language Guide (PDF - 2.2MB)