FAQs

All South Australian Councils are required under the Local Government Act 1999 to have a plan outlining what they want to achieve on behalf of their community.   

At the City of Unley, we call this document our Community Plan.  Its purpose is to set a long-term vision and goals for the future to guide important decisions such as:

• The services we provide and activities we undertake.
• How we develop, upgrade, and maintain local infrastructure and facilities.
• What we prioritise when we are setting our plans and budgets.
• How we can contribute to achieving National, State, and regional plans.

The current Community Plan was revised in 2017 and set out a vision, goals, and objectives for Unley in 2033.  View the current Community Plan.

It is timely that we refresh our long-term Plan to make sure it responds to new challenges and opportunities and meets the changing needs of the community.

Some of the goals and objectives in the current Plan remain relevant and important to the community, but some things have changed or require a stronger focus.  The new draft Community Plan ensures that we are leading change and identifying innovative ways to serve the future needs of our community and our City.

The Community Plan is a comprehensive community vision for the City of Unley that looks into the future.  It is the first step in our Strategic Management framework.

The long-term aspirations expressed in the draft Community Plan will inform the development of medium-term strategies and action plans, which provide more details of how we will achieve our goals and objectives.  This work will be progressed over the coming years.

Supporting our delivery is a separate Annual Business Plan developed at the beginning of each financial year. The Annual Business Plan details the individual projects and activities that will be undertaken during each year.

These projects and activities are resourced through Council’s annual budgets, which are prepared in conjunction with the Annual Business Plan.  A Long-Term Financial Plan is also required to outline how Council’s plans can be resourced over the next 10 years.

The new Community Plan, once finalised, will guide the preparation of all future City of Unley plans and strategies.

The draft Plan has been informed by engagement and research undertaken throughout 2024.  Some of the key inputs to the Plan have been:

• Your City, Your Vision community survey with 403 responses about what a bright future for the City of Unley looks like
• Workshops with stakeholder groups to unpack and build on the outcomes of the community survey from different perspectives
• Workshops and briefings with Elected Members and Council staff
• Research and analysis of community profile data and emerging trends
• Analysis of regional, State and National plans and objectives

The key themes from the engagement and research are summarised within the draft Community Plan.

Everyone who shares a connection with the Unley area is encouraged to provide feedback on the draft Community Plan. We welcome input from residents, business owners, community groups, workers, visitors, and anyone with an interest in the future of our community and our City.

Community feedback received via the survey and ideas board will be considered to finalise the draft Community Plan. It is estimated that the draft Plan will be presented to Elected Members in early 2025 for endorsement.