Local government is ideally placed to develop, lead and implement local policies to influence many determinants of health. These policies include actions in areas such as transport, roads, parks, waste, land use, housing and urban planning, recreation and cultural activities, and creating safe public places. All of these areas will be impacted by the changing environment, however actions in these areas also provide opportunities to reduce emissions and improve health at the same time.
Under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, local councils are required to protect, improve and promote public health and wellbeing within their municipality and prepare a Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan every four years. Under the Climate Change Act 2017 municipal public health and wellbeing plans must have regard to climate change.
Local government has a broad role in health promotion, the provision of health services such as immunisation, early childhood services, services for older people and other services such as libraries.
Local government is also a major employer in many communities (refer to guidance for workplaces).
Evidence-based actions that local government can take on climate change and its impact on health include:
Implement health-promoting and emissions-reducing policies
Climate change mitigation is critical to preventing the most significant public health impacts of climate change, and there are many initiatives that can be implemented by local government to both mitigate the impacts of climate change and improve health. For example, local councils could:
- implement initiatives focussed on greening urban areas, such as maintaining and enhancing tree coverage and vegetation on properties, lining transport corridors, and greening public lands, roofs, facades and walls, and ensuring equitable access to quality open space; these activities can increase carbon sequestration, mitigate the impacts of increased average temperatures, increase the community's resilience to extreme heat events, cool local environments, improve physical and mental health and create more opportunities for people to connect with nature.
- plan and develop neighbourhoods and implement initiatives that support active lifestyles and emission reduction, including active and community transport.
- implement programs to encourage sustainable, healthy diets and to reduce food waste
- take opportunities to make buildings more energy efficient and climate resilient to protect the health and wellbeing of their occupants throughout the year.
For actions and programs for increasing active living and healthy eating in local government, see:
- Increasing active living - Actions in local government.
- Increasing healthy eating - Actions in local government.
- Plan Melbourne 2017-2050, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
- TAKE2, Sustainability Victoria - a collective climate change program that supports individuals, businesses, government, educational and community organisations to take meaningful action on climate change.
- Victorian Healthy Homes Program - a Victorian Government home energy efficiency program. It provides free home energy upgrades to up to 1000 Victorians who live with complex healthcare needs, and have low incomes, in Melbourne's western suburbs and the Goulburn Valley. Local councils or community health providers can refer potential participants, within the program's target area, to the program.
Implement plans, policies and measures to support adaptation to the health impacts of climate change
Because of their strong connections to the community and local knowledge, local councils are often best placed to plan for adaptation at a local level. For example, local councils could:
- undertake place-based risk assessments of climate change impacts upon clients' health, as well as assets, workforce, and services
- implement health-protective adaptation actions to protect the community from the impacts of climate change.
Resources on this topic include:
- Municipal public health and wellbeing planning - having regard to climate change, Department of Health and Human Services
- Heat health plan for Victoria, Department of Health and Human Services - outlines how the department together with local government and the health and human services sectors, can work together to promote public health and wellbeing before and during periods of extreme heat.
- Heat health resources for councils, Department of Health and Human Services - includes the Heatwave planning guide: Development of heatwave plans in local councils in Victoria, Heatwave plan review tool and communication resources, as well as a link to subscribe to the department's heat health alerts.
- Victoria's Climate Change Adaptation Plan 2017 - 2020, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
- Regional climate change adaptation snapshot reports, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
- Climate Ready Victoria fact sheets, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
- Resources for Local Government, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
- Plan Melbourne 2017-2050, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
- Parks Victoria: Climate Change, Parks Victoria
Improve awareness and understanding of the actions that community members can take to stay healthy in a changing climate while reducing their impact on the environment
Local councils play an important role in supporting community adaptation to the health impacts of climate change. Improving awareness and understanding of how climate change impacts health and raising awareness of the actions that community members can take to stay healthy in a changing climate, while also reducing their impact on the environment, is critical to building resilience in Victorian communities.
- Better health Channel Climate change and public health resources - These resources include information and animated videos for all audiences on the topics of climate change and health, extreme weather events, staying healthy in a changing climate, and the health co-benefits of climate change mitigation in a community context.
- Heat health resources - These resources have been developed by the Department of Health and Human Services to help councils, health services and other government agencies to raise awareness about the impact of extreme heat on human health.
- TAKE2, Sustainability Victoria - a collective climate change program that supports individuals, businesses, government, educational and community organisations to take meaningful action on climate change.