Our commitment to improving community health and wellbeing This Council Plan integrates Council’s Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan and details our commitment to work in a collaborative and coordinated way to create supportive, inclusive and empowering environments that enable all of community to achieve optimal health and wellbeing outcomes. Health and wellbeing is driven by a complex interaction of individual characteristics, lifestyle and the physical, social and economic environment. There is a range of wider determinants on health and wellbeing including income, early childhood experiences, gender stereotypes, norms and expectations, education, employment, social inclusion, housing and geography, living and working conditions, quality of air, soil and water and health systems. The Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2019-2023
The plan embeds an integrated responsibility across all areas of Council to reflect the view that ‘health and wellbeing is everyone’s responsibility’. Council’s health and wellbeing priorities, outcomes and strategies have been developed with regard to the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2019-2023. The Plan sets the direction and provides a framework for coordinated action, ensuring Victorians of all ages are afforded the opportunity for optimal health and wellbeing so they can participate fully in their community. The state priorities identified for 2019-2023 are: • Improving mental wellbeing • Increasing active living • Preventing all forms of violence • Increasing healthy eating • Tackling climate change and its impact on health
• Reducing injury • Improving sexual and reproductive health • Reducing harmful alcohol and drug use • Reducing tobacco-related harm • Decreasing the risk of drug resistant infections in the community Golden Plains Shire Council actively participates in regional approaches to strengthen collective health and wellbeing action, contributing to both the Central Highlands Primary Care Partnership (CHPCP) and G21 Regional Alliance. Both CHPCP and G21 identify ‘healthier eating and active living’ as the health and wellbeing priority for regional action moving forward. Acknowledging the broader Victorian and regional context for community health and wellbeing planning, the Golden Plains Shire
Council priorities for supporting and improving the health and wellbeing of our community are informed by extensive community consultation, consultation with regional partners and key stakeholder engagement. Twenty-seven key stakeholders from community health organisations, regional networks, preventative health service providers, regional sporting associations, family violence support services the education and disability sector within Council contributed to data collection. These stakeholders provided information on current and emerging community health needs, highlighted existing challenges in the delivery of community health initiatives, and identified a range of actions to address these current needs and challenges. Their responses helped inform Council’s health and wellbeing priorities and strategies, with further engagement planned to develop Council’s Action Plan and monitoring and evaluation framework. In addition, a comprehensive ‘Community Health and Wellbeing Profile’ provided by the CHPCP, and examination of other local health and wellbeing data provides an evidence base around current trends and issues, helping to identify priority areas for action.
Council Plan 2021-2025 | Golden Plains Shire Council 19
