Place and Feature Naming Policy

In Baw Baw, Council is responsible for the naming and renaming of publicly owned roads, parks, features and localities throughout the Shire.

As the naming authority for these sites, Council must abide by the State Government's Naming rules for places in Victoria, which sets out the statutory requirements for naming roads, parks and similar features across the State while ensuring that all Councils are following the same processes.

While the Naming Rules provide a set of principles to which naming proposals must comply, Council currently has no strategic objectives or policy position to further guide its role in place naming - until now.

Why do we need a Place and Feature Naming Policy?

In 2022, Geographic Names Victoria asked all Victorian Councils to audit places, features, and streets to determine their naming origin. This audit demonstrated a huge disparity in naming in Baw Baw. This led officers to complete a Gender Impact Assessment and develop a draft Place and Feature Naming Policy.

The policy sets strategic objectives to ensure that place naming prioritises names in Traditional Owner languages, and the names of women when using commemorative names, to address the existing gender imbalance in place names across Baw Baw - the 2022 naming audit found that of the 973 Baw Baw streets named after a person, just 13 were named after women, while 960 were named after a man.

To address this imbalance, the policy includes an ambitious target for commemorative naming of places so that 70 per cent of new features and places, when named after a person, are named after a woman.

In addition to achieving equality when it comes to place naming, the introduction of a policy aims to provide clarity for community members, Council, the Place Names Advisory Committee, and Officers in naming places within Baw Baw and assist Council in fulfilling its legislative responsibilities under the Naming Rules and Gender Equality Act and support the objectives of Our Equal State: Victoria’s gender equality strategy and action plan 2023-2027.

This policy has been adopted by Council

This policy was presented to Council at its Wednesday 6 March Council Meeting, where it was adopted.

In Baw Baw, Council is responsible for the naming and renaming of publicly owned roads, parks, features and localities throughout the Shire.

As the naming authority for these sites, Council must abide by the State Government's Naming rules for places in Victoria, which sets out the statutory requirements for naming roads, parks and similar features across the State while ensuring that all Councils are following the same processes.

While the Naming Rules provide a set of principles to which naming proposals must comply, Council currently has no strategic objectives or policy position to further guide its role in place naming - until now.

Why do we need a Place and Feature Naming Policy?

In 2022, Geographic Names Victoria asked all Victorian Councils to audit places, features, and streets to determine their naming origin. This audit demonstrated a huge disparity in naming in Baw Baw. This led officers to complete a Gender Impact Assessment and develop a draft Place and Feature Naming Policy.

The policy sets strategic objectives to ensure that place naming prioritises names in Traditional Owner languages, and the names of women when using commemorative names, to address the existing gender imbalance in place names across Baw Baw - the 2022 naming audit found that of the 973 Baw Baw streets named after a person, just 13 were named after women, while 960 were named after a man.

To address this imbalance, the policy includes an ambitious target for commemorative naming of places so that 70 per cent of new features and places, when named after a person, are named after a woman.

In addition to achieving equality when it comes to place naming, the introduction of a policy aims to provide clarity for community members, Council, the Place Names Advisory Committee, and Officers in naming places within Baw Baw and assist Council in fulfilling its legislative responsibilities under the Naming Rules and Gender Equality Act and support the objectives of Our Equal State: Victoria’s gender equality strategy and action plan 2023-2027.

This policy has been adopted by Council

This policy was presented to Council at its Wednesday 6 March Council Meeting, where it was adopted.

Page last updated: 08 Mar 2024, 03:02 PM