Brimbank Economic & Employment Advisory Group – Terms of Reference
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BRIMBANK ECONOMIC & EMPLOYMENT
ADVISORY GROUP (BEEAG)
Terms of Reference - September 2023
1. Purpose:
The BEEAG is an advisory committee to Brimbank City Council (Council)
which operates as a round table style business forum to facilitate
discussion on a broad range of local economic, investment and workforce
development matters to build the City of Brimbank’s (Brimbank) economic
capacity and prosperity.
2. Objectives
The objectives of the BEEAG are to provide a forum for:
a) Information exchange and discussion between Council and
industry.
b) Identification of economic opportunities and issues relevant to
Brimbank.
c) Consultation with industry stakeholders about any projects,
policies or strategies that may impact them.
d) Reports on progress to implement the Brimbank Economic
Development Strategy 2022-2027, including current business
activities.
e) Reports on trends in the local economy and the potential impacts
on local businesses.
f) Identifying opportunities for Council to attract business
investment.
g) Developing relationships between various business sectors with
Council to foster collaboration and information sharing.
3. Membership
The membership will comprise:
a) Two Councillor Representatives responsible for the Prosperous and
Tourism Portfolios.
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b) One Chairperson, who is a recognised industry professional
independent of Council, who may operate in or outside Brimbank.
c) Eight to ten Brimbank-based local business owners, operators or
managers from key sectors including Manufacturing, Construction,
Retail Trade, Accommodation and Food services, Education &
Training (including Employment services), Transport, Postal &
Warehousing, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services,
Health Care & Social Assistance and the Visitor Economy.
d) Two senior Council Officers including the Director City Futures or
delegate, and the Coordinator Economic Development.
e) BEEAG members will be appointed for a four year term.
4. Selection Process
a) An initial Selection Panel will be formed comprising the Director City
Futures, and Councillor Representatives for the Prosperous and
Tourism Portfolios to select the Independent Chair.
b) The Chair will be appointed directly by the Selection Panel.
c) The eligibility criteria for the Chair includes that they are an industry
professional with a range of business skills and experience including:
- Advanced economic and broad industry knowledge
- Established networks with industry and government
- Advanced facilitation, communication and governance skills.
d) Once the Chair is appointed, the Selection Panel will be expanded to
include the Director City Futures, the Councillor Representatives for
the Prosperous and Tourism Portfolios and the Chair who will select
and appoint the business membership to the BEEAG.
e) Membership to the BEEAG will be invited through an expression of
interest (EOI) process, which will be published through Council’s
online business communications.
f) Council officers will provide all complying EOI’s to the Selection Panel
to review and directly appoint business members to the BEEAG.
g) The eligibility criteria for business applications is that they:
- Own, operate or manage a business in Brimbank
- Have an interest in growing the local economy and increasing local
employment participation
- Have a connection to industry bodies, small business, major
employers or other business-focused stakeholder groups.
h) The Selection Panel will seek to achieve diversity in its membership
with regard to gender equity, skills and experience, ethnicity, cultural
background and other individual qualities.
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5. Vacancies
a) The Selection Panel will determine membership to the BEEAG, and fill
vacancies if they arise though advertisement, notification and/or
direct approach.
6. Expectations:
a) Members are expected to:
- Declare any conflict of interest
- Contribute their individual knowledge and expertise
- Actively participate in discussions
- Respect and value different contributions
- Raise and discuss issues relevant to the Terms of Reference
- Maintain confidentiality, when required.
7. Meeting Procedures
a) The BEEAG will be led by a suitably qualified Chair with specialist
skills and knowledge about the local economy and employment.
b) The role of the Chair is to:
- Ensure meetings are scheduled and members notified
- Ensure the agenda includes topics relevant to local industry and
the terms of reference
- Facilitate meetings to engage members and encourage
discussion
- Identify potential presenters to attend meetings as appropriate,
in consultation with Council officers, and subject to budget
availability
- Guide the meeting according to the agenda and time available
- Review and approve the agenda and draft minutes before
distribution.
c) The BEEAG will meet four times per year, and are likely to take up
to two hours.
d) The location of meetings will be either held at Brimbank
Community and Civic Centre officers, or held online.
e) Meetings shall be convened by the Chair in consultation with
Council officers.
f) Council officers will provide administrative support to the BEEAG
for the purpose of:
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- Organising meetings i.e. booking meetings and arranging
invitations
- Work with the chair to identify agenda items and presenters
- Preparing and distributing agendas and minutes in a timely
manner
- Minute taking at meetings.
g) A quorum of seven members is required including one Councillor
Representative and the Chair.
h) Members missing three consecutive meetings without notice or
justifiable reason (ie illness or work obligations) may have their
membership cancelled by the Chair, in consultation with the
Selection Panel.
i) Guests can only attend the BEEAG at the invitation of the Chair for
specific discussions/agenda items.
j) Proxies are discouraged, and otherwise require approval by the
Chair prior to the meeting.
k) The BEEAG meetings are not open to the public.
l) The BEEAG may discuss or be provided with material that must
remain confidential to the group. Such items and discussions will
be identified at the time. All members of the BEEAG will be
required to maintain such confidentiality.
m) All contact with the media on behalf of the BEEAG requires
authorisation by the Council.
8. Extent of Authority:
a) The BEEAG acts in an advisory capacity to Council.
b) Any recommendations from BEEAG to Council will be provided
through the Representative Report provided to Council after each
meeting.
c) The BEEAG does not have authority to commit Council to any
decision or action, or direct Council officers in their duties.
9. Conflicts of Interest:
a) The Committee will recognise that members will have different
obligations and methods of disclosure under the
Local Government
Act 2020
and the Brimbank Governance Rules.
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b) Committee members must disclose any General or Material Conflicts
of Interest prior to their appointment, and on an ongoing basis, in
accordance with the
Local Government Act 2020
and the Brimbank
Governance Rules.
c) Committee members will disclose to the Committee at, or before,
each meeting if they have disclosed any Conflict of Interest in
accordance with their obligations under the
Local Government Act
2020
or the Brimbank Governance Rules in relation to any matter to
be discussed in the agenda at that meeting and identify the relevant
item of the agenda for which the Conflict exists.
d) A Committee member who is not a relevant person under the
Local
Government Act
will disclose any potential or perceived conflict of
interest to the Chair on appointment to the Committee and on an
ongoing basis and identify the relevant item of the agenda for which
the Conflict exists.
e) Committee members must absent themselves from discussions in
relation to matters which they have disclosed a conflict of interest.
10. Reimbursement
a) Participation on the BEEAG is on an honorary basis with the
exception of the independent Chair, position which attracts a fee.
b) Committee members will be reimbursed for necessary out of pocket
expenses incurred while performing duties as a committee
members, with such reimbursements to be made in accordance with
Brimbank City Council policy and guidelines.
11. Review
a) The operation and terms of reference will be reviewed by Council in
four years.