FRANKSTON Council has directed its officers to not enter into “new partnerships or memberships with external organisations” before drafting a new Strategic Partnerships Framework.
Councillors unanimously resolved to begin work on the Strategic Partnerships Framework at their most recent public meeting. A motion on the matter raised by Cr Kris Bolam read that the new policy will “provide clear, consistent, and transparent parameters for its memberships to and associated partnerships with external organisations.
“Existing memberships have been established through different approval pathways, and the level of governance oversight, transparency and demonstrated value across these arrangements varies,” Cr Bolam’s motion read. “There is currently no single, formal framework guiding how council enters, renews, reviews or exits external memberships and strategic partnerships.
“The Strategic Partnerships Framework will include defined approval processes, governance requirements, renewal cycles and exit pathways, with clearly articulated expectations regarding lobbying and advocacy on council-related matters, and explicit governance controls to ensure that all partnerships operate in a manner that protects council’s decision-making integrity, mitigates risks of undue influence or perceived bias, and maintains public confidence in council’s role as the local government authority.”
Cr Nathan Butler said “we have a lot of partnerships here at council, and this is about developing a framework for managing those partnerships.”
“I think this is a worthy exercise to do to make sure that the partnerships we have align with the values of our council, ” Cr Butler said.
Cr Cherie Wanat also voiced support. She said “I think it’s a good point in time to take stock of all our memberships and really do an assessment of those of where we’re at in terms of policy and advocacy and our visions and goals for the moment, and to ensure that these memberships are really a value add to our community and moving us forward in the right direction.”
Councillors are expected to be briefed on the new framework by September. The approved motion reads that “no new partnerships or memberships with external organisations are entered into by officers on behalf of Frankston City Council without an approved council resolution in the interim period, and until the Strategic Partnerships Framework is endorsed.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 9 June 2026