Key projects and activities
In December 2020 our COVID-19 Response and Recovery Package increased from $7.3 million to $8.9 million. New grants were introduced to support: small businesses; projects helping vulnerable residents; and those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Community organisations experiencing hardship which were providing beneficial community assistance also received financial support. We also employed 148 people across Council as part of the State Government funded Working for Victoria Program.
See Key projects and activities — Our COVID-19 response and recovery
Glen Eira City Council has made a commitment to achieve zero net emissions by 2025 and net community emissions by 2030.
We have been increasing our efforts to meet these targets through: purchasing electric vehicles for our car fleet; developing a Climate Emergency Response Strategy that outlines our commitment to action on climate change; and using green asphalt when resurfacing our streets. We are also one of 46 councils to sign on to the Victorian Energy Collaboration (VECO), the largest ever emissions reduction project by local government in Australia. By joining the project, we will power 100 per cent of total energy use with 100 per cent renewables, including streetlights, libraries, aquatic centres and pavilions.
See Key projects and activities — Making Glen Eira a sustainable place to live
More than 4,000 community members and a deliberative panel of 42 residents developed this Vision statement: Our Glen Eira — a thriving community of empowered citizens working together for an inclusive and sustainable future.
This Vision is accompanied by six guiding principles:
Principle 1: We work together;
Principle 2: Planning for community resilience;
Principle 3: Inclusive and healthy community;
Principle 4: Maximise and diversify our green and natural spaces;
Principle 5: We are proactive in meeting challenges and innovate using evidence-based methods; and
Principle 6: Promote and develop our creative potential, celebrating our diverse identities through art and other cultural expression.
The Glen Eira 2040 Community Vision Report will be used by Council to guide strategic planning and decision making for the future of Glen Eira. This includes helping shape Council’s priorities through the development of the Council Plan 2021–2025 and Community Wellbeing Plan 2021–2025.
See Key projects and activities — Glen Eira’s Community Vision is here
Trees are a part of what makes Glen Eira green and a great place to live. We have a number of very old native and European trees in our parks, streets and private gardens. Council has offered protection to these significant trees through the adoption of a new Classified Tree Local Law that stops significant trees species from being damaged or removed. A register has also been established so as members of the community can nominate significant trees to be considered for protection under the new Local Law.
See Key projects and activities — Protecting our trees in Glen Eira
In March 2021 Council made the difficult decision to consolidate our three aged care facilities — Spurway, Warrawee and Rosstown — into two sites — Warrawee and Rosstown.
We know the standard of care provided in all our facilities is second to none, however the age, design and layout of the Spurway Community building no longer met community expectations.
Throughout the pandemic our residential aged care facilities continue to provide a high standard of care and safety to our residents.
See Key projects and activities — Warrawee welcomes new aged care residents
Glen Eira Libraries is a welcoming library service that provides opportunities for literacy, learning and creativity for everyone in our communities. We offer an innovative and engaging service to 55,323 library members.
At our library branches, visitors read, browse and borrow; meet others; study; connect through technology; and discover and learn with our diverse programs. Our collections include books for all ages and interests, talking books, DVDs, magazines and more.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we worked quickly and effectively to respond to the changing situation. With reduced opening hours or closures, members could still access services online 24/7. We increased our range of e-books, e-magazines and other electronic resources available to members. We expanded our home library service to maintain a supply of books to the most vulnerable and isolated members of the community. We adopted a contactless click and collect service when possible, for members who prefer print to digital. Programming moved online to reach the widest audiences across Glen Eira and included Libraries@Home StoryTimes and workshops, and ‘in-conversations’ with international and local presenters and authors. We are proud the community response to our efforts has been very positive.
To join our library service, visit Glen Eira Libraries website.
1,038,594* 2019—20 | 1,328,604 2018—19 | 1,313,394 2017—18 | 1,357,495 2016—17
*COVID-19 lockdown limited our library loans.
Bringing our diverse community together is one of our top priorities. We hold a range of cultural events, festivals and exhibitions throughout the year, including: Groove and Graze — a series of three events across Glen Eira with live local musicians and food trucks; three Party in the Park family concerts and children’s entertainment throughout summer; and our major curated exhibitions in Council’s Gallery.
COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions and lockdowns meant all major cultural events were postponed. Online events were programmed, including Live Sunday Sessions featuring performances by local Glen Eira talent, including comedians, performers and children’s entertainers as well as conversations with artists, curators and local historians. Tutor-led art/craft and spring gardening sessions for adults and children continued to be a popular online offering and included newly added programs, I-SEW-lation — learn to sew classes and Spring Gardening sessions, floristry and vegie patch planting at Rippon Lea Estate.
Once restrictions were eased smaller scale ‘pop-up’ style live events were programmed, including Rolling Shows — live entertainment on the back of vintage trucks and GE Street Arts featuring local acts performing in major shopping precincts and popular parks and gardens.
National Reconciliation Week and our largest annual event, the Glen Eira Storytelling Festival were also presented online in 2021.
In 2020–21, library programs quickly moved online in response to COVID closures and visitor restrictions. 5,537 people attended 117 ‘one-off’ live online events; and more than 100 videos with pre-recorded content were produced for our Library@Home package, including StoryTimes, workshops and creative learning activities.
For more information, visit the Arts and culture page on our website.
39,527* 2019—20 | 62,963 2018—19 | 69,311 2017—18 | 56,562 2016—17
*Live events not permitted under COVID-19 restrictions.
Glen Eira Youth Services offers a range of events, programs and support services to young people aged 10 to 25 to maintain their health and wellbeing, and to help them connect with each other and their community. Our range of school and community programs includes: Pride in schools — an initiative that helps support the establishment of school LGBTIQA+ support groups; a Youth Climate and Sustainability Action Group — 12 volunteers who aim to advocate and educate for a more sustainable community; a Youth Leadership Team — 10 volunteers who organise and lead the production of major Glen Eira youth events. The service conducts around 145 community and educational sessions per year.
Our face-to-face youth services were closed during Victoria’s State of Emergency but continued to offer support to Glen Eira’s vulnerable young people by providing online community programs and virtual support sessions. The service continued to provide support through online parent information nights, such as the Moving Up — student transition to high school, and the Cyber Safety Project.
The service continued to provide events during state-mandated lockdowns for young people to engage with, such as the Youth Art Exhibition Inspiration in Isolation with more than 120 entries and the Glen Eira Storytelling Festival event Queerstories with 220 registered attendees.
For more information, visit the Glen Eira Youth Services page on our website.
9,490** 2019—20 | 10,161 2018—19 | 9,630 2017—18 | 6,538 2016—17
*Includes attendance to our online events.
**Live events not permitted under COVID-19 restrictions.
Our Maternal and Child Health Service provides free help to Glen Eira families with children from birth to under school age. The Service provides 10 Key Ages and Stages consultations from birth to three-and-a-half years-of-age for all children and their families in Glen Eira. The consultations are conducted by registered nurses and look at the child’s health and wellbeing achievements at each of the 10 stages. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic Council’s Maternal and Child Health service offered a flexible service and conducted the Key Ages and Stages consultations via telehealth and face-to-face appointments. In order to comply with COVID-19 restrictions and Victorian Department of Health requirements for this service during the pandemic, all children aged 0–8 weeks and their parents/carers received a telehealth phone consult followed by a 15-minute face-to-face appointment. Birth notices received over the last two financial years have averaged 1,646 compared to 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 where they averaged 1,617.
For more information, visit the Maternal and child health page on our website.
13,427 2019—20 | 14,469 2018—19 | 15,100 2017—18 | 16,476 2016—17
Immunisation protects children and the community from harmful and contagious diseases. We provide free vaccinations to the Glen Eira community as part of the National Immunisation Schedule. Our biggest focus is on providing immunisations for children aged six weeks to four years and through school programs for adolescents aged 12 to 16. We also administer catch-up immunisations for people under 20 years moving to Australia from overseas. During 2020, we introduced an online booking system for the four-year-old appointment-based immunisation sessions. Glen Eira’s immunisation coverage for children aged five and under is an average of 94.6 per cent. The state average is 94.8 per cent.
During the pandemic, 1,871 people accessed our community flu immunisation sessions, a decrease of 198 on the previous year. Our immunisation teams were not able to attend secondary colleges during the COVID-19 restrictions to immunise students and their presentation to centralised immunisation sessions was low.
For more information, visit the Immunising your child page on our website.
11,005 2019—20 | 10,590** 2018—19 | 11,534 2017—18 | 11,575 2016—17
*COVID-19 lockdown limited our immunisations.
**Immunisations decreased as the HPV9 vaccination has been improved and now only requires two doses to be given in the adolescent school program, down from the previous three doses.
Our Delivered Meals service is for people in Glen Eira who are having trouble maintaining healthy balanced nutrition and who would benefit from receiving a regular cooked meal daily, a few times a week, or for a set period of time while they recover from illness. A higher number of people accessed the service during the events of the COVID-19 pandemic; most choosing to limit community access and isolate at home for their own safety. During 2020–21, more than 330 people used this service consuming 31,567 meals.
The service also provides lunch to participants of our Social Support Program. The Program provides opportunities for friendship through activities such as exercise, outings, table games, music therapy and Tai Chi. Sharing a meal with others is also an integral part of the Program. During 2020–21, more than 100 people used this service and we provided 1,459 meals to participants.
In recent years, several pre-prepared meal providers have emerged giving clients many options for consideration. Despite this, our committed team of volunteers delivered an average of 2,630 meals each month.
For more information, visit the Delivered meals page on our website.
29,623 2019—20 | 37,900 2018—19 | 40,628 2017—18 | 43,393 2016—17
*Combined Delivered Meals service and Social Support Program group meals.
Being green and leafy is an important part of Glen Eira’s character. We’ve increased the number of street trees from 30,000 to more than 50,000 over the past 20 years. We planted 1,000 new trees and replaced 854 across our parks and streets. In addition, we continue to undertake regular monitoring the health of these trees to ensure they are thriving and do not pose any risk to public safety or property.
For more information, visit the Street trees page on our website.
950* 2019—20 | 2,077 2018—19 | 2,038 2017—18 | 2090 2016—17
*Limited plantings due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Glen Eira continues to see an increase in housing density with standalone houses gradually being replaced by townhouses and apartments. In 2020–21, there was a decrease of 134 houses. The number of newly rateable units and townhouses increased by 661 and newly rateable flats and apartments increased by 1,012.
There are 65,361 households in Glen Eira.
| 1,177 . |
2019–20 . |
(Houses 269 decrease; units and townhouses 508 increase; flats and apartments 938 increase) |
| 1,345 . |
2018–19 . |
(Houses 443 decrease; units and townhouses 667 increase; flats and apartments 1,121 increase.) |
| 2,282 . |
2016–18* . |
(Houses 668 decrease; units and townhouses 854 increase; flats and apartments 2,096 increase.) |
*Rating valuations for properties prior to 2018 were conducted every two years. Rating valuations for properties are now conducted annually.
Glen Eira Leisure offers fitness, recreation and relaxation for all ages and abilities across three sites — Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic Centre (GESAC), Caulfield Recreation Centre and Carnegie Swim Centre. GESAC is the largest site and one of Australia’s premier sports and aquatic facilities providing state-of-the-art equipment, an indoor sports stadium, Olympic-sized swimming pool and group fitness training facilities. GESAC’s aquatic services are centered around its four pools and include a Swim School Program, an aquatic wellness area to relax and rehabilitate and a swim squad for dedicated lap swimmers. Carnegie Swim Centre was only operational for a short period during 2020–21 due to a catastrophic failure of the pool plant. Glen Eira Leisure currently has 9,606 members.
During Victoria’s State of Emergency, Glen Eira Leisure facilities were closed, significantly affecting service provision which led to reduced consumer confidence and a drop in memberships numbers Our focus was on growing our GEL Anywhere offering with over 1,000 instructional videos including workouts such as high intensity interval training, yoga, pilates, inclusive structured classes and older adult classes. The GEL Anywhere program also included a chat series with a psychologist and nutritionist, as well as healthy cooking demonstrations.
GEL Anywhere online fitness classes were free for the entire world to access and were not exclusive to GESAC members. This innovative platform caused a stir around the world with news reporters in India interviewing the GESAC team to see how we were keeping people engaged and healthy during lock down. Sessions were viewed more than 738,000 times (20,000 hours) both locally and internationally.
For more information, visit the Glen Eira Leisure website or visit them on Facebook page to see the videos.
2020—21 GESAC (347,551), Carnegie Swim Centre (2,785),** Caulfield Recreation Centre (22,294).
1,239,621 2019—20
GESAC (1,118,428), Carnegie Swim Centre (62,634), Caulfield Recreation Centre (58,559).
1,745,039 2018—19
GESAC (1,581,859), Carnegie Swim Centre (87,789), Caulfield Recreation Centre (75,391).
1,681,785 2017—18
GESAC (1,541,980), Carnegie Swim Centre (90,674), Caulfield Recreation Centre (49,061). We took over management of the Caulfield Recreation Centre and Carnegie Swim Centre and combined with GESAC to form Glen Eira Leisure in October 2017.
1,500,000† 2016—17
*COVID-19 State of Emergency regulations required Glen Eira Leisure facilities to close.
**Closure of the Centre due to failure of the pool plant.
†GESAC figure only.
We collect recyclables through fortnightly collections of our combined food waste/green waste bin and our recycling bin for glass, plastics, metal and paper. We also provide residents with three hard rubbish, branch or cardboard collections per year for larger amounts of waste. Glen Eira recycles nearly half of its waste.
Our food waste recycling service allows residents to recycle food waste that would have otherwise gone to landfill. In 2020–21, we decreased food waste going to landfill by around 892 tonnes. This means our greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere have decreased by 1,872 tonnes CO2 equivalent.*
For more information, visit the Rubbish and recycling page on our website.
49% 27,079 tonnes 2019–20
46% 23,810 tonnes 2018–19
44.3% 24,044 tonnes 2017–18
45.3% 13,225 tonnes 2016–17
*Based on food emission conversion factor of 2.1 as per the National Greenhouse Accounts Factors October 2020.
Services that we deliver for every $100 of rates and charges revenue (2020–2021):
