Victorian Local Governance Association

FastTrack 2026 - Incivility: A Threat to Local Democracy
2026-02-27 09:00 - 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | RACV City Club, Melbourne
The VLGA is the only organisation nationally with a singular focus on supporting councillors and the people who work with them to strengthen culture, improve conduct and demonstrate good local governance.
This national one-day annual conference will bring together stakeholders from across the local government sector to examine the rise of incivility in public discourse and its impact on democratic processes.
The event will explore how hostile behaviour, misinformation, and the erosion of respectful dialogue threatens the effectiveness, safety, and integrity of local governance.
Participants will examine the causes of incivility, its consequences for elected representatives, council staff and civic engagement, and examine practical strategies for fostering respectful communication and resilience in the face of hostility.
Attendees will leave equipped with tools to strengthen public trust, promote constructive dialogue, and protect the democratic values that underpin local government as a healthy, functioning democracy.
The program also directly aligns with components of the state government’s Year 2 mandatory training requirements for Victorian councillors including:

Creating and maintaining a safe workplace
Renewing Councillor group commitment to work as a team

Program Overview
Panel Session 1 – The Cost of Incivility: Impact on Councillors, Staff, and Community Trust  Panel Session 2 – Rebuilding Respectful Dialogue in a Polarised World  Panel Session 3 – Safe to Serve: Practical Tools to Confront Incivility
For more information, download our program overview here
Costs*
Members – single ticket: $825 (including GST)  Non-Members – single ticket $1650 (including GST)
Multiple Registration Discount
Discounts apply for multiple registrations from a single council or organisation.

The discounts are:

15% discount – 2 tickets
25% discount – 3 tickets
35% discount – 4 tickets
45% discount – 5 tickets
50% discount – 6 or more (limit of 10 bookings per council/organisation)

For this discount to apply, registrations must be completed in one transaction. To register multiple attendees, please contact us for a form as this cannot be done online.

Accommodation
Reduced rate accommodation is available at the RACV Club for this event. Please contact us for details.
*Please note, a cancellation policy (link is external)does apply for this event
