The Council's role

Why work with councils?

Councils play an important role in many of our outdoor recreation and sports facilities by holding community events, employing outdoor workers, managing public places, and granting planning and building consents.

However, some council officials don’t know about the risk of skin cancer caused by excessive and harmful patterns of sun exposure and the role they can play in helping protect their communities.

Motivated people can make a difference by raising awareness among councils about the risks of excessive sun exposure and the impacts of skin cancer.

What your council can do

Your council can adopt a comprehensive sun protection policy, including:

• adopting sun protection policies eg, at childcare centres
• developing sun protection guidelines at outdoor events
• providing sun protection for outdoor workers eg, clothing, shade, sunscreen
• providing sun protection at pools, sports grounds, parks and gardens, and camping grounds eg, shade signage, suncreen
• incorporating shade considerations in building codes and planning requirements.

Download our free resource about working with councils (PDF, 7.66MB) and read success stories.