FAQs

The Southern and Hills Local Government Association (S&HLGA) is a regional subsidiary under the Local Government Act (SA).

In order to improve the wellbeing of the region and its community the S&HLGA undertakes a regional coordinating, representational, advocating and marketing role on behalf of its member councils.

The six Constituent Councils of the S&HLGA are: 

• Adelaide Hills Council
• Alexandrina Council
• Kangaroo Island Council
• Mount Barker District Council
• District Council of Yankalilla 
• City of Victor Harbor

One of the committees of the S&HLGA is the Regional Public Health Plan Working Group. Find out more.

The development of the Draft Plan included:

• an evaluation of the first RPHP for the S&HLGA (2015) 
• a fresh assessment of the state of public health in the region, 
• special meetings of the S&HLGA Regional Public Health Plan Working Group, and 
• initial planning workshops with relevant staff from across all 6 councils of the S&HLGA, to identify regional public health challenges and actions to address these.

The South Australian Public Health Act 2011 (the Act) requires each local council in SA, or group of councils (like the S&HLGA), to prepare, maintain and report on a "regional public health plan" (RPHP) that is consistent with the State Public Health Plan and helps to:

• protect the public health of their communities, 
• prevent illness, disease and injury, and 
• promote conditions to support community wellbeing.

The S&HLGA’s first Regional Public Health Plan (adopted May 2015) was prepared to meet this requirement. 

The Act (s51) requires that, once prepared, the RPHP must be reviewed at least once every 5 years. 

The S&HLGA’s first Plan was due for review in mid-2020. However, owing to COVID-19, the due date for the reviewed RPHP was extended to 1 September 2022.

In South Australia, public health is guided by the Public Health Act and the State Public Health Plan. 

The Act states that “public health means the health of individuals in the context of the wider health of the community” (p.6). 

The State Plan defines public health as “what we do collectively as a society to create the conditions and environments that enable health and wellbeing” (p.8). 

Public health is about everyone working together to create these conditions and environments that people need every day to be healthy. 

Local councils play various roles in supporting public health and community wellbeing, including:

• leader/planner
• owner/manager of public infrastructure
• regulator (e.g. food and health premise inspections)
• information provider
• advocate 
• facilitator/initiator 
• agent (e.g. managing provision of a service on behalf of SA Gov)
• direct provider (of service, project or program)
• part funder / partner.

For more information, see pages 15-24 of the Guide to Regional Public Health Planning (2019), produced by the Local Government Association of South Australia.

Public feedback received will be used to refine and finalise the following key elements of the Draft Plan:

• each council’s proposed ‘Top Actions’ for each shared goal 
• the proposed ‘Focus Areas for Collaboration’ for each shared goal

Following the consultation, the six councils will consider feedback received before finalising the Plan. 

The final Plan will then be sent to the Chief Public Health Officer for comment.

After considering any comments made by the Chief Public Health Officer, the councils will each adopt the Plan.

Finally, it will go the S&HLGA Board for endorsement.

It is anticipated that the Plan will come into operation by October 2022.

According to the World Health Organisation, there are direct and indirect impacts of climate change which are likely to exacerbate existing public health risks and generate an unacceptably high and potentially catastrophic risk to human health.

Direct impacts are those caused by exposure to increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events, such as bushfires, droughts, floods and heatwaves, include hypo- and hyperthermia, heat stress, injury, trauma and death. 

Indirect impacts are those mediated through natural and human systems affected by climate change, including animal-borne diseases, water-borne diseases, food-borne diseases, exposure to contaminants such as mycotoxins in food, impacts on the micro and macro nutritional quality of food, exacerbation of existing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases resulting from higher temperatures, poorer air quality and airborne pollen.

Aside from its effects on physical health, climate change can also adversely affect mental health. 

Read more:

• How Climate Change Affects Your Health: The Facts
• How climate change impacts mental health and psychosocial wellbeing