SunSmart Councils / Territorial Local Authorities (TLAs)
Are you concerned about the lack of sun protection in your community spaces such as playgrounds and parks?
Your local council / Territorial Local Authority (TLA) plays a dual role in providing sun protection - for the community, and as an employer (protecting their outdoor workers).This section will provide you with information to help youengage effectively with your council on sun safety issues including the development of a sun protection policy. It also presents case studies and tools that you can download to help you draft submissions to provide to your council. Councils will also find information to help them draft sun protection policies, and ways to reduce the risk of skin cancer in their community.
The Council's role in sun safety
Local councils’ policies and decisions have enormous impact on the lives of people their communities. 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 sometimes, local council officials are not aware of the risk of skin cancer that is caused by excessive and harmful patterns of sun exposure. They are also unaware of the important role they can play in terms of protecting their communities and making them sun safe. Motivated people can make a difference by raising awareness amongst council staff about the risks of excessive sun exposure and the impacts of skin cancer.
How your council can be SunSmart?
Your council can adopt a comprehensive sun protection policy, including:
- promoting and adopting sun protection policies at places such as childcare centres and schools
- developing sun protection guidelines for the conduction of outdoor events
- 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.
Develop a sun protection policy
The successful introduction of a sun protection policy requires a lot of planning and work, but the results are worth it. A comprehensive sun protection policy template (Word, 55KB) will help guide the process.
Key areas in the development of sun protection policies and practices are:
- the development of policies and guidelines for specific groups (eg, outdoor workers) and areas (eg, outdoor pools, parks, gardens and sports facilities)
- building strong relationships between local government decision makers and sun protection advocates
- including shade provision in the design of community and sporting facilities
- including sun protection considerations in building codes and planning requirements
- encouraging councils to take steps to provide seasonably usable shade that also allows sunlight for warmth and health in recreational settings
- adopting a systematic process for planning shade for locations where the public could be at risk of over-exposure to sun.
The following sections will provide you with some useful guidelines on working with your council, including making a plan to approach your council, providing a submission to your council, and promoting the implementation of a sun protection policy within the council.