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Melbourne Community Safety Audit Program

The Melbourne Community Safety Audit program is a joint initiative of the City of Melbourne and Victoria Police.

The program enables residents, traders and businesses within the municipality to communicate and actively work with City of Melbourne and Victoria Police to address safety, security, and amenity issues in their local neighbourhood or street.

Download a copy of the information pack:

How does it work? 

Community members nominate a location where safety improvements are needed. This could be a local laneway, park, public toilet block, apartment block, street or neighbourhood.

Applications are reviewed by an assessment panel, comprising representatives from Victoria Police and the City of Melbourne.

Two locations are selected each year. If your nomination is successful, Victoria Police and City of Melbourne will work with your local community to conduct a site inspection, identify and develop recommendations to improve the safety of the area, and work with relevant agencies to implement the changes.

Each participant receives a copy of the audit report and improvement plan.

How are applications assessed?

Applications are assessed according to strict criteria to ensure that areas with ongoing crime and safety issues are prioritised.

While only two locations are selected each year, the safety audit assessment tools can be used by any community or business group to complete their own audit, and share their findings with City of Melbourne and Victoria Police.

The safety audit process takes a minimum of 12 weeks to complete.

Safety audit assessment tools

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Template downloads

Park, garden and open space audit assessment

Business safety audit assessment

Apartment building safety audit assessment

Residential safety audit assessment

Participant list template

Improvement plan template

Final report template

Toolkit feedback form

Audit participants feedback form

Why get involved?

The Melbourne Community Safety Audit Program is an opportunity for people who want to feel safer in their local area and who are prepared to do something towards achieving it. 

The safety audit process is a way of identifying and making desired changes to improve the safety of local neighbourhoods, residential apartment blocks, businesses, and public places for everyone. It helps to reduce crime and build confidence within the community. It’s also an excellent way for neighbours to get to know each other, and increase the feeling of pride and ownership of the area.

Benefits of a safety audit

Participating in a safety audit can have many benefits including:

  • reducing the feeling of fear in your community
  • increasing the feeling of safety in your community
  • reducing the opportunity for crime to occur
  • increasing community participation in local programs
  • building working relationships between residents, businesses and government.

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