Inviting the Lord Mayor and Councillors to an Event

Inviting the Lord Mayor or a Councillor to an event

The Lord Mayor and Council thank you for your invitation. They know how important your event is to your group and our community.

Council is committed to ensuring that members of the community are informed about the correct protocol when inviting and addressing the Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor and Councillors.

These guidelines do not apply to meetings or functions open to members of the public where a Councillor attends in a private rather than in an official capacity.

Protocol for invitations

As the elected Chair of Council, the role of the Lord Mayor is to assist you in celebrating and recognising achievements and milestones. Given the numerous and varied events in the City of Parramatta area each year we appreciate that every function is unique. You may request the Lord Mayor to formally open an event, welcome guests or present an award.

All invitations for a Council representative to attend a function or event must be in writing and should be forwarded to the Office of the Lord Mayor with as much advance notice as possible.

Please e-mail all invitations for the Lord Mayor and Councillors to lordmayor@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au.

Please advise in the invitation if the invitation is for the Lord Mayor, all Councillors, or includes an invitation for the Councillor’s partner to attend the function. 
Please note that all invitations for the opening of official Council related business will be handled by Council Officers in consultation with the relevant community stakeholders.

Representatives

The Lord Mayor is the principal representative of Council however the Deputy Lord Mayor or Councillors may be asked to substitute for the Lord Mayor at a function or event where the Lord Mayor is unable to attend.

In the event of the Lord Mayor delegating attendance of a function to a Councillor, the Council Officers will communicate with the event organisers and nominated Councillor to ensure that the Councillor is prepared for the function.

Forms of address

Lord Mayor – The Lord Mayor takes precedence in local affairs over any other person. This precedence also applies to the Deputy Lord Mayor when they are deputised by the Lord Mayor to represent him/her during any absence.

This order of precedence also extends to the order of speakers when the Lord Mayor is being invited to speak at an event. Further information on inviting the Lord Mayor to speak is included below.

This precedence does not apply to functions coordinated by a State or Federal Government department and in these cases the local State or Federal Member would take precedence.

When introducing the Lord Mayor/Councillors:

1. When the function is attended by one Council representative:

   "The Lord Mayor / Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Parramatta Council, Cr Joe Bloggs” or “Councillor Joe Bloggs”

   After the initial introduction the Lord Mayor may be referred to and directly addressed as Lord Mayor Bloggs or Mr / Madam Lord Mayor.

2. When attended by more than one Council representative

   Acknowledge the Lord Mayor/Deputy Lord Mayor as above. Councillors can be acknowledged as Councillors Smith, Brown, Jones etc.

3. When introducing a Councillor who is deputising for the Lord Mayor, example:

   “I would like to introduce Councillor Jane Smith who is representing the Lord Mayor in his/her absence.”

4. After formal introductions have taken place, forms of address are at the discretion of the incumbent Lord Mayor or Councillor. The Councillor will confirm with you their current preference.

If you have invited the Premier, the Minister or any Members of Parliament to your function, there are several protocols that you need to observed during the event.

Find out more information on how to address members of the Parliament of Australia

Find out more information about Protocol for your public event (NSW Protocol)

Find out more information about Forms of Address (NSW protocol)

Speeches

Following receipt of the event invitation, the Office of the Lord Mayor will ask you to confirm if you would like the Lord Mayor/Councillor to deliver a speech, which can include providing a City Welcome address to your guests.

You will be asked to provide the following information:

• Length of speech.
• Subject of speech.
• Where in the proceedings it will be made.
• Background of organisation or purpose of the function.

If you are inviting the Lord Mayor to speak at your event, the Lord Mayor should speak first following the MC welcome and Acknowledgement of Country.

This information should be provided at least two weeks prior to the event.

Timing of functions

To help us plan the Lord Mayor/Councillor diary, we ask that you give some consideration to the most suitable arrival and departure times. It may be important for the Lord Mayor or Councillor to arrive just before a formal opening to allow time to get everyone into position, or for the Lord Mayor or Councillor to arrive at a specific time during a function. Please also advise the estimated duration of the function.

Arriving at a function

The Lord Mayor/Councillor should be met by someone from your organisation and escorted to the event, seat or hall as appropriate. We ask that you arrange for the Lord Mayor/Councillor to be introduced to other dignitaries and leaders of your organisation and briefed about the order of the proceedings.

Parking

To allow the Lord Mayor/Councillor to arrive on time we ask you to consider the most suitable parking area. If parking is restricted, please let us know or suggest a possible alternative.

Dress Code

Please advise if a particular dress code is required.

Questions or Concerns?

Please feel free to contact Council on (02) 9806 5050 or the Office of the Lord Mayor by e-mail at lordmayor@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au if you need to discuss the arrangements.