City saves $800,000 with internal review

A west Australian council has taken out an award after achieving efficiencies through an internal restructure.

17 December, 2018

Councils’ management platform set to go global

An award-winning council management platform developed by a small Tasmanian local government has found favour overseas.   

29 November, 2018

Customer service model gains attention

A housing department’s new service centre is balancing the need to create a welcoming environment for sometimes challenging clients while maintaining staff safety.

29 November, 2018

Helping agencies deliver ‘high-impact messages’

A new framework provides ‘a recipe’ for improving compliance through written communications, researchers say.

12 November, 2018

The future council is ‘interconnected’

Councils need to address their myriad challenges using a multi-pronged approach, with the first being financial reporting, write Cameron Roan and Ben Smith.

8 November, 2018

Call to reduce agencies’ reporting burden

Auditor flags the ‘voluminous disclosure requirements’ for small public entities, and points to identified weaknesses not being addressed. 

8 November, 2018

Staff injuries fall under council’s initiative

An innovative program to improve the safety of council’s outdoor workers has achieved a 32 per cent year-on-year decrease in workplace injuries.

1 November, 2018

Governments talk ‘place branding’ strategies

Organisers of a new conference exploring how cities and regions are telling their story to attract business and visitors have opened a call for papers.

1 November, 2018

Ropy numbers, misclassified contracts: concerns over government outsourcing

Public servants hope ongoing reviews will address increasing government use of consultancies, but analysts warn poor reporting will hinder efforts.  

15 October, 2018

New pilot on councils’ development performance

A new data collection will help to shine a light on the rhythm and strength of the development heartbeat of councils.

27 September, 2018

Poor benchmarking hinders service innovation

A lack of sector data and executive and councillor support for business improvement are among the barriers to improving how councils deliver services, audit shows.

24 September, 2018

Change fatigue: how local governments can help staff

Increasing pressure on councils is being felt at all levels but there are steps that managers can take to support staff.

23 August, 2018

‘Talent pool’ saves $33m in redundancy and recruitment  

Exclusive: A new system of assessing and matching departmental staff whose roles are affected by large-scale reform could help avoid mass redundancies.

14 August, 2018

Government managers under-resourced on gender gap

Public sector middle managers are committed to tackling gender inequality but fundamentally lack the resources to achieve it, new research has revealed.

9 August, 2018