Report calls for councils to embrace AI

A new report from the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) is calling for councils to “embrace AI innovation in statutory planning” while safeguarding the public interest and ensuring transparency.

The report — Adopting AI for Planning in Victoria’s Councils: A moment of readiness, a moment of caution — aims to help councils implement AI across their operations. It makes 10 recommendations:

1. Establish ethical and governance frameworks;
2. Initiate an AI capability development program;
3. Establish a community of practice for AI in planning;
4. Enable collaborative procurement and vendor management;
5. Develop shared infrastructure and standards;
6. Prioritise tiered implementation pathways;
7. Create a rapid response support team;
8. Develop integration pathways for existing systems;
9. Advocate for automation-ready planning reform; and
10. Implement continuous monitoring and improvement.

According to research conducted for the report, to which 70% of Victorian Councils responded, one third are either already using or are planning to implement AI within the next 12 months.

“We see some fantastic examples of how this technology is building capacity and delivering better value for communities, but with so many more products to choose from, now is the time to put in place the right frameworks to guide how councils use AI,” said MAV President Cr Jennifer Anderson.

“The report is a clear call to action to ensure AI enhances local democracy, rather than undermining it.”

The MAV will now set up a task force comprising local government staff and representatives from industry and academia to develop an AI roadmap for Victorian local governments, which will concentrate on four key areas:

• Procurement innovation and support with the establishment of a new procurement mechanism to support the sector to assess and register AI vendors;
• Skills and capability uplift;
• Acceleration of high-performance use cases; and
• Strategic monitoring and evaluation.

“With the right governance and safeguards, [AI] can help absolutely be part of how councils deliver smarter, more efficient, and more responsive services — in statutory planning and beyond — to improve the lives of Victorians. ” Cr Anderson said.