Building a path to financial sustainability while responding to rapidly changing community needs in a more unpredictable world is the big looming challenge for councils this year, writes Ben Malpass.
Over the past five years, local governments that have embraced innovative solutions have proven to the sector that technology enables them to do more with less. With skills gaps and cost continuing to be barriers to digital transformation, here is what residents can expect from their local councils in 2025.
Effective asset management
Finance and assets go hand-in-hand when it comes to maintaining service levels within local government – after all, assets are the second most expensive cost after people.
A recent survey of 458 Australian councils showed that 8 per cent of infrastructure belonging to local governments needs intervention and repair – an improvement of two percentage points from 2021. Yet with the estimated cost to repair these assets – ranging from ‘very poor’ to ‘fair’ – still sitting above $200 billion, all eyes will remain on effective asset management in 2025.
But maximising an asset’s performance, while minimising the financial burden during its lifespan, requires much more than just keeping the lights on. With budgets top of everyone’s agenda this year, effective asset management is going to be a key focus area for councils and success will come down to two things: data and decisions based on that data.
Warranties are a prime example of how streamlined access to vital data can make or break effective asset management – directly impacting a council’s financials in the process. Too often, councils don’t know assets are still under warranty simply because the information isn’t available or accessible. As a result, unnecessary maintenance budget is spent fixing assets that should cost nothing. In some cases, assets are not able to being repaired at all until the funds to do so become available.
Councils will continue to tackle the repercussions of decades-long ineffective asset management this year, but many are now also looking ahead to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.
Technology enablement
A lot of investment has been ploughed into technologies to enable councils to improve communication, experiences, accessibility and services. The potential at councils’ fingertips is immeasurable, but what we’re seeing is employees still using the technology in the same way they would have done five or ten years ago. Enhancements, productivity, efficiency and automation are not yet being leveraged effectively and one of the key reasons is that council employees haven’t been taught how.
This year, we’ll see a big push from councils to train and upskill their employees on how to realise the many benefits of their investment in digital transformation. Ultimately, what we hope to see over the next 12 months and beyond is employees being empowered to use new capabilities to deliver better services, build more responsive relationships and improve experiences – both inside and outside the council.
Collaborative councils
Every council’s goal is to serve their communities to the best of their abilities. From services and programs to safety measures and infrastructure, making the decisions that best support these areas of responsibility is a top priority. Yet in many areas, as community needs have increased, budgets have shrunk, leaving a gaping hole between expectation and reality for many councils. Rather than tackle this challenge alone, more forward-thinking councils are collaborating to achieve smarter outcomes that make a real difference.
Investing in an integrated technology system that is built for industry can significantly reduce costs and duplication, while improving operational efficiencies. This built-for-industry capability allows councils to share learnings, skills and talent and foster innovation – as opposed to creating additional complexity by customising technologies and integrations – opening doors to opportunities for shared productivity and efficiency savings.
While these strategic partnerships hold the key for some of Australia’s 500+ local government councils, others are simply lowering the drawbridge to their neighbours and becoming more collaborative at the surface level. Since Covid, what we’re increasingly seeing is councils coming together on a semiregular basis to share knowledge, learnings and research.
AI applications
There was a lot of noise around artificial intelligence in 2024, but it has not yet impacted the core workings of local government. There is still a lot of groundwork to be done and a lot of legacy technology to be undone before it can truly take off across the sector. However, what this year will bring is more individual applications of technology that support councils in specific ways.
In recent months we’ve seen AI take on responsibilities such as route optimisation for public transport, identifying road defects and speeding up development applications, and new test cases are being trialled all the time. In the next 12 months, more councils will invest in AI-proofing their core operations so they are ready for the future. But what we will be hearing a lot more about is the implementation of smart tools and solutions that help LGAs do more with less in the areas they need it most.
By Ben Malpass – TechnologyOne’s head of local government
Leave a Reply