Local Government
Supporting stronger governance, operational resilience and community confidence
Understanding Your Environment
Local Government operates in a complex environment balancing community expectations, financial sustainability, governance expectations and accountability and increasing regulatory oversight.
Councils continue to face growing pressure from:
- rate capping and financial constraints
- infrastructure and asset management demands
- governance and integrity expectations
- service delivery complexity and competing community priorities
- emergency management and community resilience obligations
- workforce capability and operational pressures
- procurement and contract management risks
- cyber security and operational resilience threats
- increasing scrutiny from regulators, communities and stakeholders
In this environment, strong governance, practical risk management and effective operational controls are critical to maintaining community trust, supporting reliable service delivery and enabling informed, community-focused decision-making.
At JNW, we bring extensive practical experience supporting Local Government across governance, internal audit, risk management, procurement, operational reviews, business continuity planning and operational and strategic improvement initiatives.
Our industry experience enables us to quickly understand:
- Council governance and operating structures;
- political and stakeholder pressures;
- operational and service delivery risks;
- procurement and contract management environments;
- emergency management and resilience expectations;
- integrated planning, service delivery and operational challenges; and
- the practical realities facing Councillors, executives and operational leaders.
How We Support the Sector
We support Local Government organisations through:
- Governance reviews and Audit & Risk Committee advisory;
- Enterprise risk management frameworks and Risk Appetite Statements;
- Internal audit and controls assurance;
- Procurement and contract governance reviews;
- Business continuity and crisis management planning;
- Event governance and operational risk assessments;
- Operational governance and service review frameworks;
- Customer-focused service planning and costing methodologies;
- Strategic planning and governance support;
- Regulatory compliance and assurance reviews; and
- Financial controls, operational reviews and improvement initiatives.
Our approach is practical, collaborative and improvement driven – helping Councils strengthen governance, improve operational performance, manage risk and support resilient community outcomes.
Specific examples of our assistance to the industry includes
City of Melbourne
- Conducted strategic HealthChecks of the enterprise Risk Management Framework, including risk strategy, Risk Appetite Statements, policies, procedures and risk registers
- Facilitated strategic risk refresh programs aligned to Council Plan objectives and organisational priorities
- Developed practical risk improvement roadmaps focused on governance maturity, reporting uplift and operational embedding
- Delivered internal audit services for five years whilst at Deloitte
- Reviewed procurement governance, contract management and event governance controls supporting major public events including the AFL Grand Final Parade, Moomba Festival and New Year’s Eve celebrations
Manningham City Council
- Developed a Risk Process Improvement Roadmap aligned to Council strategic objectives and governance expectations
- Facilitated executive and organisation-wide risk workshops to strengthen risk culture, operational ownership and organisational buy-in
- Developed a Business Continuity Framework and Crisis Management Plan incorporating incident assessment, activation protocols, crisis governance structures, role cards and operational response templates
- Facilitated Directorate Critical Services workshops to identify high-priority services and strengthen operational resilience planning
- Developed a procurement governance and delivery improvement roadmap
Mitchell Shire Council
- Designed a Service Focused Business Planning Framework to strengthen operational planning, service visibility and customer-focused decision-making
- Developed an integrated service costing methodology enabling clearer understanding of service delivery costs, resource allocation and operational performance
- Assisted Council strengthen strategic planning capability through a customer-centric integrated planning approach supporting improved service delivery and operational governance
Monash City Council
- Served as an Independent Audit Committee Member for six years, supporting governance, financial oversight and operational risk management
Frankston City Council
- Developed a Service Planning Costing Methodology to strengthen operational costing, financial visibility and service delivery insight
- Developed a 10-year financial model supporting a major acquisition decision
- Reviewed the Risk Management Framework and governance processes
Bayside City Council
- Assessed governance and operational controls supporting major community and public events including Bright n Sandy Food & Wine Festival, Resonance Music Concert Series, Sandringham Fair and Christmas Carols in the Park
Wyndham City Council
- Conducted a governance and operational review of Council’s $100 million aquatic and leisure centre operations
- Assessed governance structures, operational performance, commercial sustainability and service delivery opportunities
- Identified operational improvement opportunities, governance enhancements and potential cost efficiencies
Indigo Shire Council
- Conducted a whole-of-Council assessment of event governance, permitting and operational risk management practices across Council-managed assets and community events
- Benchmarked Council’s event management framework against leading Local Government better practices and regulatory expectations
- Developed recommendations to strengthen event governance, risk classification methodologies, approval workflows, delegated authorities, customer experience and cross-department coordination
- Designed a practical Event Management Framework template incorporating risk-based event categorisation, compliance workflows, approval pathways and operational responsibilities
Ballarat City Council
- Facilitated enterprise and operational risk workshops across asset management, ICT, records management, finance, environmental health, projects, governance and people & culture functions
Industry insight creates value
Our experience across Local Government enables us to bring practical benchmarking, governance insight and better practice ideas informed by real Council and community operating environments.
This means we can spend less time learning your environment – and more time helping you strengthen governance, manage operational risk, improve organisational resilience and support confident, community-focused decisions.