Victoria: The Place To Be

Dept. for Vic. Communities

Home > Partnerships and projects > Councils Reforming Business > Programs

• Print this page
• Make text size default
• Make text size large

Programs

• Local Government Procurement Strategy
• Collaborative Procurement Program
• Shared Services Program
• EasyBiz Phase II
• Better Practice Local Laws
• Local Action on Affordable Housing
• CRB Initiative Chart - Dec 08 (Word 36 kb)

Local Government Procurement Strategy

The development of the Local Government Procurement Strategy (Word 1.2 mb) is a key outcome of the Councils Reforming Business (CRB) initiative.

The strategy was officially released on 16 September 2008 by the Minister for Local Government the Hon Richard Wynne MP. It was developed and prepared by consultants Ernst and Young following a range workshops, interviews and detailed data analysis involving more than 40 Councils.

The strategy provides advice and recommendations on how to drive efficiencies in council procurement practices while balancing effectiveness with social, environmental and economic objectives. The major outcome will be further development of strategic procurement policy and practices that work to reduce council’s costs and improve service delivery in an ongoing capacity.

A series of workshop sessions were held in late 2008 to inform councils and stakeholders of the key findings of the Strategy and to discuss the implementation plan. Opportunities were explored for collaborations that will save councils some of the more than $2.7 billion per year currently spent by the sector on infrastructure, materials and services.

An integral aspect identified in the Strategy is a formal training program to build the capability of procurement professionals. This project is currently being developed in consultation with a range of stakeholders.

Collaborative Procurement Program

The Victorian Government is supporting the Local Government Procurement Strategy with a range of key programs, including the Collaborative Procurement Program (CPP).

On 15 December, 2008 the Minister for Local Government announced the successful applicants for CPP grants. These grants were awarded to councils which will be working together across 2009 to deliver collaborative procurement projects.

Grants totalling $830,000 were awarded to the following 13 projects involving 53 councils:

Lead Council	Project Name	Short Description
Benalla Rural City Council	North East Local Governmental Network - Collaborative Procurement Plan	Develop a procurement cluster that includes procurement profiles, the identification and development of collaborative opportunities, and a review of regional models.
Central Goldfields Shire Council	Central Regional Procurement Cluster Development	Develop a procurement cluster including procurement profiles, model analysis of procurement category spend and the identification and development of collaborative regional opportunities.
East Gippsland Shire Council	Gippsland and Wellington Shire Capital Works Procurement Project	Develop a joint five-year capital program to improve value-for-money, including a study into balancing local economic development and aggregated procurement in regional Victoria.
Greater Dandenong City Council	Victorian Councils E-Portal and Information Hub	Develop a procurement hub in partnership with the MAV that provides a centralised information sharing facility and enables joint procurement projects and access to a common e-tendering platform.
Hobson Bay City Council	Standardisation of Tender Documentation Project	Develop and implement a set of best practice sourcing forms as standardised procurement templates accepted by both councils and contractors.
Macedon Ranges Shire Council	Shared Service Content Management System Development Project	Develop a shared services framework and electronic content management system (CMS) for each council through a unified single shared service.
Maribyrnong City Council	Regional After Hours Service Collaboration Project	Develop a collaborative approach for the delivery of improved after-hours contact services for the Western Region.
Moreland City Council	Category Management Model Development	Audit financial systems of the participating councils and develop and implement a model financial structure to categorise and track procurement expenditure.
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council	Procurement of Buildings and Facilities Maintenance Improvement Project	Develop an approach, package and process for regional procurement for the construction, refurbishment and maintenance of municipal buildings.
Port Phillip City Council	Inner South Mayor’s Group After-Hours Shared Communication Services Project	Develop a dedicated after-hours service to improve service delivery to communities by using existing council systems and infrastructure.
Wellington Shire Council	Gippsland Regional Procurement Model for Road Construction and Maintenance	Develop a package of tools, specifications and process for regional procurement of roads construction and maintenance.
Wodonga City Council	Improving Regional Resource Recovery Project	Develop and implement a procurement package for regional procurement of recycling services.
Wyndham City Council	Driving the Infrastructure Dollar Further	Develop a range of joint infrastructure procurement standards and processes including associated training programs for engineering procurement.

Shared Services Program

The MAV is leading the Shared Services Program to develop core projects that encourage shared service delivery amongst councils. This program will help local councils to achieve greater efficiencies through improved collaboration and sharing of resources.

In the first phase the MAV, with input from councils, identified a set of candidate projects that were evaluated using the DTF Investment Logic Mapping (ILM) process to substantiate the need and benefit.

Six innovative projects are now being supported for further development. The MAV is continuing to collaborate with councils to actively develop business cases to support the procurement and implementation of the following shared services:

• Information and Communications Technology (ICT), including Asset Management Systems;
• Maternal and Child Health Information Management;
• Enterprise Information Management (Records Management) Better Practice Framework;
• Property Address and Roads Information Management;
• Census of Land Use and Employment (CLUE) data collection, analysis and dissemination; and
• Front of House Services (regional sharing of professional services).

For more information, visit MAV or contact John Hennessy at the MAV.

EasyBiz Phase II

EasyBiz is an innovative and unique project that provides business with integrated and standardised on-line access to local and State Government permits and processes. It enables councils to improve services and to reduce costs and red tape for businesses in their municipality.

A number of councils are already participating in this project by offering small and home-based businesses an internet option to identify, understand the need and to apply for licenses, permits and registrations in the areas of:

• land management
• health
• food handling and safety
• local laws and
• planning and building.

The MAV, supported by Small Business Victoria, is leading the Phase II project to consolidate the work already undertaken and to extend EasyBiz to all councils in Victoria. Easybiz is easy to implement and it will be efficiently and effectively rolled-out, in a process that provides on-the-ground implementation support for councils.

For more information or to get your council involved, visit EasyBiz or contact Paula Giles at the MAV.

Better Practice Local Laws

Developing and delivering regulation is a complex and serious task that requires rigour, resources and proper processes. In recognition of the important regulatory role that Councils have, in December 2008, the Minister for Local Government released the Better Practice Local Laws Strategy (Word 1090 kb). The Strategy, which was developed in consultation with the local government sector, put forward three recommendations:

• Implement robust, consistent and transparent local law making processes that reflect good regulatory practice;
  
• Harmonise the regulatory environment for building and construction activities currently included in council local laws; and
  
• Enhance the consistency, structure and accessibility of local laws and associated processes.

As a result of the Strategy two projects are being coordinated by Local Government Victoria to implement the recommendations.

Local Laws Guidelines project

Since February 2009, LGV has been working collaboratively with the MAV and an implementation committee comprised of Council representatives to develop a suite of resources to equip and support Councils to achieve better practice in local law making. The educative resources will guide Councils through the processes of preparing for, creating, implementing, enforcing and reviewing local laws. Better and consistent practice will ensure that Local Laws are accessible and clear to the community, reduce the regulatory burden and assist Councils in achieving policy outcomes.

The resources complement the Local Government Amendment (Offences and Other Matters) Bill 2009, currently before Parliament, which proposes the power for the Minister to make Guidelines in the future, and directives to improve the consultation process and accessibility of local law materials.

The resources include:

• Manual: step-by-step operational document;
  
• Resource Book: supplement to the manual with case studies and examples;
  
• Councillors/CEO overview: strategic document outlining why and how better practice should be adopted; and
  
• Training: workshops & online resources being developed by LGPro.

The project introduces the concept of the Local Laws Community Impact Statement (LLCIS), which is envisaged as both a checklist tool for Council to work through the local law processes and the explanatory document to provide to the community about any proposed local law.

The consultation draft of the Guidelines for Local Laws Manual (PDF 1779 kb), which is the linchpin document, has just been released. LGV is seeking feedback on the Manual before the resources will be revised and formally released in early 2010.

Guidelines for Local Laws Manual

• Guidelines - About these guidelines (PDF 256 kb) or Word ( 731 kb)
  
• Guidelines Part 1 : Preparing for Local Laws (PDF 287 kb) or (Word 1614 kb)
  
• Guidelines Part 2 : Creating Local Laws (PDF 451 kb) or (Word 1531 kb)
  
• Guidelines Part 3 : Implementing and enforcing Local Laws (PDF 1292 kb) or (Word 1584 kb)
  
• Guidelines Part 4 : Completing the cycle – Review, amendment & ‘sunsetting’ (PDF 86 kb) or (Word 308 kb)
  
• Guidelines Appendix 1 & 2 (PDF 235 kb) or (Word 1447 kb)

Formal responses on the draft are encouraged using the submission template (Word 82 kb). The closing date for submissions is Friday 13 November 2009.

For more information contact Natalie Dowling on (03) 9651 7281 or Natalie.Dowling@dpcd.vic.gov.au

Reform of regulatory services for building and construction sites

Across the first half of 2009, LGV worked with an industry and local/state government reference group to explore how the variations between the regulatory cultures and methods of councils can impose regulatory burdens, create uncertainty, and increase costs to businesses, especially for those operating in more than one municipality. A set of recommendations was developed as part of this project to harmonise the regulatory environment for building and construction activities currently included in Local Laws. Industry and councils involved expressed strong support for the clarification and clean-up in this field.

Having now received further funding to progress reform in this area, LGV will and Small Business Victoria will be leading a joint project to:

• clarify the regulatory interface between State and Local Government (and other relevant agencies) and harmonise the regulation, processes and permits across municipal regions; and
  
• to create a shared service platform and communication channels to streamline access to services and information related to the regulation of construction sites.

The regulatory reform package to be further developed by LGV will include a state-wide industry Code of Practice for building & construction site management, a Credentialed Local Law and associated training and communications. Amendments to legislation may also be explored to support and embed the reforms. A focus of the project will be close collaboration with Councils and industry to develop and implement the reforms.

Project planning in underway and the project is due to be completed by July 2011. A preliminary project workshop with industry, council and government stakeholders is schedule for 18 November 2009. To express interest in participating email Natalie.Dowling@dpcd.vic.gov.au

Local Action on Affordable Housing

The Local Action on Affordable Housing (LAAH) Project, a component of the Councils Reforming Business (CRB) initiative, is a $500,000 joint initiative of the Office of Housing and Local Government Victoria.

The Minister for Local Government the Hon Richard Wynne MP announced the initiative to councils in October 2007.

Six local councils have been allocated $50,000 funding in addition to receiving the support and advice, to assist them to develop practical affordable housing action plans for an exemplar precinct in their municipality.

The precincts that have been allocated funding are:

• Darebin City Council for the Preston and /or Northcote precincts
• Maribyrnong City Council for the Footscray Transit City precinct
• Surf Coast Shire Council for the Spring Creek Urban Growth Area
• Manningham City Council for sites in Doncaster and Lower Templestowe
• Swan Hill Rural City Council for Robinvale
• Wodonga City Council for the Central Wodonga precinct

These councils recently participated in project planning workshops and it is anticipated that project plans will be completed shortly, before councils move to the implementation phase.

Top