Future of Local Government Review.

Why planning and reporting is becoming harder for councils to hold together

Councils are required to do far more than set a long-term direction. Under Tasmania’s current local government framework, they must prepare and review a strategic plan, maintain long-term financial and asset planning documents, prepare an annual plan each year, and produce an annual report. In practice, that means planning, delivery, reporting and assurance all need to work together, not as separate exercises.

The Future of Local Government Review shows why this has become difficult. In its Stage 1 work, the Review heard that some reporting requirements were costly to meet, inconsistent with other reporting requirements, and failed to properly capture important council activity. It also found an absence of meaningful accountability for a range of council functions, services and capability measures.

By Stage 2, the Review was more direct. It said Tasmania’s local government performance reporting and monitoring framework was well overdue and that current reporting and monitoring deficits needed improvement, particularly around service levels and quality. It also pointed to significant variation in statutory planning compliance, including that less than half of councils had a current Long Term Strategic Asset Management Plan.

The Final Report continues that theme. It recommends streamlining existing reporting obligations and considering a digital reporting interface to reduce manual collection exercises, while also highlighting the need to strengthen audit panel and oversight capability.

For smaller and regional councils, this is not just a governance issue. It is a practical capacity issue. The real challenge is not simply preparing the next plan, but creating a workable connection between strategic direction, annual planning, delivery and reporting that can be sustained over time.

Source: Future of Local Government Review & Local Government Board Reports, Tasmanian Government, 2022–2023.