At the end of 2021, the State Government established the Local Government Board and asked it to review the way Tasmanian councils work and make recommendations about how the current system needs to change so that councils can meet the challenges and opportunities the community will face in the future.

The Local Government Board has spent the past nine months in Stage 2 of the Review developing and testing reform ideas and options we think will deliver a successful and sustainable future system of local government in Tasmania.

We have commissioned a range of research and analysis, engaged closely with the local government sector, and asked the Tasmanian community for its views.

As we embark on Stage 3 (the final stage) we are in a strong position to finalise and deliver to the Government an integrated suite of reform recommendations that meets the objective of creating a more robust and capable sector for the future.

We can clearly see the scale and scope of reform that is needed, and we now want to understand from councils and communities how to shape it.

The Local Government Board has released a series of Information Packs, in line with with the nine Community Catchments Identified by the Board in its Stage 2 Interim Report.

Each Pack puts forward several different scenarios for new local government boundaries and service delivery models that could build scale and capability to improve services, while also better reflecting the way Tasmanians live and work within these communities.

Importanty, boundary changes are only one part of the equation. To help people think creatively about the future, we have also prepared some Supporting Papers on issues including shared services and partnerships, options to improve local services and keep jobs in local communities, and new models of engagement and representation.

Importantly - we are inviting comment on these Packs and Supporting Papers until 2 August 2023. You can provide comment on our Make a Submission Page, or by email to Submissions.LGBoard@dpac.tas.gov.au.

The Board has now released our Stage 2 Interim Report, which outlines the work we have done over the past nine months, as we have identified, developed, tested, and refined a suite of reform options for Tasmania’s local government sector.

Importantly, the Report also sets the scene for the third and final Stage of the Review, as we move to work closely with councils and communities to develop a final cohesive and integrated package of reform recommendations, which include a combination of structural change and specific ‘supporting reforms’.

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