Fit for the Future

‘Fit for the Future’ is the NSW State Government’s reform to improve the strength and effectiveness of local councils in providing services and infrastructure that communities need. Under this reform, the Independent Local Government Review Panel (IPART) made recommendations for local councils either to ‘Merge’ with other councils or ‘No Change’ or create a ‘Regional Joint Organisations’.

Camden Council has been identified as ‘No Change’.

 


What was Camden Council required to do?

By 30 June 2015, Council was required to submit a proposal to the NSW Office of Local Government demonstrating that Council meets the criteria of:

  • Scale and capacity as identified by the Panel
  • Performance against the Fit for the Future benchmarks
    - Sustainability
    - Infrastructure and Service Management
    - Efficiency
  • Strategies developed in order to improve the performance against the benchmark.

 


How were the Proposals assessed?

Submissions were assessed against the Fit for the Future criteria by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) and South Australian Local Government Expert (John Comrie) as the Expert Advisory Panel.

 


Results of the Proposal

The Minister for Local Government and the Premier of NSW released the final Fit for the Future Report in October 2015. The Report identifies whether or not each council is ‘Fit for the Future’ and the reasons for this assessment.

Only 7 out of 36 Sydney Metropolitan Councils were assessed as 'Fit for the Future'. Despite the pressures Camden faces as the fastest growing local government area in NSW, Camden Council was one of the seven 'fit' councils and remains as a stand-alone Council.

A copy of the final report is available to the public. Camden Council's Assessment can be found on page 159.


More Information

For more information visit the Fit for the Future website or IPART website for information on the final report.