Introduction

Communities across Queensland and Australia face an array of opportunities and challenges. Structural ageing of the population is increasing the demand for aged accommodation and support. Many community organisations are struggling to attract and retain volunteers. Some communities face a rapid expansion of the minerals industry. Others struggle to retain population and services. The potential impacts of Climate Change, reducing availability of water, the increasing cost of infrastructure and rationalisation of traditional industries are also pressing communities to adapt.

Local government is at the forefront of managing these issues. It has the responsibility to represent the views of residents and make decisions that reflect community priorities and lead to long term community improvement. It also works with other levels of government, the private sector and community organisations to achieve outcomes.

The recent amalgamation of many local government areas has also had an impact on the community and local councils, resulting in some feeling they have lost their identity and long held connections. What do these new communities aspire to? How can Local Government authorities support the community in the transition to the new arrangements?

Councillors already engage with residents and express their needs and values in the decisions made. Council staff implement these priorities and strategies. However, preserving those aspects of the community that resident's value, managing challenges, and taking advantage of opportunities, can be greatly enhanced by having a comprehensive community plan. A community plan describes a desired future for a community and includes a set of strategies and actions based on the issues, needs and priorities of residents.

Local governments across Queensland are developing community plans to guide the future of communities in their Council area. They are motivated to engage residents and guide the sustainable development of communities. This is reinforced by a new Local Government Act 2009 which includes a range of provisions for councils including the development of a Community Engagement Policy and a Community Plan.

While many Councils are well-connected to their community, there is a considerable risk that they may engage their communities and develop community plans in ways that aren’t fully effective. They are also at risk of outsourcing a lot of the skills that could potentially be built within local government. They also risk engaging communities that are already suffering “engagement fatigue”, in inappropriate ways.

The first stage involved a series of training workshops with 10 councils, aimed at finding out how the Association could assist Local Government to develop a new community identity in newly amalgamated areas and to improve engagement with the community.

The Toolkit aims to help local government to develop highly effective community plans. It includes descriptions of community planning, how community plans relate to other planning, examples, “how to” information and templates and reference material. It supports the internal capacity of Councils, increasing the skills and confidence of staff and Councillors to engage with their communities and make it easier for councils to develop and implement community plans. The Toolkit will also be available as a web-based guide.

The Queensland Government is due to release guidelines for community planning in early to mid 2010. These guidelines will be available at www.dip.qld.gov.au.