ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT INCLUDING Q4 OPERATIONAL PLAN 2023-24 PROGRESS REPORT · Report

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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                          12 AUGUST 2024


structured under the five themes of Environment, Liveability, Prosperity, Future and Excellence
guides the annual operational planning process, budget, and the work of all our staff to ensure
resources are allocated to implement the Plan.

The Council’s success in achieving its vision for the future of the Noosa Shire is measured against
65 performance measures which help us to track our progress in achieving our objectives and
desired outcomes. A review of these measures has been undertaken and supporting indicators
developed to assist us in measuring our performance.

The Corporate Plan is achieved through successive Operational Plans and the delivery of more than
38 services to the community. Progress in implementing the Operational Plan is reported quarterly
to Council. This report provides an update on the progress of all initiatives to 30 June 2024
incorporating the Q4 report the period 1/4/24-30/6/24.

1. Our Operating Environment

Over the last year we have been impacted by a number of factors in our operating environment
which provide both opportunities and challenges. Despite this we have continued to deliver quality
services to the community and successfully delivered or progressed a large number of initiatives.

These factors include:
   •   The Local Government Elections conducted on 16 March 2024 and the deferment of some
       decisions until the commencement of the new Council which has affected the progress of
       some major initiatives.
   •   A ‘hot’ construction sector with high growth (approx. 9% in 2023) and characterized by
       labour shortages, material supply constraints and high construction costs.
   •   Cost increases across a range of infrastructure and services as measured by the Council
       Cost Index (CCI). In 2023-24 the CCI was 4.4% on top of a 6.9% increase in the previous
       year.
   •   Council’s success in securing substantial grant funding of $14.7M (Operating and Capital
       Grants) as well as $127M (QRA Disaster Recovery from 20/22 flood event) which
       expanded the capital program and increased pressure on project management services.
   •   Community expectations with an increased focus on community consultation and
       engagement.
   •   Recruitment challenges with it taking longer to recruit to key positions.
   •   High employee turnover and a competitive labour market.
   •   An ambitious Corporate Plan in addition to the implementation of various key strategies and
       plans.
   •   Organisational change with amendments to the organisational structure and transitional
       leadership arrangements.
   •   Competing priorities and resourcing constraints which have impacted the delivery of some
       initiatives and increased pressure on service areas.
In response to these factors, we have carefully monitored project planning, reviewed the timelines
of some initiatives and worked to develop our capabilities with a focus on our people, financial
sustainability, our business processes and systems, and our community.

Our People
   •   Our organisational establishment - the level of staffing resources has increased to support
       the delivery of additional services and higher standards of service to the community.

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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                        12 AUGUST 2024


   •   Our SPARC values (supportive, passionate, authentic, respectful, and committed) - Our
       Values in Action Framework outlines the values and behaviours to guide how we interact and
       work with each other and the community.
   •   Focus on employee wellbeing – the Thrive Well Being and Inclusion Program focused on
       enhancing mental health and resilience training to enhance the wellbeing and safety of our
       employees.
   •   Learning and development – establishment of a L&D calendar which provides core training
   •   opportunities to upskill all employees and the introduction of the LEAD leadership
       development program linked to corporate priorities incl. the new Corporate Plan, cascading
       down to branch plans and individual employee my plans.
   •   Appointing to key positions – to stabilise operations and achieved through refreshed
       recruitment processes, utilizing different recruitment channels, and includes psychometric
       testing. A key position being the commencement of the recruitment process for the
       permanent CEO role.
   •   Performance planning – the development of staff performance plans which provide everyone
       in the organization with an understanding of their purpose and role, provide the opportunity
       to set performance and development goals and increase communication.
Financial Sustainability
   •   The Council continues to demonstrate prudent and responsible financial management
       practices - an independent audit by Queensland Audit Office (QAO) on Council’s 2022/23
       financial statements, as adopted with the Annual Report in November 2023, with an
       unqualified audit and no additional significant matters raised.
   •   The Council’s draft 2023/24 financial position is positive, with early indication of balanced
       operating results and meeting the required sustainability indicators.
   •   Looking forward, on 30 June 2024 - Council also adopted a balanced budget for the 2024/25
       year.
   •   The council has attracted significant grant funding - this enabled us to progress flood
       restoration works and renew capital infrastructure, supplementing council’s revenue base.
   •   Improved budget process - especially in relation to the initiation of capital projects (PID
       process) for consideration in the budget.
Our business processes and systems
   •   Noosa 2.0 - continuing to implement business improvements with a focus on ICT capability
       and security, improving business processes, and fine tuning the organizational structure.
   •   Improved business planning - with a focus on enhancing Branch Plans and the review of
       Service profiles.
   •   Improved project management - particularly in the co-ordination of capital projects and
       program delivery.
Our community
   •   A greater focus on community engagement - with the implementation of the community
       engagement strategy, providing increased opportunities for the community to have their
       say, upskilling staff in community engagement techniques, and taking a more strategic
       approach especially when planning for community engagement activities.
   •   Improving the information flow to our community - especially on matters which directly affect
       them and providing increased opportunities to connect with Council.

2. Highlights

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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                          12 AUGUST 2024



The following is a selection of 13 initiatives (from many) that frame the 2023-24 year.

Inducting the new Council (Office of the Mayor and CEO)
Noosa Council welcomed a new team of Council in April 2024 with a new Mayor, four returning
Councillors and two new Councillors. Councillors received the most extensive induction programme
ever undertaken by Council over a three month period including but not limited to: Department
Briefings, Branch overviews from Development Assessment, Governance, Grants, Waste, Local
Laws, Finance, Economical Development, Disaster Management, Environment, Strategy and
Sustainability, and Asset Management. Councillors undertook two tours of the Shire visiting facilities
and major projects and received induction sessions by external agencies including : Queensland
Treasury Corporation, Office of Independent Assessor, LGAQ, Department of State Development,
Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, Unitywater & Tourism Noosa. During the induction
process, Councillors received comprehensive information, regular updates, and participated in team-
building sessions. This ensured a strong, well-informed, and cohesive Councillor Cohort, ready to
tackle the challenges of their four-year term in office.

Deployment of licence plate recognition technology for parking regulation (Development and
Regulation)
Council has successfully procured, installed and deployed new license plate cognition technology.
This cutting-edge solution is integral to our efforts in efficiently managing parking within our Local
Government area. Better parking regulation supports businesses who rely on the regular turnover of
parking for their customers, and residents and visitors who rely on drivers not overstaying so that
everyone gets fair access to our busy precincts.

Financially Sustainable Council (Corporate Services)
Council’s draft 2023/24 financial position, pending completion of Financial Statements and
independent audit, has achieved an operating surplus

ICT focus on Cybersecurity and System Enhancements (Corporate Services)
The implementation of improved security frameworks, monitoring and policy to mitigate cyber
security risks. This was supported by increased investment in technology projects during the year
across a range of Council facilities and services, including property & rating systems, waste,
corporate reporting, network hardware servers and switches, CCTV, asset and fleet management.

Financially Sustainable Council (Corporate Services):
Council’s draft 2023/24 financial position, pending completion of Financial Statements and
independent audit, has achieved an operating surplus

Disaster Reconstruction Program 22/23 (Infrastructure Services)
Considerable progress has been made on repair and reconstruction of 31 landslides and 15
stormwater culverts and drains impacted by the 2022 rainfall event. Following a lengthy and complex
design process, substantial progress has been made on the Black Mountain landslide site in order
to stabilise the road and repair convenient access to Cooroy for impacted residents. Other
completed sites including stormwater Coles Creek Road, Upper Pinbarren Creek Road, Schriebers
Rd, Weyba Esplanade and Golden Gully Road.

Reprofiling of the Noosa doggy beach - SEMP (Infrastructure Services)
Following initial attempts for a lower “key” dredging program, the project was reprofiled in late 2023
to achieve the full extent of works outlined by Councils Shoreline Erosion Management Plan, and
achieve a natural shoreline protection system for the Noosa River estuary and Noosa Sound. This
was achieved through redirection of the Noosa River channel and dredging nourishment works to
achieve a wide beach, that will be maintained through an ongoing nourishment program.

Construction of the new dedicated Disaster Management Centre (Infrastructure Services)
A dedicated Local Disaster Co-ordination Centre has been established at Noosa Councils Noosaville

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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                            12 AUGUST 2024


Depot, tapping into Disaster Reconstruction Funding. The centre was created through cost effective
re-use of relocated former school buildings and now provides a dedicated co-ordination room and
triage facility during disasters, but also can be used continuously throughout the year for disaster
preparedness meetings and training.
 Bridges renewal program (Infrastructure Services)

Waste Strategy (Infrastructure Services)
Council endorsed Noosa Waste Plan 2023-28 following with extensive input from the community and
provides a blueprint to achieve a significant reduction in materials being sent to landfill. The highest
source of Council's emissions (63%) is the landfill owned and operated by Noosa Council that
receives and manages the Noosa community's residential and commercial waste. The Waste Plan
provides a valuable road map to achieve waste diversion target of 61% by 2025.

Opening of the Olive Donaldson Pavilion (Community Services)
In August 2023 Council was proud to deliver the $1.95M Pavilion facility which will support a number
of sports clubs currently based at the complex including Tewantin Noosa Cricket Club, Noosa District
Netball Association, and Noosa Beach Classic Car Club, with the opportunity to welcome new sports
such as pickleball to the site. This project was proudly funded by the Australian Government, the
Queensland Government, Noosa Council and the Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund. The
pavilion will support the current and future demands of the host of clubs who call the complex home,
plus address the shortage of toilet facilities.

Hinterland Customer service trial – Cooroy Library (Community Services)
Council’s customer service team has branched out into the hinterland with the launch of a new
satellite help desk at Cooroy Library. The hinterland trial builds on efforts to make Council and its
services more convenient to the community in ways that are relevant to individual needs. C
ustomer service staff based at the library can help with general Council enquiries, provide advice
about Council’s services and facilities as well as receive requests and forms.

Kabi Kabi Engagement (Strategy and Environment)
Over the last year, Council has been strengthening its historically strong relationship with Noosa’s
Traditional Custodians, the Kabi Kabi Peoples. Council held over 28 formal engagements with the
Native Title Holders and Directors of the Kabi Kabi Peoples Aboriginal Corporation - the authorised
body representing Kabi Kabi Peoples on Native Title and cultural heritage matters. These
engagements included workshops and walk on country events to inform our key strategies and plans,
as well as site inductions and cultural heritage assessments to inform our infrastructure projects. Of
note is the significant engagements held on the Pomona Place Plan, the Destination Management
Plan and the Noosaville Foreshore Infrastructure Master Plan; the co-development of the Kabi Kabi
Commitment; the support provided on four Kabi Kabi-led projects; and the collaborative workshop
with the new Council and Executives. The depth and breadth of engagements held last year has set
a strong foundation for Council’s long-term partnership with Kabi Kabi which both improves
outcomes and aspirations for Kabi Kabi in the region, as well as enriches culture and liveability in
Noosa.

Pomona Place Plan (initiation first pilot) (Strategy and Environment)
The Pomona Place pilot is a new approach to planning, engaging and improving the liveability of
Pomona in partnership with community to ensure it remains a unique and thriving community into
the future. A key component of the pilot is to also learn and test new approaches to place based
planning that can be applied to other towns and villages across the Shire. The first round of
community consultation was undertaken in in August and October in 2023 with over 500 people
participating to understand local values , aspirations and ideas about the future to input into the Plan.
From this a suit of actions were developed based around key themes that the community were asked
to prioritise in the second round of engagement which ran from May through to June 2024 with 300
people participating. The Draft plan is now being prepared based on this community feedback.

3. Noosa Council Operational Plan 2023-24

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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                              12 AUGUST 2024



The annual Operational Plan 2023-24 forms an important part of Council's strategic planning and
sets out the work Council plans to deliver towards the achievement Council's Corporate Plan. The
Operational Plan 2023-24 adopted by Council on 30 June 2023 as part of the budget process was
structured to align with the five Themes and Objectives of the Corporate Plan 2023-28 (i.e.,
Environment, Liveability, Prosperity, Future and Excellence).

The Operational Plan contains 149 initiatives and identifies the activities that deliver business as
usual services to the community which are further detailed in Branch Plans and Service Profiles. An
initiative may relate to broader and long-term efforts aimed at achieving a specific goal or vision (in
this case the initiative may be staged greater than a year) or a specific project with defined objectives
and deliverables.

The format of the Progress Report is to identify those initiatives which are ‘Completed’, ‘On Track’
or experiencing a ‘Minor Disruption’ or ‘Major Disruption’. The majority of initiatives (69%) are either
'complete' 43% or 'on track' 26%, with 17.5% experiencing a 'minor disruption' and 13.5% a 'major
disruption'.
When considering overall progress, it is important to note that factors in our operating environment
have impacted the delivery of some initiatives.


                Environment Liveability        Prosperity       Future
Status                                                                       Excellence        Total
                  Theme       Theme              Theme          Theme
Complete              20             18             10             6              10             64
On Track              7              9              8              11             4              39
Minor
                      3              7              2              6              8              26
Disruption
Major
                      2              7              1              5              5              20
Disruption
Total                 32             41             21             28             27            149


The Operational Plan 2023-24 Q4 Progress Report Attachment 1 provides an update on the status
of all initiatives for the quarter and includes a summary of progress for the year. When reviewing
the progress of initiatives, the following should be considered:
   •     The 23/24 Operational Plan was aligned to the new Noosa Council Corporate Plan, which is
         very ambitious and includes initiatives related to the delivery of other key strategies and
         plans.
   •     There are a number of initiatives which are nearing completion which will be finalised in early
         24/25 or during the year (particularly those within the ‘on track’ and ‘minor disruption’
         categories).
   •     Initiatives which are ‘on track’ or experiencing ‘minor’ or ‘major’ disruptions have been
         reassessed and will be delivered either through relisting them in the new 24/25 Operational
         Plan or our business-as-usual service delivery (refer to notations against particular initiatives
         in Attachment 1).
   •     Going forward the opportunity exists to review and better define some project scopes, give
         greater consideration to project timeframes or the staging of projects, and Council’s
         resourcing capacity.

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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                          12 AUGUST 2024


4. Operational Performance Measures

When reporting progress against the Operational Plan each quarter we have routinely included
performance against 14 operational indicators. The intent is to review these indicators as part of the
review of the development of a Performance Measurement Framework and the implementation of a
new Corporate Performance Reporting System which are initiatives in the 2024-25 Operational Plan.
Once Key Performance Measures are finalised they will be reported to the Council for endorsement
and included in future quarterly reports. In the meantime, we will continue to report progress against
the 14 key performance indicators as previously reported, refer Attachment 2.
While the focus of the review of performance measures has been to further refine those within the
Corporate Plan, a review of Service Profiles for all council services has recently been undertaken
which includes the identification of efficiency and effectiveness performance measures for each
service. Effectiveness measures monitor the progress of objectives, and the outcomes council wants
its services to achieve while efficiency measures monitor the cost of delivering the service. The
Service Profiles were reported to the Council in the 2024-25 Budget process and will continue to be
refined.

5. Corporate Plan Performance Measures

The Noosa Council Corporate Plan 2023-28 identifies 65 Performance Measures under the 5
Themes of the Corporate Plan. These measures have been reviewed by the Executive Team and
as a result further supporting indicators have been identified which will assist us in tracking
performance, refer Attachment 3.

The proposed supporting indicators still require further refinement and will be monitored for future
reporting as we develop our performance measurement framework and implement the Corporate
Performance Reporting System.

Link to Corporate Plan

Theme No. 5 - Excellence

This theme focuses on customer experience, financial sustainability, innovation and technology,
levels of service, governance, our employees and volunteers, funding streams and asset
management practices.
Objective 5.3 - Provide robust and transparent governance systems to build and strengthen
community trust, supported by the implementation of an enterprise risk and opportunity management
framework.


Previous Council Consideration
Ordinary Meeting Minutes - 13 May 2024, Item 6.1
That Council note the report by the Chief Executive Officer (Acting) to the General Committee dated
13 May 2024 regarding the 2023-24 Operational Plan and:
   1. Note the progress report for Q3 2023-24 Operational Plan to 31 March 2024 provided as
      Attachment 1;
   2. Note the comments on the progress of all initiatives identified provided as Attachment 2; and
   3. Note the status of Council's Key Performance Indicators as provided as Attachment 3.

Finance
The Operational Plan was approved with the annual Budget on 30 June 2023.

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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                                   12 AUGUST 2024



Risk & Opportunities
A failure to achieve the outcomes set out in the Operational Plan would be problematic. In some
cases, projects may take longer than anticipated to achieve the best outcome. Potential risks include:
      •    The ambitious priorities within the new Noosa Council Corporate Plan 2023-28 which
           informed the development of the 2023-24 Operational Plan.
      •    The organisation's capacity to deliver the 2023-24 Operational Plan particularly given
           competing priorities, skill shortages and market conditions and the flow on effects to service
           delivery.
      •    Initiative/Project outcomes may not be realised.
      •    The development of the Performance Management Framework and the implementation of a
           new Corporate Performance Reporting System will assist in monitoring our performance and
           support improved decision making.
      •    The development of a Capability Plan is incorporated in the Corporate Plan 2023-28. This
           Plan will consider Council's capacity including systems, finances and workforce
           requirements.

Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Nil
Internal Consultation
Departments consulted:

      Office of the CEO, Mayor &                Community Services               Corporate Services
              Councillors
            Mayor & Councillors           x     Director                    x    Director
  x         Chief Executive Officer       x     Community Development       x    Financial Services
  x         Executive Officers            x     Sport & Active Lifestyles   x    Fleet
  x         Community Engagement          x     Arts & Culture              x    Revenue Services
  x         People & Culture              x     Community Connection        x    ICT
            Governance x                  x     Customer Experience         x    Procurement

                                                                                 Commercial Property

          Strategy & Environment              Development & Regulation          Infrastructure Services
  x         Director                      x     Director                    x    Director
  x         Strategic Land Use Planning   x     Development Assessment      x    Infrastructure      Planning,
                                                                                 Design and Delivery
  x         Economic Development &              Local Laws                  x    Civil and Asset operations
            Destination Management
  x         Environmental Services        x     Environmental Health        x    Waste
  x         Innovation & Digital Hub            Building & Plumbing              Building & Facilities
                                                Property / Permits          x    Disaster Management x