TOURISM NOOSA FUNDING AND PERFORMANCE DEED 2026–2029 · Report

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                              13 APRIL 2026



On 8 May 2025, Council resolved to move to a one-year funding arrangement (to 30 June 2026) at
$2.0 million (ex GST) to provide time to review the relationship and clarify future expectations.
Funding under this arrangement was released in two milestone payments, with the second tranche
conditional on delivery of agreed outputs. As part of this decision, Council initiated the transition of
tourism events sponsorship and management from TN to Council to streamline governance and
reduce duplication. Quarterly reporting requirements continued to apply during this period.

On 18 September 2025, Council noted the executed one-year deed and received a status update
on progress toward clarifying TN’s future role and funding framework.

On 18 December 2025, Council adopted the Tourism Noosa Roadmap and endorsed Option 2 –
Evolve Tourism Noosa to align with the Destination Management Plan as the immediate service
delivery model. Council resolved that the Chief Executive Officer bring back a further report for
endorsement of the final funding terms with TN and requested that Council’s Procurement team
support the development of any future funding agreements.

This report and the attached Tourism Noosa Funding and Performance Deed 2026–2029, Schedule
1 and Schedule 2 (Funding Deed), are presented in direct response to Council’s adopted resolutions
of 18 December 2025.

Our Approach
Council and TN adopted a disciplined, collaborative process to develop a three-year Funding Deed
and a Schedule of Agreed Priorities, KPIs and Target Metrics (objective measures). A joint Working
Group comprising senior officers from Council and TN with extensive experience in funding, contract
management, destination governance and industry operations, led the drafting, issue-resolution and
sequencing of approvals. Council’s CEO and Director Strategy & Environment provided executive
direction; Council’s Legal Counsel led the drafting to ensure internal consistency and enforceability;
and TN’s CEO and Board representatives contributed operational, industry and governance insight
to ensure the instrument is practical to administer over the term.

Legal robustness was built in from the outset through multiple rounds of internal legal review and a
separate independent external legal review focused on structure, risk and the operability of key
clauses, including the funding mechanics, performance-based adjustment, reporting, misapplied
funds, contingency fund access and any further-term discretions.

Procurement’s role was to advise and comment on compliance with Council’s procurement
framework and the Local Government legislative setting. Specifically, Procurement assessed the
approach against the Local Government principles. This provided an additional compliance lens over
the Funding Deed and its administration and responded directly to the Council resolution that
Procurement support the development of future funding agreements.

Councillor engagement occurred via workshop briefings to confirm direction and key KPIs.

Overall, the combination of an experienced Working Group, dual legal review (internal and
independent), Procurement’s compliance advice regarding the Local Government framework, and
structured Councillor engagement, gives assurance that the Funding Deed and Schedules have
been developed with appropriate rigour, transparency and alignment to Council’s adopted direction.

Tourism Noosa – Role and Context
TN is Council’s long-standing LTO and a key delivery partner for destination marketing, visitor
servicing and industry capability. Under the proposed Funding Deed, TN’s role is explicitly reframed
to support Council’s adopted DMP and the TN Roadmap, shifting from a primarily promotional focus
to a destination stewardship model grounded in community values, sustainability and long-term
economic benefit.