Councils looking to improve their financial planning and asset management will soon be able to call on the National Assessment Framework (NAF) developed by the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG).
The NAF is a structured online tool based on the Local Government Financial Sustainability Nationally Consistent Frameworks developed by the Local Government Planning Ministers’ Council. It is also consistent with the asset management principles in the IPWEA’s International Infrastructure Management Manual (IIMM).
IPWEA’s Leon Patterson is the ACELG Project Coordinator for the NAF. The Centre has been working with state local government jurisdictions to achieve a nationally consistent process. This aims to assist local government councils to enhance their capacity towards sustainable service delivery.
“Australian Councils will be able to log-on to their own secure page on the NAF and undertake a self assessment,” said Patterson. “The NAF is a detailed list of things that need to be achieved to get to ‘core’ level and beyond.”
The questionnaire covers the 10 elements of the Financial Sustainability Frameworks. Councils can measure current achievements and work out a priority improvement plan. Subsequent annual assessment can help councils track and target improvement trends.
“By developing asset management plans linked to long term financial plans, councils can help ensure their financial and service delivery sustainability,” said Patterson. “This online tool will be a valuable resource for all Australian councils looking to determine a sustainable direction”.
The NAF will soon undergo pilot testing in two or three councils in each state. This will be completed within the next month. Subject to the success of this pilot test phase, all councils will be given access to the NAF by October.
Councils will receive a log-on and password and will then be able to undertake their own in-house assessment.