The 2025 National Local Roads, Transport and Infrastructure Congress was held on 11-12 November in Bendigo, in regional Victoria. The National Local Roads, Transport & Infrastructure Congress is an annual local government event featuring experts and guest speakers covering a comprehensive program focused on roads, transport, mobility, road safety and community infrastructure. The 2025 Congress focused on Driving National Productivity, with a strong emphasis on local roads funding, maintenance, and infrastructure and the vital role councils play in supporting the national productivity agenda. You can read about the outcomes from the Congress in our communique. The Congress provided a valuable opportunity for delegates to expand professional networks and connect with local government leaders, decision-makers and suppliers who can support council initiatives and innovations. 2026 Roads Congress - Cairns We are pleased to announce that the 2026 National Local Roads, Transport & Infrastructure Congress will be held in Cairns in late August. Further details and dates to come.

ALGA and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water will host a webinar for councils on the National Climate Risk Assessment, National Adaptation Plan and Net Zero Plan and Sector Plans. The webinar will be held on Thursday 6 November from 3pm to 4.30pm (AEDT). Guest speakers include: ALGA CEO Amy Crawford Dr Judith Landsberg and Ross Henry - National Climate Risk Assessment Jason Mundy - National Adaptation Plan The webinar will also feature Net Zero Plan and Sector Plans, and time for questions at the end.

Artificial Intelligence offers councils opportunities to improve efficiency, enhance citizen services, and unlock new insights. But success depends on ensuring the regulatory, ethical, and process foundations are right. This free session - Practical AI for local government: Law, ethics, and rollouts - will provide local government leaders a clear roadmap for selecting, governing, and delivering AI projects that are legally compliant, ethically sound, and operationally successful. Five key takeaways: Legal guardrails – Understand how privacy, procurement, records, and IP rules apply to AI use in councils, including the latest Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) guidance. Ethical frameworks – Apply the relevant AI Ethics Principles to ensure fairness, transparency, and human oversight in AI projects. Project selection – Use a structured scoring method to choose low-risk, high-benefit pilot projects before scaling. Essential documents – Prepare the core set of governance documents from AI User Guides and Governance Frameworks to Privacy Impact Assessments and citizen transparency notices. Rollout playbook – Follow a clear step plan to move from pilot to business-as-usual, including testing, staff training, monitoring, and continuous improvement. Watch the webinar recap here.

The GenAI in Local Government: What’s Working, What’s Not, and What’s Next webinar explored how local governments across Australia and around the world are adopting and implementing Generative Artificial Intelligence technologies. The free webinar explored what’s effective, where are the roadblocks, and what the future looks like. These insights will be presented by Nick Abrahams - a leading futurist, government advisor and Adjunct Professor at Bond University who researches and teaches the practical application of AI for organisations. This session is grounded in real-world examples and is designed to provide practical, actionable insights for council leaders and teams navigating the AI transformation. Watch the webinar recap here.