Response rate for National State of the Assets report rises to 83pc

Four hundred forty-five councils, or 83 percent of all local governments, have now provided data for the 2021 National State of the Assets (NSoA) Report.

This is an increase of 13 percentage points in the overall participation rate since 2014, and eight percentage points since 2018.

The
Australian Local Government’s Association’s NSoA project has regularly reported
the value, performance, and long-term infrastructure planning capability of
local government.

Solid data
provides a clear case to state, territory and federal governments on how
investment in local government infrastructure will provide stronger
communities, economies and efficient expenditure of public funds.

To ensure
the highest possible participation rate for the 2021 report – which ALGA is
preparing in partnership with the Institute of Public Works Engineering
Australasia (IPWEA) – councils now have until Christmas to provide and/or
update their data.

Councils in rural and remote areas of Australia remain a focus and are particularly encouraged to participate.

Besides
providing a sound rationale and model for appropriate and targeted support to
local government for consideration by other spheres of government, the NSoA
project also:

• Shows
  current service levels and what proportion of community infrastructure needs
  additional investment to be in good repair in line with community expectations;
• Communicates
  local government’s level of asset management capability with respect to
  implementing Asset Management and Long-Term Financial Plans;
• Demonstrates
  a need for additional infrastructure investment by reporting financial
  sustainability trends against nationally adopted indicators;
• Provides
  a nationally consistent basis for ongoing measurement for infrastructure
  service levels and risk;
• Provides
  decision support information for local government; and
• Demonstrates
  a need for capacity building in the sector.

The data
input effort is minimal as the data is aligned to source data and systems that
are typically required for reporting purposes as at 30 June 2020.

To access the NSoA data collection form for your organisation please click here or navigate to: https://www.ipwea.org/nsoa

For
inquiries regarding the project email alga@alga.asn.au or phone 02 6122 9400.

Alternatively
email admin@ipwea.org or phone: 1300 416 745.