In just a few days, I’ll be celebrating one year with the City of Greater Dandenong. Every day has been a privilege, working alongside passionate colleagues whose knowledge and enthusiasm inspire meaningful change. Engaging with diverse community groups and individuals has been incredibly rewarding, offering valuable insights into what truly matters at the grassroots level.
Below are some highlights and updates from the Strategic Growth and Advocacy department.
Council Plan
Draft priorities for the new Council Plan 2025-29 have been developed and were presented to ET for review last week. The priorities focus on addressing the key challenges facing our community and Council, and the State Government health and wellbeing priorities. It will incorporate the themes identified through our extensive community consultation and the recommendations of the Community Panel. The structure of the Council Plan and the four-year priorities will be discussed with Councillors in February prior to the development of Annual Plan actions for 2025-26.
Quarterly Performance Reporting
Council is progressing well against actions outlined in the Annual Plan 2024-25 with 5% complete for the year and 88% on track for delivery by the end of June. A report will be presented to Council in February and will then be available for our community to read.
Community Satisfaction Survey (CSS)
We will conduct our CSS again in 2025 to better understand our community’s views of the services we offer. This year we have changed providers for the survey from JWS Research to Metropolis Research. Instead of conducting our survey via telephone, Metropolis will door knock to interview 400 community members. Metropolis undertake this type of survey for a number of Victorian councils, enabling us to continue benchmarking within the Local Government sector. This is expected to commence in March, however further information will be provided once the dates have been confirmed.
Streamlining Strategies and Plans
In alignment with the new Council Plan 2025-29 we are working on developing an Integrated Planning Framework.
The purpose of this framework is to ensure all strategies, plans and policies align with the Council Plan and Community Vision. It will provide direction on when a strategy/plan is required and when it can be another document, ensuring consistency of Council’s approach in the development of documents. This approach also provides transparent and accountable reporting mechanisms and ensures effective monitoring and review.
More information will be shared as this project progresses, but in the meantime, if you are planning on developing a new strategic document or reviewing one that is close to expiry, contact Dani Johnson so that she can incorporate this into the forward plan.
Asset Management and Service Planning
Over the past few months, the Asset Team have worked with other departments to develop the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The CIP will be presented to councillors in February and March and will be incorporated into the 2025–26 Budget briefing in April.
Service Planning is in full swing for this year. This complements the Council Plan and focuses on the core activities that we do. The information that is created in these plans will inform Business Plans for next year, and also the Asset Management Plans moving forwards.
At the same time, we are working on the 10 Year Asset Plan which is required under the Local Government Act. This will list the projects that we will fund and work on over the next 10 years.
Asset Data and GIS
As one of the follow up steps to the Service Plans, the Asset Data and GIS team are putting QR codes on all furniture and equipment to match what is used to each of the services. This is going to help the Asset Management team plan more effectively for the future. Don’t be surprised if you see a little QR code appear on your desk or screen.
Data and Statistics
You can view information about social, health, housing and economic conditions in Greater Dandenong and other Victorian municipalities on our Social Statistics webpage. With over 30+ specific topic areas, this site can help with service planning and development, submission preparation and advocacy, and other tasks requiring accurate quantitative data in easily understood formats. For inquiries or assistance, contact Community Advocacy.
Grant Registry
The Grant Registry data has been relocated from the CEO's Office to the Strategic Growth and Advocacy Department.
This change aligns with a broader initiative to centralise our grant application processes, ensuring a more streamlined and effective approach. The move aims to establish a comprehensive approach for managing grant applications and improving overall efficiency and outcomes. If you are planning to submit a grant application, please notify Michelle Guhl.
Rooming House Engagement Activities
As part of the Empowering Communities Grant, we are working with the Dandenong West Community Action Group to deliver a series of engagement activities focused on identifying solutions to improve the rooming house system.
Engagement activities over February and March will include one-to-one interviews with rooming house tenants and landlords, as well as workshops with the broader Dandenong West community and authorities, regulators, peak bodies and service providers working with rooming houses. These findings will contribute to a final report which will identify actionable recommendations within the rooming house system.
This work aligns with another exciting initiative within Greater Dandenong conducted by the Commissioner for Residential Tenancies. A Rooming House Taskforce Trial has commenced in partnership with Council and other key stakeholders including Wayss and Peninsula Community Legal Centre. The initiatives aim is to trial a taskforce-based approach to rooming house compliance and improvement within the City of Greater Dandenong. The first taskforce meeting has been scheduled for the end of January.
LGBTIQA+ Advisory Committee
We’ll be celebrating a very historic milestone when our new LGBTIQA+ Advisory Committee has its first ever meeting on Tuesday 11 February. Increasing the visibility of Greater Dandenong’s LGBTIQA+ communities and growing their voices in local decision-making is a priority for us and the establishment of this committee is something to wave the flag about.
The Advisory Committee was set up so that LGBTIQA+ community members have a greater voice and increased opportunities to influence decisions.
Everyone in Greater Dandenong can join the celebration of this progress when we walk in solidarity together in the 2025 Midsumma Pride march on Sunday 2 February. If you’d like to join on us on the day, please RSVP to Marek Krol.
Marjan Hajjari, Executive Manager Strategic Growth and Advocacy