Yarra City Council upgrades IT to manage AUD $2 billion assets
Yarra City Council has partnered with TechnologyOne to update its legacy IT systems, aiming to speed up customer service and boost the management of public assets valued at AUD $2 billion. The council will implement the OneCouncil platform from TechnologyOne to provide internal teams with real-time insight into reporting, budgeting, and asset management.
Modern platform
The initiative is intended to modernise the council's IT infrastructure, providing tools for efficient management of its AUD $35.3 million capital works programme. OneCouncil integrates finance, property, compliance, asset management, human resources, payroll, and document management in a single solution. This addresses issues faced by many Australian councils where information is often held in separate systems.
Service improvements
The new system is designed to enable council staff to access accurate, up-to-date information from any location. The platform supports evidence-based decision making and will automate current processes. This is expected to result in fewer delays for residents, faster handling of customer requests, and less duplication of effort by staff.
"Home to Cremorne - described as Australia's Silicon Valley as it continues to attract major technology firms and edgy start-ups - the City of Yarra is arguably the country's most tech savvy municipality. Therefore, it is crucial that we reflect this with a contemporary IT system that can be delivered and accessed any time, on any device, from anywhere connected to the internet - one that provides our community with a faster and more efficient service," said Sue Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, Yarra City Council.
Resource management
The upgrade is expected to produce longer-term savings for the municipality. These efficiencies could, according to the council, be redirected into expanded or improved community services.
Automating and unifying council processes is intended to help Yarra City Council handle customer interactions more quickly and with fewer follow-ups. Information about assets and spending will become easier to access for authorised staff, making it possible to assess the council's financial position in real time.
"By automating and streamlining our operations, customer requests will be handled more quickly, with less waiting time and fewer follow-ups. The process will not only be faster, but more accurate. Not only is it vastly more efficient system, but it will also provide savings over the longer term that can then be invested back into community services," said Wilkinson.
Operational efficiency
TechnologyOne's approach brings together functions previously managed in separate systems. This move aims to unlock productivity gains and lower the administrative burden on council teams. Consolidation may also allow better tracking of compliance, assets, finances, and human resources.
The rollout reflects a wider shift in Victorian local government, where councils must remain within statutory rate caps yet are expected to deliver quality service and better outcomes.
Sector context
TechnologyOne has supplied software solutions to councils across Australia and New Zealand for more than three decades. Its SaaS-based OneCouncil system is currently used by municipalities serving over 73% of the region's population.
"An integrated finance and asset management system is critical for councils to deliver better services with fewer resources. We are proud to partner with Yarra City Council as they gain real-time insights, improve accountability, and invest smarter in their vibrant inner metropolitan community of over 100,000 people," said Ben Malpass, EVP for Local Government, TechnologyOne.
