Our organisation

Our progress on economic growth and increasing demand in health, education, construction and professional services sectors ensures business opportunities are surging.

Given our central location, we are strategically placed for easy travel to both Sydney and Brisbane. With an array of active business support networks in place to support innovation and entrepreneurship, it is an attractive region for both start-ups and major industry.

As our population is expected to continue to grow, we have some major projects on the horizon to expand our transport networks, housing estates and water systems.

Our community matters. It's where we live, it's who we serve and it's why we exist.

Port Macquarie Hastings Council takes a customer-first approach. Our team strives to deliver real solutions to promote a vibrant and thriving region. We believe in engagement, consultation and transparency – and we are focused on the future, with long term objectives and a modern business model.

Our organisational structure is comprised of an Office of the CEO, and four divisions – Business and Performance, Community Utilities, Community Planning and Environment, Community Infrastructure.

The chart below outlines the structure of our organisation, and the key focus area of each division.

Our Community Strategy Plan (CSP) is the overarching document that sets the direction for all of our subsequent plans, policies and strategies.

Our CSP, Imagine2050 describes our community's shared vision for the Port Macquarie Hastings future.

Our vision is to create the most liveable, sustainable and innovative place in Australia.

We are coordinating our business, activities, funding priorities, and services to achieve this vision by the year 2050. Under that vision, we have six key focus areas which support our progress. Those six themes are:

While we take a lead role in the development and implementation of Imagine2050 - as it is a shared vision and plan between the community, there is a shared responsibility for achieving our long-term objectives. This rests with the collective commitment of all levels of government, businesses, industry groups, community organisations and individuals.

To learn more about our vision, and the path we are taking to get there, read Imagine2050 in full.

To improve our efficiency and better serve our growing community, we have embarked on a transformational journey to modernise our operations and the systems we use to provide robust services.

Several projects have been road-mapped under the transformation strategy, planned to take place over the next 3 years.

The planned projects look to achieve our transformation vision:

Enable and empower great service delivery, innovation and community connection through efficient, effective and well-governed organisational operations.  

Actioned in late 2021, the first major change involved realigning our structure. This formalised the Office of the CEO, and accelerates our capacity to improve our operations, manage risk, elevate our capability to deliver our services and meet community expectations via four directorates:

• Community Infrastructure
• Community, Planning & Environment
• Community Utilities
• Business and Performance.

Our teams are now housed under a directorate that supports their strategic objectives, streamlining reporting lines and improving efficiency and effectiveness across the organisation.

Future projects look to upgrade and implement technologies which improve our customer and employee experiences. Our key focus is in making working with and for Council simple, accessible, prompt, and effective.

We are prioritising ensuring that our decisions are transparent, data driven, and compliant by reviewing our policies and frameworks, our systems and our philosophy.

For a more in depth overview of our Transformation objectives, focus areas, and the expected outcomes – read The Case for Change(PDF, 3MB), our roadmap for reform. 

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council is represented by 9 Councillors, including the Mayor, who are elected for a 4-year term.

Learn more about our Mayor & Councillors and their role.

Local Government NSW is an independent organisation that exists to serve the interests of New South Wales general and special purpose councils.

Importantly, they are not a government department or agency. Instead, they support and advocate on behalf of member councils to help strengthen and protect an effective, democratic system of local government across NSW.

LGNSW Campaigns and Initiatives:

Cost Shifting

LGNSW works hard to identify and oppose any cost shifting that impacts member councils. For further information please visit: Cost Shifting | LGNSW