Government of Western Australia Department of Local Government and Communities

Our Ref: 404-11 E1401375

TO ALL LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

CIRCULAR NO 05-2014

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK FOR ASSET MANAGEMENT

The Department of Local Government and Communities is supporting the implementation of the National Assessment Framework (NAF) for Asset Management to help local government better understand its current level of infrastructure asset planning and support a process of continuous improvement in the sector.

The NAF is an assessment tool developed for the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG) by its consortium partner, the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA), with input from and the support of the States, the Northern Territory and local government associations. It uses a structured online tool to evaluate a local government's progress in implementing the Local Government Financial Sustainability Nationally Consistent Frameworks (LGPMC Financial Sustain ability Frameworks) initiated by the former Local Government and Planning Ministers' Council (LGPMC) and adopted in 2007.

The NAF Portal provides a nationally consistent approach and common assessment tool to support your local government's implementation of Integrated Planning and Reporting. It will assist your council to improve data knowledge; assessment of affordable service levels; risk management; identification of asset lifecycle costs; and community engagement. The NAF will also help your counci l to identify where it can target action to achieve improved asset management and financial planning.

Metropolitan local governments undertaking a process of reform can use the NAF to assess their current asset management activities against the 'core' and 'advanced' practices derived from the LGPMC Financial Sustainability Frameworks and use this information to support asset management development under their program of reform.

Each local government has a secure page on the NAF Portal: http://www.naf.acelg.org.au/. A letter will shortly be sent to each local government's Chief Executive Officer, providing username and login details.

By logging-on to your local government's secure page, completing the self-assessment and then repeating the process each year, your council will be able to assess its

Gordon Stephenson House 140 William Street Perth WA 6000

GPO Box R1250 Perth WA 6844 Tel: (08) 6551 8700 Fax: (08) 6552 1555 Freecall: 1800620 511 (Country only)

Email: info@dlgc.wa.gov.au Website: www.dlgc.wa.gov.au

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current level of asset management performance and track improvement trends as you implement your asset management plans and improvement strategies.

Your data and summaries will not be visible to other councils or States. The Department of Local Government and Communities will use data aggregated across the State to identify areas for future support, training and additional resources. The Commonwealth Government will also be able to view results summarised across the State.

For more information, a detailed report is available on the ACELG website: http://www.acelg.org.au/organisation-capacity-building.

To maximise the effectiveness of the NAF Portal in supporting your ongoing asset management improvement and Integrated Planning and Reporting efforts, I encourage you to commence your first self-assessment utilising the NAF Portal by 31 March 2014.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr Troy Daniels, Project Manager, on (08) 6552 1446 or via email attroy.daniels@dlgc.wa.gov.au.

Jennifer Mathews A/DIRECTOR GENERAL

Z8 February 2014