General News
20 January, 2026
Changes afoot for TRC assets
CHANGES are afoot for Tablelands Regional Council’s 290 buildings across the local government area, with decisions set to be made as to which assets will be retained and which ones may be re-purposed or transferred to local organisations.
The move is part of TRC’s Community Facility Strategy, which includes the review and revision of its Asset Management Policy, a comprehensive review of community land, buildings and facilities, and the implementation of an asset “divestment” process.
But Mayor Rod Marti has moved to assure locals that “divestment” is not about selling off the assets or deciding which ones to decommission in the future.
He said the process would consider a range of options, including repurposing assets, shared use arrangements, and transferring facilities to organisations better placed to operate them sustainably and deliver improved outcomes for the community.
“We only have a small ratepayer base for the number of assets we maintain, and our ratepayers simply can’t afford the cost of maintaining so many buildings,” he said.
“We have to do the right thing for the benefit of our community and achieve a level our ratepayers can sustain.”
The council is embarking on a five-step process – to review and identify assets that may warrant divestment; a council resolution to investigate identified assets; legal and other internal reviews; engagement with those who use the land, buildings or facilities; and a final council resolution determining the outcome for the assets.
“Councillors have recently completed a review of facilities, aligned with step 1 of the process, and will be considering a report and recommendations at the Ordinary Council Meeting taking place at 9am Thursday, in accordance with step 2 of the process cycle” Mayor Marti said.
According to the council, there are more than 290 community assets across the Tablelands region. Many of these are underutilised, not fit-for-purpose, close to end of life and not sustainable.
Mayor Marti said councillors recognised many of these challenges should have been addressed earlier and were now taking decisive steps to ensure the council’s asset base was sustainable for the long-term.
“This council has committed to ensuring we are financially sustainable and that means facing up to legacy challenges,” he said.
“Councillors have a responsibility to ensure long-term financial sustainability, and to manage community assets in a way that delivers value for money.
“Improving asset sustainability will allow council to invest in new infrastructure, and better maintenance of buildings we retain for the long term, and to strengthen service delivery and support growth across the region”.
As part of the ongoing community asset divestment process, councillors have committed to making decisions that benefit to whole community; recognising that different facilities require different considerations, options and approaches; reducing costs to improve and strengthen council’s financial sustainability; increasing utilisation through shared use of facilities; and engaging with existing users of the facilities.
“In November last year, we asked the community to rank key facility attributes in order of importance. This feedback has informed an objective framework for assessing facilities against available resources and community priorities,” Mayor Marti said.
Following the direction from council at this week’s meeting, officers will progress through the next stages of due diligence and legal review, and engagement with users of the facilities.
