East Gippsland and Wellington shire councils have jointly won the Innovative Leadership Initiative Award at the annual LGPro Awards for Excellence held in Melbourne on Thursday 19 June for a new system that protects residents’ data and saves ratepayers’ money.

The recognition celebrates the councils' collaborative leadership in delivering what has been described as a first of its kind for Victorian councils: a shared, cloud-based electronic document and records management system (EDRMS).

The new EDRMS system has transformed how information is managed, protected, and accessed across both organisations.

The LGPro Awards for Excellence promote and celebrate outstanding work being undertaken by individuals and teams working in local government across Victoria, spanning 15 award categories.  

Winning the Innovative Leadership Initiative recognises the two councils' commitment to driving real improvement across the sector.

Wellington Shire Council Mayor Cindy Madeley said the award reflects the strength of regional collaboration.

"This achievement demonstrates what can be accomplished when councils work together with a shared vision,” Cr Madeley said.

“By combining our resources and expertise, we have created a sustainable, scalable solution that not only improves our internal operations but strengthens the services we provide to our communities."

The project emerged from shared challenges: outdated legacy systems, increasing compliance demands, manual processing, and cybersecurity risk. The councils' response was a formal shared services model which has delivered significant, measurable outcomes.  

Both councils have reduced manual processing by more than 250 hours per week, cybersecurity protections have been substantially strengthened, paper reliance reduced, and business continuity improved. The councils say the project will achieve substantial cost avoidance over the next five-year period.

East Gippsland Shire Council Mayor Jodie Ashworth highlighted the broader significance of the initiative.

"This award is recognition of something genuinely innovative – two regional councils working together to solve real problems, lead digital transformation, and protect the communities we serve,” Cr Ashworth said.

“It shows that scale is no barrier to leadership in local government. We are proud of the work our teams have done alongside Wellington, and proud to be contributing to better practice across the sector."

The councils have committed to sharing what they have learned to help other councils adopt a similar approach.

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