12 elements of place-based change

Burnie City Council and Burnie Works – from facilitation to community ownership 

Burnie Works, in north-west Tasmania, began as a Burnie City council-led local renewal  effort that deliberately transitioned toward community-led governance. The council established a local enabling group to bring community members, services and government partners together under a collective impact framework. The council shifted from leading to facilitating, providing coordination and policy  alignment while enabling the community to define priorities and guide action. This approach built trust, political support and legitimacy for shared decision-making. 

By 2023–24, Burnie Works’ governance had evolved into a fully community-owned structure. A new membership model and cross-community working groups now ensure residents, families and partners directly shape decisions. Recognising that earlier approaches missed some voices, Burnie Works adopted deliberate outreach to engage ‘new faces and different voices’, listening for ‘the quietest voices’ in the community. This commitment to inclusion has deepened legitimacy and sustained locally led renewal. 

Pingelly Community Resource Centre – responding to local context 

Pingelly Community Resource Centre is located approximately 150 kilometres southeast of Perth. It is an independent not-for-profit organisation established in 1999.It is one of a network of around 150 similar organisations in WA, connected through their peak association Linkwest. These Centres are hubs for activities, services and supports, each providing community facilities and a coordination role in their town or suburb. 

Pingelly Community Resource Centre shows how responding to local context works in practice. The centre is community-led and governed by local people. Its role is to listen, connect, and respond to what matters most to the people of Pingelly. Services and activities are tailored to suit local needs and aspirations, including digital skills training, supporting community groups, and coordinating projects that facilitate local connection. 

The Staying in Place – Virtual Village was led from the Pingelly Community Resource Centre with the Pingelly Somerset Alliance. Local residents identified a clear problem where older people were having to leave town to access aged care. In response, the centre helped design a ‘village without walls’, using local contractors and volunteers, and technology, to support seniors to remain in their homes and community. The model builds on local strengths – neighbours looking out for each other, small-town trust, and strong relationships – and adapts as needs change. 

Pingelly Community Resource Centre also played a key role in shaping the Pingelly Community Wellbeing Plan 2024–2027, which was developed through workshops, surveys and community conversations. This process ensured that priorities like mental health, safety, and inclusion were based on what residents said they needed most. By continually listening, testing ideas, and adjusting how services are delivered, the centre shows how being context responsive leads to better-fit, stronger relationships, and lasting local impact.  

The structure of the Staying in Place model has been implemented by similar local hub organisations across WA and into other states. The framework remains the same, but the shape of delivery, nature of partnerships, range of activities and ways of working differ in each location, as each local context informs the local response that is required.  

Jarjum Centre – Aboriginal self-determination in action 

Jarjum Centre is an early childhood centre for Aboriginal children in Lismore, New South Wales, on the lands of the Widjabal Wiyabal people within the Bundjalung Nation. The centre was established 40 years ago through the work of dedicated Elders. 

Jarjum Centre embodies Aboriginal self-determination in action. Rather than adapting mainstream models, it was designed from the ground up by Aboriginal community members drawing on cultural strengths, kinship networks, and holistic understandings of child and family wellbeing. The term ‘jarjum’ itself (meaning ‘child’ in Bundjalung language) reflects the centre’s commitment to language revitalisation and cultural identity. 

By integrating Elders’ knowledge, cultural practices and connection to Country into everyday operations, Jarjum Centre creates a culturally safe environment where Aboriginal families can access services without compromising their identity or values. This includes incorporating Sorry Business protocols, recognising extended kinship responsibilities, and ensuring staff reflect the community they serve. 

Indi Kindi – anchoring early childhood education in local knowledge 

Moriarty Foundation’s Indi Kindi, is a community co-designed early childhood program operating in Borroloola and Tennant Creek, Northern Territory. 

Indi Kindi shows how Aboriginal knowledge and community expertise can shape effective, culturally-grounded early learning. The program was born of community, anchored in knowledge and accepted through trust. Design and governance was guided by Law women (elders), families, and local educators who hold deep cultural and linguistic expertise. 

All educators are local Aboriginal women who are qualified or undertaking study toward early childhood education qualifications, a majority exceeding 6 years tenure. Their lived experience, language and cultural knowledge are formally recognised and remunerated. The program’s Walking Learning® curriculum takes place outdoors and on Country, combining Aboriginal and Western approaches to child development and supporting strong cultural identity and connection to place and aligning with the Australian Early Years Learning Framework. 

Guided by a community advisory group of elders and Traditional Custodians, Indi Kindi ensures decisions are made locally and cultural authority remains within community control and intellectual property management follows best practice. 

Wunan – investing in local leadership and governance skills 

Wunan is a not-for-profit Aboriginal organisation based in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. Its purpose is to ensure that Aboriginal people in the East Kimberley enjoy the capabilities and opportunities they need to make positive choices that lead to independent and fulfilling lives.   

Wunan’s approach is exemplified through two complementary initiatives. The Governance and Leadership Program builds the capacity of emerging and established leaders across Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) and enterprises. Through accredited qualifications, mentoring and practical governance support, the program strengthens accountability, decision-making, and organisational effectiveness, ensuring Aboriginal leaders are equipped to influence decisions that shape their communities.  

The Journey to Empowerment program creates clear pathways for Aboriginal people to build skills, gain employment, and strengthen their capacity to lead change within their families and communities. By combining training, employment and cultural leadership, it builds self-reliance, belonging, and economic independence. Together, these initiatives demonstrate how investing in Aboriginal leadership at both organisational and individual levels strengthens place-based decision-making and community-led development across the East Kimberley. 

Fire to Flourish – strengthening local leadership capacity 

Fire to Flourish is a long-term community impact program, led by Monash University, providing direct support to communities as the first and last responders to disasters.   

In communities across New South Wales and Victoria recovering from the Black Summer bushfires of 2019–20, Fire to Flourish, supported by Monash University, employed trusted residents, many Aboriginal, as community leads and facilitators. They were chosen for their relationships and cultural authority rather than formal qualifications. Once recruited, they received training in facilitation, governance, disaster resilience and cultural safety to strengthen their capability. Governance processes, codes of conduct and mentoring provided the protection and authority they needed to make and support transparent decisions, while navigating local politics. With resources to design projects, manage budgets and direct local grants, communities felt capable and confident to lead recovery on their own terms.   

By embedding Aboriginal knowledge and leadership throughout, Fire to Flourish turned local confidence and cultural wisdom into lasting systems change – showing that when leadership is locally held, resilience becomes self-sustaining. 

Children’s Ground – enabling community decision-making 

Established in 2011 by First Nations Elders, and operating in Central Australia and the Top End, Children’s Ground gives local communities genuine control over decision-making. Its dual governance system balances cultural and corporate structures: cultural governance committees in both regions, made up entirely of First Nations members, provide local and national leadership, ensuring cultural integrity and local decision making; while the corporate board – with over half First Nations directors – oversees broader operational decision making under Western governance requirements. The chair and CEO report jointly to both, reflecting equal authority.     

This structure ensures decision making is collective, place-based and locally led, while non-Indigenous partners work within, not above, community-led systems. Elders and emerging leaders from diverse language groups are able to embed cultural knowledge and leadership in every decision. Programs are planned and reviewed through both First Nations and Western frameworks, keeping accountability close to home.  Over the years, this model has built deep trust and ownership, with First Nations participation in governance increasing significantly and pathways opening for emerging leaders to step into decision-making roles and carry cultural authority into the future. 

Flemington Works – reshaping what is possible through shared decision-making

Flemington Works is a place-based initiative built around a co-design model that positioned local residents as decision-makers. Facilitated by Moonee Valley City Council and supported by the Victorian Government’s Community Revitalisation Program, co-design groups—one for women and one for young people living on the Flemington Housing Estate—were established as formal mechanisms guiding shared decision-making in practice. Community members were employed as Project Support Officers, which recognised their lived experience as expertise and ensuring their time and contributions were remunerated.   

Through a series of structured workshops facilitated by the Council and Clear Horizon, community members defined local priorities, identified barriers to employment, and co-created strategies and evaluation frameworks. Meetings included training in systems thinking, root-cause analysis, and data interpretation, enabling residents to participate confidently in complex decision-making. The design of meetings was itself co-created—interpreters, visual tools, and shared cultural practices ensured inclusivity and accessibility.   

These enabling structures—paid roles, training, inclusive facilitation, and forma co-design groups—embedded community authority within governance processes and shifted how government and service partners worked with the local community. Flemington Works highlights what becomes possible when power and decision-making responsibilities are effectively shared.  

Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project – using transparent approaches to resource use 

The Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project is a place-based initiative in Victoria that works to ensure all young people in the region can reach their full potential and thrive. It uses research, data, local insights and lived experience to inform decision-making and create locally tailored responses.    

Flexible funding from government and philanthropic partners, paired with participatory approaches, enables the Shepparton community to shape priorities and guide how resources are directed. This occurs through the Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project’s ‘Head, Heart and Hands’ principles, which embed community voice in decision-making via the project’s ‘1000 Conversations’ consultations, local community leaders, and the community-owned Seer Data & Analytics dashboard.    

The Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project remains transparent to funders through detailed annual plans, expenditure reports, and ongoing dialogue about progress. This structured accountability builds the trust and confidence that sustain flexible funding and long-term community and partner engagement. 

Learning the Macleay – embedding community participation to ensure transparency 

Learning the Macleay is a place-based initiative on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. It aims to build on the community’s strengths to create better futures for children and families through locally tailored, evidence-informed solutions.  

From the outset, the initiative has embedded  community representation within its governance to ensure transparency, trust and accountability. Its Community Reference Table, comprising local service providers, Aboriginal communitycontrolled organisations, non-government agencies, education providers and local government, oversees the work of the backbone organisation. This group plays a critical role in making decision-making visible: information and insights gathered from the community are shared back through members’ organisations to drive change. 

Wyndham City Council – embedding community perspectives and priorities 

Wyndham City Council, in the outer southwestern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, embedded community priorities from the Wyndham 2040 Community Vision into its broader 2021–2025 Council Plan. This means community priorities such as social connection, food security, sustainability and disaster readiness have been integrated across council units, action plans and yearly targets. Council staff also attend community-led events, such as My Smart Garden and Café Connect, to directly engage with residents to understand needs and progress, which then informs the council’s annual reports, which are made public. Wyndham City Council also integrates ‘Most Significant Change’ methods into the evaluation process to glean community perspectives. Through integrating community priorities into a whole-of-council approach, the council is able to foster collective accountability for community goals. 

Regional Jobs Hubs Initiative in Tasmania – a state-led, community-driven model 

The Regional Jobs Hubs Initiative in Tasmania is a state-led, community-driven model that connects 7 regional hubs through a coordinated statewide network. Each hub is governed by advisory boards that include employers, training providers, community organisations and local government to ensure that diverse community perspectives are represented.  These boards identify regional priorities related to employment and training opportunities, which are shared through the network, coordinated by Jobs Tasmania.   

The network supports exchange between hubs to identify systemic barriers and translate local learning into policy advice at a state level – creating continuous feedback loops between community and government. This process has enabled community priorities and insights to directly shape major statewide programs, policies, and reforms, including the Tasmanian Skills Plan, transport programs, economic development and the state’s first Youth Jobs Strategy. Together, the hubs function as a collective system actor, aligning government, industry and community around shared priorities and regional opportunities. 

Gladstone Region Engaging in Action Together – translating community feedback into action 

The Gladstone Region engaging in action Together (GRT) initiative facilitates community-led, place-based social change that improves wellbeing for children, families and the broader Gladstone region of Queensland through early intervention, improved access to services, and community-driven solutions. It is part of the Stronger Places, Stronger People initiative, supported by the Australian and Queensland governments.    

A shared wellbeing action plan and measurement framework have helped drive Gladstone’s comprehensive approach to translating community insights and feedback into action. At the heart of this work is a community-built and owned Wellbeing Data Hub, which holds over 400 datasets, combining community stories, local research and service insights. Community events, an ongoing schedule of community conversations, and surveys and feedback mechanisms make participation easy and ongoing. Insights gathered feed into topic-based working groups that co-design local responses, while a dedicated data and evaluation group tracks the impact of these actions on community wellbeing.    

What has made GRT effective is its commitment to genuine feedback loops, turning data and community voice into shared decisions and visible outcomes – growing local ownership of Gladstone’s wellbeing journey. 

The Hive Mt Druitt – integrating community feedback into advocacy for better transport

The Hive Mt Druitt (United Way Australia) is based in Western Sydney, New South Wales, and is the backbone organisation for the Collective Impact initiative ‘Together in 2770’ comprised of local organisations and community members. The Hive’s overarching goal is for all children to start school well, with equal opportunity to learn, be healthy and participate in quality community life.  

The integration of community voice at all stages of the Collective’s advocacy initiatives has been key to centering community across all stages.  

Based on feedback received through The Hive’s measurement, evaluation and learning (MEL) system, including qualitative methods such as Impact Yarns, and Linger, Listen and Learn, it was identified that poor public transportation was significantly affecting community access to services and opportunities. The Collective organized a community transport forum, which was attended by Transport for NSW and Blacktown City Council, allowed community members to directly share their experiences and challenges with those accountable for the changes, resulting in opportunities for those to work with the community to improve transportation in the area.  

The loop of collecting feedback to utilising it, and creating opportunities for the community, ensures their concerns raised with the Collective are taken seriously and has been an essential part of strengthening trust with the community. 

Strengthening Family Relationships – Yarra 

Strengthening Family Relationships – Yarra is a community-led coalition in the City of Yarra, Victoria, involving more than a dozen local agencies working together to support children and young people aged 8 to 14. Developed from the earlier Communities That Care Yarra coalition, the initiative builds on that foundation by bringing together partner agencies and local schools to collaborate with a shared vision and purpose. Supported by a backbone organisation, it is guided by reviews of existing data, a youth survey and community consultations, identifying both risk factors as well as protective factors within the community that can be leveraged. The continued engagement of these stakeholders in the implementation of programs and facilitation roles reinforces the collective purpose and alignment with community priorities throughout the initiative.   

As noted by one of the facilitators in the 2024 evaluation report, ‘When we do work together with other stakeholders towards a shared goal, we are able to get better outcomes for the young people and families we work with.’  

Logan Together – engaging community to co-create a shared vision and purpose 

Logan Together is a community-movement in the City of Logan, Southeast Queensland, committed to the wellbeing of every child (ages 0-8) so that “Logan’s children are happy and healthy now and for generations to come.”  

The initiative brings together a diverse group of people including residents, businesses, community organisations and government agencies, to work on common goals, tackle issues, and celebrate successes together.  

Logan Together’s shared vision and purpose has evolved through an iterative process of community engagement, co-design, and community-led governance. The place-based initiative’s rests on principles articulated in the 2018 ChangeFest Statement, which called for power and responsibility to be shifted to the local community. This statement was codified through the Community Leadership Statement and supported by the 1000 Voices project undertaken in 2022. The Roadmap for Impact. The Collective Plan and the Three Pillars (First Nations first, children at the heart, and community led) sustain this purpose in everyday practice. The Gnirigomindala Karulbo (First Nations leadership and governance group) and Leadership Table (community and cross-sectors governance group) ensure the shared vision remains community-led and continually renewed through dialogue and trust.  

Deep listening, community governance and codified commitments have allowed Logan Together to sustain a shared vision across a large and diverse community. Developing a shared vision and purpose has rebalanced power through First Nations and community-led governance, strengthened trust and relationships across different stakeholders involved in the initiative, and allowed partners to work together to support the children of Logan.  

Go Goldfields – bringing together community, services and government 

Go Goldfields brings together community members, businesses, service organisations and decision-makers to improve outcomes for children and families in Central Goldfields, Victoria. Go Goldfields demonstrates how cross-sector collaboration can drive community-led change. 

Operating as a place-based partnership between state and local government, service providers and the Central Goldfields community, it is anchored by a backbone team that coordinates responses across portfolios, facilitates partnerships, and ensures accountability through shared outcomes. The Leadership Table is chaired independently and comprises senior executives, community members, and representatives from government departments. It is a formal space where collaborative, place-based decision-making takes place with community at the table. 

Relationships are at the heart of Go Goldfields’ social ecological model, which aligns the system, service organisation, community and family through shared accountability and collective learning. Collaborative action is visible through initiatives like The Nest and Every Child, Every Chance, where government, service providers and community co-design and deliver solutions. Effective cross-sector collaboration has made it possible to build an integrated, responsive early-years system in the Central Goldfields that connects families, services and government around a shared vision for every child to thrive

Child and Family Learning Centres – using a relational model to build trust and reciprocity 

Tasmania’s Child and Family Learning Centres (CFLCs) partner with families and communities to improve the health, wellbeing and learning of children from pregnancy to 5 years. The CFLCs use a Family Partnership Model to work with communities and local families. This relational model has been central to the design, implementation and delivery of CFLCs across Tasmania. 

When the Tasmanian CFLCs were first established, staff used the Family Partnership Model (FPM) to reframe how government, services and parents worked together in partnerships. One facilitator explained how the models is ‘founded upon a respect for and encouragement of the expertise and self-determination of parents.’ Simple practices such as arranging the chairs in a circle facilitated equitable contribution and helped to build trust.

The FPM’s relational principles are embedded through ‘working together agreements’ that are co-written by parents and practitioners as a ‘touchstone’ for outlining expectations, handling conflict and guiding respectful communication. These agreements formalise reciprocity by ensuring parents, service providers, and CFC staff can go back to them when things don’t go well.

Joint FPM training sessions helped to foster mutual learning. Through this process, parents developed the confidence to speak up and feel that service providers were listening to them and valuing their input. Trust was never assumed but continually negotiated and strengthened through a cycle of reflection and review that supports joint discovery, learning and change. Establishing and sustaining trust allowed parents and communities who had been historically disengaged to take part as equal partners in service design and decision-making.  

Hands Up Mallee – sustaining a culture of mutual respect

Hands Up Mallee (HUM) is a community-led, place-based initiative based in the Mildura local government area on Latji Latji country in Northwest Victoria. The initiative is working to create a connected community where children and young people thrive, and families matter.

Hands Up Mallee builds trust through authentic, relational engagement and maintains reciprocity through shared decision-making and ongoing collaboration. The 2024 Mid-Term Evaluation highlights the link between HUM’s expertise, care and intentionality when engaging with community and the trust placed in HUM by community members. Engagement practices position community members’ lived knowledge, data, research evidence and service provider understanding as equally valid sources of knowledge. One parent described what this reciprocity meant: “It was respect and I remember [the HUM Team] was always saying, ‘Oh, you’re the experts'”. HUM can operate as a connector, explained a service provider, because they’ve got the rapport with community, with kids, with agencies, and they can make a phone call to get people on board quickly. Programs like HomeBase Hoops have translated these principles into practice through co-creating relaxed spaces where young people and service providers, including police and Youth Justice staff, connect as equals. Through relational practices and structural mechanisms, HUM sustains a culture of mutual respect and shared responsibility.

Ending Rough Sleeping Collaboration Byron Shire – distributing power and influence widely 

The Ending Rough Sleeping Collaboration Byron Shire is the first community-led, place-based initiative in regional New South Wales that aims to end homelessness in the local area, starting with rough sleeping. 

The Collaboration demonstrates equitable contribution and influence by distributing decision-making power across partners, valuing lived experience expertise, and listening deeply to community voices to shape local action. It is a partnership model where contribution looks like a shared commitment, contextual knowledge, and collaboration across different roles. At the heart of the Collaboration is a backbone team, hosted and co-funded by Byron Shire Council. Instead of acting as a ‘traditional’ lead agency, the council’s role via the backbone team is to support and enable the collective efforts of the Collaboration, including helping shape a shared agenda for change, facilitating inclusive community engagement, and supporting research and advocacy. 

Influence is distributed through a collaborative governance group (known as the Local Leaders Group) that includes homelessness services and housing providers, neighbourhood hubs, community and grassroots organisations, not-for profits, and community members. This group is resourced and supported by the backbone team to shape direction and strategy. Lived experience consultants on the Local Leaders Group further ensure that people with lived and living experience of homelessness guide the shared work. These mechanisms ensure knowledge, lived experience and evidence drives solutions and that influence is community-led.