Client: Brisbane Powerhouse State: QLD To build on the existing brand presence and attendance at the MELT: Festival of Queer Arts and Culture and attract an audience from interstate and internationally, Brisbane Powerhouse has proposed to expand the festival from the confines of the Brisbane Powerhouse. The new festival, referred to as MELT Open, will be delivered across inner Brisbane (including in New Farm, Fortitude Valley, Newstead, Brisbane CBD, and West End). In support of MELT Open, Brisbane Powerhouse is seeking funds from Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) and Brisbane Economic Development Agency. In developing the funding applications, Brisbane Powerhouse engaged AEC to conduct an economic impact assessment to demonstrate that MELT Open will contribute to the Queensland economy, attract visitors to Queensland, and enhance the profile of Queensland. The economic impact assessment demonstrated that in the first year of operations MELT Open would support net additional $53.5 million in industry output, $27.0 million in gross regional product, roughly 238 FTE jobs supporting $17.8 million in wages and salaries paid within the Brisbane LGA economy (including direct and flow on activity).

Client: Queensland Futures institute State: QLD AEC was engaged by the Queensland Futures Institute (QFI) to undertake a comprehensive study and deliver recommendations for consideration by Government and Councils regarding the purpose, requirements, and how benefits are realised from regional economic hubs. The study involved: Development of a visual report card benchmarking the state and scope of current challenge areas for all Queensland Councils Identification of key success factors, gaps, activities, and policy settings required to support regional economic hub establishment and growth in Queensland Comparison of roles that are played by all levels of government and other stakeholder to achieve regional economic growth against best practice learnings from other jurisdictions Providing practical and relevant recommendations that can be facilitated by QFI and stakeholders to crystallise the benefits from a regional economic hub strategy Informing the policy development program of QFI in relation to regional economic hub strategy and key messaging Engaging with stakeholders to build acceptance and participation in the longer-term program. Part of the study also involved identifying further work required to build a defensible policy platform, to support initiatives in this arena. It was identified that there are opportunities to develop a distributed network approach to modelling current gaps in the economic development space; a model which has not yet been developed for Australia. This was recognised as an essential component of the process to identify opportunities for regional economic development. The model will reveal where resources should be directed - into areas which support and improve connectivity and reliance between sectors. As such, Stage 2 of the project will involve a ‘systems mapping project’ for regional economic hubs to identify critical areas for economic and social policy focus. This stage will also involve identification of short-term policy opportunities off the back of the model findings, as well as identification of measurement targets for success.

With a focus on key population data, this initial release includes information based around place of enumeration (where you were on Census night) and place of usual residence (where you normally live). Access the data topics of the 2021 Census uploaded to DataAU that includes: Census Population by Age and Sex Indigenous Population by Age and Sex ATSI Highest Year of Schooling PoUR (Place of usual residence) Type of Education Institution Attending Country of Birth Family Composition Dwelling Structure Household Composition Personal Income Household Income These are now accessible by logging in to your account at www.dataau.com.au/login. With a phased release of the 2021 Census, DataAU will continue to make updates available to users as they are released, with Tranche 2 being released by the ABS in October, 2022. Stay tuned for additional data as we work hard to ensure quality data and insight is at your fingertips. https://lnkd.in/dS7DnnKi

Client: WSP State: NSW AEC were engaged by WSP to provide land acquisition cost estimates for benchmarking and assurance purposes as part of a review of Council infrastructure project funding applications submissions under the Accelerated Infrastructure Fund (AIF). AEC reviewed seven projects each requiring land valuation estimates and acquisition cost estimates prepared. The land acquisition cost benchmarking exercise aimed to capture the cost of acquiring the freehold interest in the land (i.e., market value assessment), and where applicable, added land acquisition cost allowances which were then compared and benchmarked against the land acquisition cost estimates proposed by the local council for the shortlisted infrastructure projects as part of the review process. Project values ranged from $10mil to $50mil. Source: Department of Planning and Environment

Client: NRMA State: NSW NRMA were considering the divestment of multiple real estate assets across New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). These assets ranged from office towers through to motor servicing facilities. To assist NRMA in their decision-making process, AEC were engaged to prepare a Divestment Options Analysis Report for the selection of assets to be divested. The purpose of the engagement was to identify the most appropriate divestment strategy and potential divestment options available to NRMA. The scenarios deemed most appropriate, feasible and conforming with current local planning development controls were then tested using traditional real estate valuation techniques to determine an estimated potential sale realisation for each asset. Source: FDC Building

Client: Dubbo Regional Council State: NSW The Dubbo Regional Council (Council) is a local government area located in the Central West and Oranga regions of New South Wales. In recent financial years, Council has reported consolidated new operating deficits for three prior financial years (2019/20, 2020,21 and 2021/22) and adopted a budget for 2022/23 with a net operating deficit. Underlying the consolidated net operating deficits were significant operating deficits in the General Fund - which includes all services other than those funded by the Water Fund and Sewer Fund. AEC was commissioned to undertake an urgent and independent review of the financial sustainability of the Council. AEC provided Council the findings of the review and provided effective strategies to improve the Council's financial sustainability and compliance with the Local Government Act 1993. AEC addressed Council's past financial performance and their current financial position, reviewed the costs of services in liaison with respective service managers, conducted a review of the forward plans, with a focus on asset management, and identified the implications on the long-term financial plan. From this, developed AEC developed an independent forecast of Council's forward financial position and presented strategic options for Council to improve its projected position and long-term sustainability. Furthermore, a comprehensive review of the current Resourcing Strategies, which encompassed the Council's Long-term Financial Plan, Strategic Asset Management Plan, and Workforce Plan, was conducted. This review generated recommendations aimed at enhancing future performance and ensuring alignment among these strategies as well as with other existing Council strategies and plans.

Client: Snowy Monaro Regional Council State: NSW AEC was engaged by Council to undertake an independent financial sustainability review of the Council. On completion of the project Council resolved to accept the 24 recommendations provided by AEC, including preparing a revised Long Term Financial Plan, Asset Management Strategy and Workforce Management Strategy and submitting an expression of interest to IPART for a special rate variation application to significantly increase the general rates. AEC provided the following as the project deliverables: Overview of the historical and current financial performance. Development of an independent forecast of 10 year forward financial statements and reserve balances. Overview of the current services and adopted strategies and plans for future provision of services. Review of the financial impact of the Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct. Review of the sustainability of operational activities from the current revenue base. Review of the asset management approach and capital works plan. Benchmarking with other Group 4 Councils. Development of external fact sheets and community engagement. Stakeholder engagement with OLG and other key stakeholders. Final Report and External Fact Sheet on key findings. Source: AEC

Client: City of Ipswich Start: QLD Ipswich City Council commissioned AEC working in partnership with Embervision to undertake a comprehensive review of its Libraries Strategy and to provide a roadmap for development over the next 20 years. The project included: Information and professional analysis into the socio-economic and social demographic impacts of the Ipswich community profile Detailed analysis of the library services performance against State and National based KPIs and targets and directly against selected peers The application of industry standards to accurately calculate the spaces and resources that will be required in 5, 10 and 15 years, and identify investment priorities

Client: Mackay Council State: QLD Council required a renewed strategic planning process that would provide clear direction and focus for the library service and support the prioritisation of resource allocation based on the expectations and needs of the Mackay Region’s community. The primary purpose of the Strategy was to: • Provide broad observations on the local, regional, national and global trends in the provision of library services; • Consider the input and feedback received from the Mackay community and staff on future library needs; and • To identify any key gaps and initiatives to focus on over the next five years. The first part of the Strategy provided information about the Mackay community, library sector trends and how the library service was performing currently. The second part described the opportunities for the library service with a final part providing a suggested strategic framework that described key themes and activities. Professional standards and benchmarks, including National and State data were used to identify gaps in service provision and create tactics to improve them, thereby reducing the risk of services becoming out of step with their communities and unable to meet demand. Report: https://www.connectingmackay.com.au/39170/documents/86565

Client: City of Sydney State: NSW AEC was engaged by City of Sydney to develop a strategy that would create better place outcomes and enable a higher mix of social and affordable housing and reduced market housing for the Waterloo Estate. The strategy considered the feasibility of development and that various levers that could be used to extract value. As part of the review, AEC was asked to consider the viability and the impact of using Community Housing Providers as the lead developers to ensure that profits were used for purpose. Our analysis included the following: Feasibility modelling to address the optimisation of cash flow from the development vs. the optimisation of social housing output, with the development being structure to deliver the maximum number of social and affordable rental dwellings; Delivery models including Development and Operating Corporations Evaluation of different governance models for the delivery of the redevelopment. AEC’s findings provided a basis to facilitate discussions between key stakeholders, with the ultimate aim of facilitating stakeholder consensus regarding the approach to be taken in the redevelopment of the Estate. Source: City of Sydney

Client: Ku-ring-gai Council State: NSW AEC Group was commissioned by Ku-ring-gai Council (Council) to carry out a Retail and Commercial Centres Strategy (‘the Strategy’) to assist with place-based future planning for the centres. AEC partnered with LocationIQ and SJB Planning to provide Council with a comprehensive analysis to allow for informed decision-making regarding future land use. The objective of the Retail and Commercial Centres Strategy was to give Council, the community and development industry direction in terms of the future planning of centres in Ku-ring-gai and to provide for sustainable retail and commercial centres that meet the community’s needs. The following works were undertaken to inform the Strategy: Analysis of the existing retail and commercial centres, including a floorspace audit of the local and neighbourhood centres in the LGA, and competitive analysis and assessment of the provision of surrounding retail facilities and commercial precincts, and the impact of these centres to Ku-ring-gai. Analysis of the macro-economic trends influencing the future of retail and commercial lands, and land use patterns alongside population changes and growth. Property market assessment to ascertain respective performance and role of the retail and commercial land (built form, offer/amenity, and market pricing/dynamics) to understand market desirability and aggregated patterns of supply and demand. Assessment of population growth and projection of future employment growth to ascertain future retail and commercial floorspace demand under baseline and alternate scenarios. The findings informed the principles and recommendations for Council’s planning framework to facilitate and accommodate population growth and retail and commercial floorspace demand. The Strategy investigated opportunities for growth within the centres, as well as defining the role and function of each centre. A centres hierarchy was also developed to identify the type and extent of future floor space required for retail and commercial uses, and optimum locations for the additional floorspace. Source: AEC

Client: City of Ballarat State: VIC The proposed extension of the main runway at Ballarat Airport, coupled with the development of adjacent surplus Crown land for industrial development, provided Council with the opportunity to explore options for the future Airport development, ownership, and management arrangements. AEC and our aviation partner, Avistra, undertook a situation and market analysis of the Airport and also provided a broader analysis of the aviation sector. This work identified emerging aviation and aerospace business and broader technology & advanced manufacturing opportunities that had the potential to support a more commercial approach to the management of the Airport in the future. Additionally, a review of the potential governance options for operating the Airport were considered including retaining ownership, establishing a special purpose vehicle, leasing, and divestment. Subsequent financial analysis and recommendations supported Council decision-making on the next steps in determining the future strategic direction for Airport operations. Source: Shutterstock