1.4 Best employer

Council’s goal is to develop a high performing organisation that has a strong culture of ‘working together doing the right things the best way’. Council is recognised by the community as a leading local government authority and as a 'best employer'.

Our organisation is doing this by pursuing the philosophy within the Australian

Business Excellence Framework.

Business Excellence is how Council ensures that it continually measures and improves our organisational results for the community. It is about:

 having clear direction and knowing how everyone all contributes to the big picture  having a focus on our customers  implementing best practice  doing our best every single day.

Port Stephens Council’s Enterprise Agreement (2021) governs our industrial relations legislation. Based on the principles of Business Excellence, the focus of the EA is to build and maintain a fair, balanced and cooperative relationship between Council, its employees and other stakeholders.

Council is committed to being the best employer and is continually developing strategies to enhance the working conditions of its employees. Council is committed to:

 attracting and retaining quality employees through market-competitive salaries and attractive working conditions  providing systems to allow all employees to enjoy a safe and healthy working environment and support their wellbeing  individual learning and development programs for all employees  giving employees a voice through proactive consultation processes  building career opportunities internally and externally  building a skilled and progressive workforce.

The organisation has a clearly articulated and corresponding four-year Corporate Systems and Data Management Strategy. This ensures that we manage technology improvements in a considered manner, synergising technology requirements with workforce management strategies.