CEO’s Desk – June 2026

LGP is in top gear as we enter our busiest period of the calendar year. The team is highly productive and focused on delivering new value for councils, suppliers and communities.

Working with the LGP Board, we have completed a 5-Year Transformation Growth Plan, a new strategic approach that challenges and aims to reshape LGP for our customers and stakeholders by 2031. We have also finalised our 2026–2029 Strategic Operations Plan, retaining our five strategic pillars while introducing new objectives, strategies and targets to guide delivery over the medium term. We look forward to sharing more details on both strategic initiatives in the coming months.

Alongside this strategic planning, our Capability Grant Program is now into its fifth release. This year, we have doubled the available funding pool to $300,000 for distribution. On Monday 15 June, we look forward to advising applicants whose submissions have been successfully evaluated. Shortly thereafter, we will notify those projects we were unable to accommodate within the available funding, as well as those that were unsuccessful on this occasion. We thank everyone who took the time to share their projects and, if you are unsuccessful this year, we encourage you to apply again for Release 6 in 2027.

LGP is also proud to announce that our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) has received final approval from Reconciliation Australia, arriving just in time for National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week. Our program of work to deliver on the commitments outlined in the RAP is already underway.

As we move into the second half of the year, preparations are well underway for a busy events calendar. June marks the beginning of our announcements for the LGP Annual Conference, which will be held on Tuesday 20 October and Wednesday 21 October at our regular venue, Doltone House, Darling Island, Pyrmont. I will leave the detailed announcements to our Marketing team and Business Development Managers, who will be sharing more information in the coming weeks. Given that attendance across LGP events has been record-breaking this year, we are looking forward to seeing many of you there.

Before the conference, we have our Disaster Response Hybrid Network Meeting on Thursday 18 June. We also have two Sydney Network Meetings scheduled for early August, and registrations are already strong. With room capacity limited, we expect registrations to reach maximum capacity by early July.

Turning to market conditions, LGP continues to receive requests from Approved Contractors to apply temporary fuel surcharges across panel contracts due to ongoing volatility in global fuel markets. While conditions remain uncertain, LGP is actively assessing these requests on a case-by-case basis to ensure any adjustments are justified, transparent and consistent with contractual provisions.

Our approach is to balance cost containment for councils with the need to maintain sustainable contractor participation. LGP will continue to monitor market conditions closely, with the intent of removing temporary surcharges and returning to standard pricing arrangements as soon as practicable.

Microsoft licensing costs also remain a key concern for councils, particularly as many enter renewal cycles in a challenging pricing environment. Managing these costs requires a disciplined approach to demand, scope and utilisation. Councils may wish to identify which Microsoft products and services are actively used, eliminate underutilised or redundant licences, and align licence types to actual user needs.

Renewal periods should also be viewed as structured review points, allowing councils to reassess requirements rather than simply rolling forward existing arrangements. This may include validating user numbers, challenging default product bundles and ensuring only essential services are retained.

As always, our focus remains on supporting councils to navigate challenges, identify opportunities and deliver value to their communities. Whether through strategic planning, capability building, advocacy, events or procurement support, LGP remains committed to providing practical solutions and trusted partnership across local government.

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and support. We look forward to sharing further updates in the months ahead and to connecting with many of you through our upcoming events and initiatives.