The Governance and Policy One City Program team and Gripfast were tasked with reviewing and redrafting Gold Coast City Council’s 134 policies, aiming to reduce their number, create consistency of language and style, and improve accessibility. The team used a co-design approach to design and deliver 43 workshops attended by 275+ participants.  The workshops ensured staff feedback was heard, understood and included in the newly drafted policies.  Formal workshop participation feedback achieved and exceptional collaboration rating of 4.9 out of 5.

A key focus was separating policy from procedure, which helped streamline the policy landscape, resulting in 51 redrafted or new policies and the reduction of Council policies from 84 to 52, and Organisational policies from 50 to 11.

This process, completed in under a year, demonstrated effective teamwork and led to the retirement of 71 policies. The outcome reflects a commitment to clarity, simplicity, and compliance, with policies tailored to the needs of their intended audiences.

Deliverables 

• Collaborative workshops to establish detailed project plan, schedule and responsibilities.
• Incorporated within the workshops were:
  • Cultural Support, Education (new framework, legislation, and strategic drivers)
  • Change management – including staff in the process
  • Policy Discussion
• Workshop of policies grouped ‘packages,’ each containing policies of similar nature and subject matter.
• New policy development negotiated with subject matter experts and policy users. Tone, level and style targeted at those most likely to refer to the policy (i.e. Gold Coast Citizens).
• Four new policies
• 47 policies redrafted including combining several policies into one.
• Final summary report and recommendations