Registrations closed (for now!)

Follow this page to be notified when expressions of interest re-open.

Between Wednesday 11 June and Wednesday 9 July, Council invited expressions of interest from established community groups and organisations to actively participate in Council's engagement program.

We would like to thank all community groups and organisations who registered. We sincerely appreciate your input and look forward to improving the way Council engages and communicates with your group.

If your group or organisation missed the expression of interest period but would like to be involved, please click the '+Follow' button at the top of this page. We will endeavour to run an 'always-on' expression of interest campaign and will notify project followers when registrations re-open.

About the project

Council's Engagement Team want to hear from community groups and organisations to help us understand who they are, their key areas of interest and how we can better engage with them.

This project is part of our commitment to better understand our diverse community. It will help us plan for more inclusive and meaningful engagement and build trust through transparent communication.

What if our community group already communicates with a Council department?

That’s great - and we want to build on that!

Many community groups already have relationships with specific Council teams, such as Community Development, Open Space and Recreation, Libraries or Environmental Services.

This project is not about replacing those connections. Instead, it’s about the Engagement Team creating a whole-of-Council view of who our community groups are, what they care about and how they prefer to be engaged with.

This will help us identify gaps where groups may not be engaged in broader planning or consultation and ensure your group is informed about relevant projects and opportunities across all areas of Council - not just the ones you already work with.

  • Included in this project

    • Community groups
    • Community organisations
    • Community agencies
    • Not-for-profit community organisations
    • Social enterprises

  • Not included in this project

    • Individuals acting in a personal capacity
    • Businesses or commercial entities
    • Matters relating to direct service delivery and operational projects

We are seeking to understand:

  • Who our community groups are
  • The services you provide
  • The people you provide it to
  • The areas you service
  • Your group's interests in relation to Council's engagement opportunities
  • How you'd like to be engaged
  • Any challenges or opportunities you see in engaging with Council

The information you provide will be used by Council to:

  • Build an up-to-date list of community groups across the Central Coast LGA
  • Inform future engagement planning and ensure relevant groups are notified about engagement projects related to their interests
  • Help Council understand the interests, needs and strengths of our community
  • Identify challenges and opportunities to support more transparent, inclusive and meaningful engagement

For this project, we are wanting to hear from community groups specifically. However, there are still ways you can get involved.

Click the green ‘log in/join’ button at the top of this website to select your interests and register to be updated about new engagement projects that matter to you.


Thank you and next steps

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the community groups and organisations who registered their interest and shared valuable feedback during Council’s first Expression of Interest period.

Your input has been instrumental in shaping how Council connects with the community. Following the EOI, we developed the Community Engagement Report – Connecting with Community Groups, which analysed the feedback received and identified key opportunities for improvement.

As a result, Council has endorsed 9 key actions aimed at strengthening relationships with community groups, improving communication, and enhancing engagement processes.

These actions include proactive notifications, improved relationship management and increased opportunities for early input. Each action is designed to make it easier for community groups to stay informed and get involved.

Key actions following the EOI

Legend: ✅ = completed, 🕑 = in progress

  • Action 1 ✅

    Council will proactively notify community groups of engagement projects related to their interests and service areas via email and continue to explore other avenues for communication in future community engagement projects.

  • Action 2 🕑

    Council will run an ‘always-on’ engagement campaign via YourVoiceOurCoast.com for community groups and organisations to sign up to be part of the engagement database.

  • Action 3 🕑

    Council will identify opportunities for pre-consultation with respondents. This may include early conversations with identified respondents on key projects to help shape the engagement activity; increased opportunities for focus groups on projects which align with areas of interest (for example, environmental or sustainability); or engaging identified groups in various Wards for place-based engagement initiatives relevant to their area.

  • Action 4 🕑

    To address the gaps identified in the expression of interest data, Council will conduct further research on community groups and organisations on the Central Coast to identify ‘hard-to-reach’ stakeholders or those unaware of the EOI, and proactively contact these stakeholders to provide information about connecting with Council through this database, and potential benefits from doing so.

  • Action 5 🕑

    To enhance Council’s relationship management with respondents, Consultation Manager software will be integrated with Council's engagement platform for 100% of Council community engagement projects post software implementation. This will allow Council to better build and track relationships with identified community groups and organisations and aim for continuous improvement. The software will develop and implement a single-source database to contact residents in ways they’ve requested.

  • Action 6 ✅

    The information supplied in the ‘Community Engagement Report - Connecting with Community Groups EOI Analysis’, notably the Ward-based analyses, may be used as reference material for Councillors when seeking to engage directly with community members within their Ward, or other Wards across the Central Coast local government area. The engagement report will be provided to Councillors.

  • Action 7 ✅

    Council will request a list of events, meetings and activities of respondent groups and organisations that Councillors may wish to attend. Once respondents have provided this information, it will be collated and provided to Councillors.

  • Action 8 ✅

    Council will proactively provide the names and official contact details of Central Coast Councillors to the respondents who identified that they would like to be able to contact Councillors.

  • Action 9 🕑

    Council’s Engagement Team can provide annual updates to Councillors on the status of the community engagement database and any identified trends in data provided by respondents. Councillors may request further information about the respondents, noting that Council will only provide data to Councillors that respondents have consented to being provided.

Your attention is drawn to the provisions of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 which allows for possible access to certain public and personal documentation. View our privacy statement.