- Customer Request System8
- Rates and Property Register8
- Planning Application Register8
- Works and Asset Maintenance Orders8
Serving our community
The Shire of Brightwater is a rural and regional council in north-eastern Victoria serving around 24,000 residents across six townships and a large farming hinterland.
CAQA Shire of Brightwater, local government council services
The Shire of Brightwater is a rural and regional council in north-eastern Victoria serving around 24,000 residents across six townships and a large farming hinterland. The council delivers the full range of local government services: rates and property administration, statutory and strategic planning, building approvals, roads, drainage, footpaths and bridges, waste and recycling, animal management, parking and local law enforcement, libraries, maternal and child health, and community development. Nine elected councillors set the strategic direction and the Chief Executive Officer leads the administration that delivers it.
The administration is organised into six directorates and departments that report to the Chief Executive Officer. Customer-facing staff work from the shire offices in Brightwater and the customer service centre at Marlow Flat between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm on weekdays. The works depot at Kellerton runs a day shift from 7:00 am with an on-call roster for after-hours road, tree and drainage emergencies. The transfer station opens four days a week. Council meets on the third Tuesday of each month and the meeting is streamed live.
Community first
Every decision starts with the people it affects. Staff listen, explain and follow through.
Integrity
The shire acts lawfully, transparently and without favour, and records the reasons for its decisions.
Respect
Residents, councillors, contractors and colleagues are treated with courtesy, even when the answer is no.
Stewardship
Public money, public assets and the natural environment are managed for the long term, not just the current budget.
Services and operations
To deliver responsive, fair and well-managed services that make Brightwater a safe, connected and thriving place to live, work and visit.
Rates and property
Levying and collecting general rates, municipal and waste charges, maintaining the valuation and property database, and administering payment arrangements, rebates and financial hardship applications.
Planning and building
Assessing planning permit applications under the Brightwater Planning Scheme, issuing building permits and occupancy approvals, and providing pre-application advice to residents, farmers and developers.
Roads and infrastructure
Maintaining 1,640 kilometres of sealed and unsealed roads, bridges, footpaths, kerbs, drains and street lighting through a scheduled maintenance program and an after-hours emergency response.
Waste and environment
Weekly kerbside collection, the Yarrabin Road transfer station, hard waste, roadside weed control, and environmental health inspections of food premises, septic systems and accommodation.
Community safety and local laws
Animal registration and management, parking controls, fire hazard inspections, local law permits and enforcement, and the handling of complaints and disputes between neighbours.
Community and library services
Two branch libraries, a mobile library, maternal and child health, youth programs, community grants, event permits and support for the eighteen volunteer committees that manage halls and reserves.
Six departments, one workplace
Each department has a purpose, a lead, responsibilities, performance measures and the systems it works in. Students are placed in a department by their scenario.
Governance and Customer Service
Runs the front counter, the call centre and the customer request system, supports council meetings and councillors, maintains the ...
Visit departmentFinance and Rates
Prepares the annual budget and long-term financial plan, levies and collects rates and charges, manages payments, debtors and cred...
Visit departmentPlanning and Building Services
Administers the Brightwater Planning Scheme, assesses planning permit applications, provides strategic planning advice to council,...
Visit departmentInfrastructure and Works
Plans, builds and maintains the shire's roads, bridges, footpaths, drainage, buildings, parks and plant fleet from the Kellerton d...
Visit departmentCommunity Safety and Regulatory Services
Enforces local laws, parking controls, animal management and fire prevention requirements, conducts environmental health inspectio...
Visit departmentCommunity Development and Libraries
Delivers library, youth, early years and maternal and child health services, runs the community grants program, coordinates commun...
Visit departmentWorking systems with real records
Every system is live in your browser: create, update, search, move cards on a board and export what you did. Reset returns the seed data at any time.
Customer Request System
Logs every request, enquiry and complaint received from the community and tracks it to closure against the service standard.
8 recordsRates and Property Register
Holds the rateable property records, valuations, rate balances, payment arrangements and hardship applications.
8 recordsPlanning Application Register
Tracks every planning permit application from lodgement through referral, notice and decision within the statutory timeframe.
8 recordsWorks and Asset Maintenance Orders
Schedules and records every road, footpath, drainage and building maintenance job allocated to the depot crews.
8 recordsIncident and Hazard Register
Records every injury, near miss, hazard and aggressive customer event across the shire and tracks corrective actions.
8 recordsInbox
8 work requests from managers and colleagues, each linked to a scenario or a document.
Open inboxEight workplace scenarios
Sign in as a role, read the brief, work through the tasks using the documents and systems, then print an evidence summary for your assessor.
Log and triage a day of customer requests
You are the relieving Customer Service Officer at the Brightwater front counter.
Open scenario Intermediate 2 to 3 hoursAssess a financial hardship application
You are the Rates Officer in Finance and Rates.
Open scenario Intermediate 3 to 4 hoursAssess a change of use application in a heritage overlay
You are the Planning Officer in Planning and Building Services.
Open scenario Entry 2 to 3 hoursPrepare the School Lane footpath repair site
You are a Works Crew Leader at the Kellerton depot.
Open scenario Advanced 3 to 4 hoursReview market day parking controls and prepare a court brief
You are the Senior Ranger in Community Safety and Regulatory Services.
Open scenario Intermediate 3 to 4 hoursPlan the Marlow Flat skate park consultation
You are the Community Development Officer.
Open scenario Advanced 4 to 5 hoursPrepare the council report on the asset management strategy
You are the Coordinator Asset Management reporting to the Manager Infrastructure and Works.
Open scenario Intermediate 2 to 3 hoursReport and investigate two depot incidents
You are the Occupational Health and Safety Coordinator.
Open scenarioNotice board All notices
- Operations Council meeting Tuesday 15 September
10 September 2026 - Safety Manual handling refresher for depot staff
11 September 2026 - Operations Rates instalment one due 30 September
14 September 2026
Coming up Calendar
- 15/09Ordinary council meeting
6:00 pm, Council chamber, Brightwater - 21/09Depot planning meeting and pre-start
7:00 am, Kellerton depot crib room - 24/09Manual handling refresher
7:00 am, Kellerton depot - 30/09Rates instalment one due
5:00 pm, Customer service centres
Mapped to the Local Government
Every scenario lists the current units of competency and qualifications it supports, with assessor notes and a printable evidence summary. Use it with your own assessment tools or ask CAQA for a matched kit.