Leading Under Pressure in New South Wales: Navigating the Challenges of Modern Local Government

Local governments are operating in an environment defined by competing pressures—financial constraints, rising service demand, increasing regulatory expectations, and rapid technological change. The session Leading Under Pressure: Navigating the Challenges of Modern Local Government at theLocal Government Focus Day New South Wales brings these issues into focus, examining how councils can continue delivering essential services while adapting to growing operational complexity.

The discussion features Waverley Council Community, Culture & Customer Experience Director Ben Thompson and Bayside Council Chief Information Officer Danijel Andric, representing two complementary leadership perspectives: community-facing service delivery and digital and information governance within local government.

Financial sustainability under ongoing pressure

One of the central challenges facing councils today is financial sustainability. Local governments are expected to maintain and expand essential services while managing infrastructure backlogs and absorbing cost pressures that are often shifted from other levels of government.

At the same time, audit and accountability requirements continue to tighten, requiring councils to demonstrate strong financial stewardship, transparent decision-making, and long-term planning discipline. This creates an ongoing tension between immediate service delivery needs and long-term sustainability.

The session explores how councils are responding to this challenge—not only through efficiency measures, but also through broader reconsiderations of how services are prioritised, funded, and delivered.

Cyber security as a governance responsibility

A key theme of the discussion is the evolving role of cyber security in local government. Increasingly, cyber risk is no longer viewed as a purely technical ICT function. Instead, it is becoming a whole-of-council governance responsibility.

This shift reflects growing regulatory expectations in New South Wales, alongside heightened public scrutiny of how government organisations manage data and digital systems. Councils are now expected to demonstrate not only technical safeguards, but also organisational maturity in governance, risk management, and accountability.

Embedding cyber security into executive decision-making and council-wide governance structures is becoming essential to maintaining trust and operational resilience.

Governance, transparency, and emerging AI oversight

The session also addresses the broader challenge of governance in an increasingly digital environment. Councils are expected to maintain high levels of transparency and accountability while simultaneously adopting new technologies to improve efficiency and service delivery.

Artificial intelligence presents both opportunities and risks in this context. While AI can support better decision-making and service optimisation, it also introduces new governance questions around data integrity, bias, accountability, and appropriate use.

The discussion highlights the importance of establishing clear oversight frameworks early, ensuring that emerging technologies are deployed responsibly and in alignment with community expectations.

Why this matters now

The pressures facing local government are not isolated—they are converging. Financial constraints, cyber security risks, infrastructure backlogs, and digital transformation are all occurring at the same time.

This convergence is reshaping what effective local government leadership looks like. It is no longer sufficient for finance, technology, and service delivery to operate in silos. Instead, councils are being pushed toward more integrated models of governance that connect risk, resources, and community outcomes.

The session is particularly relevant because it reflects this shift in practice, focusing on how councils are adapting in real time rather than in theory.

Why attend the Local Government Focus Day New South Wales

Attending this session as part of Government Innovation Week NSW 2026 provides an opportunity to engage directly with the realities of modern local government leadership.

Participants can expect to:

• Hear practical perspectives from council leaders working across community services and digital governance
• Understand how financial and operational constraints are being managed at the local level
• Explore how cyber security is being elevated to a governance and risk priority
• Gain insight into how councils are beginning to approach AI oversight and responsible adoption
• Learn from peers facing similar challenges across New South Wales and beyond

Closing perspective

Local government is undergoing a period of sustained and structural change. The challenge is no longer just about doing more with less, but about fundamentally rethinking how councils govern, deliver, and adapt in a complex environment.

This session highlights that leadership under pressure is now defined by integration—bringing together financial sustainability, digital resilience, governance maturity, and community trust into a single, coherent approach to public service delivery.