This page helps you stay informed and updated on Project Uplift’s progress
In March 2025, the Town of Port Hedland Council was presented with the results of an organisational health check. The health check identified a series of themes and areas of risk across the organisation that required remediation. The Town’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) developed a Forward Improvement Plan (FIP) to capture and prioritise the tasks and actions that needed to be progressed to drive organisational improvement.
The FIP proposed a coordinated, organisation-wide approach to stablishing risks in the short term, strengthen governance frameworks and control environments in the medium term, and embedding sustainability, discipline and assurance maturity over time.
What is Project Uplift?
Project Uplift is an organisation-wide improvement program established to deliver the FIP. The improvement program is an organisational priority, and is anticipated to take up to two years to deliver, before the outcomes and benefits are fully embedded.
Initially, Project Uplift will:
- Provide an early-stage implementation, governance and reporting framework
- Coordinate how improvement actions are delivered across the organisation
- Support the Town through a structured and managed approach to improvement.
From July 2026, Project Uplift is expected to be delivered in three phases:
Stabilise (0–6 months)
- Purpose: Address the issues identified as being most critical.
- Outcome: Delivery of critical priority actions to address immediate control weaknesses and establish foundational governance, financial and system controls.
Control Strengthening (6–12 months)
- Purpose: Address issues of high priority.
- Outcome: Implementation of core frameworks, procedures, registers and reporting mechanisms across key business functions.
Integration and Capability (12–24 months)
- Purpose: Address the issues necessary to ensure long-term sustainability.
- Outcome: Alignment of systems, planning, workforce and assurance processes to support integrated decision-making.
At the conclusion of Phase 3, the CEO will focus on embedding, validating and assuring the outcomes of Project Uplift, and returning the organisation to business as usual.
Why is Project Uplift important?
The impact from Project Uplift will mean a more stable and supportive organisational environment, clearer decision-making, and stronger trust and confidence – from Council, from the community and our partners and stakeholders, and from within the workplace.
Project Uplift is about setting the Town up for long term success, strengthening the organisational culture, and supporting a positive reputation that the community can all be proud of.
How much will it cost?
Successfully delivering Project Uplift and achieving the improvements identified in the FIP will require a significant, organisation-wide commitment over the next two years. It is anticipated to cost up to $1 million in Financial Year 2026/2027.
The FIP makes clear that delivering Project Uplift is not discretionary. The issues identified across governance, financial management, procurement, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), asset management, workforce capability and organisational culture are significant and interconnected. Without sustained investment to address these issues, the Town will remain exposed to ongoing control weaknesses, increased organisational risk, inefficient service delivery and reduced community confidence.
Investing in Project Uplift is an investment in rebuilding the Town’s governance, capability and long-term sustainability, and in ensuring the organisation is better equipped to meet the expectations of Council and the Hedland community.
How will Project Uplift be governed?
As outlined in section 5.41 of the Local Government Act 1995, the CEO is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Town. Delivering the benefits of Project Uplift is the responsibility of the CEO, who will have KPIs assigned by Council linked to successful project delivery.
To support project delivery, oversight, alignment and reporting, the CEO has established a Project Uplift Steering Group. The purpose of the Steering Group is to:
- Provide strategic oversight
• Assist in advancing individual workstreams
• Make decisions within the CEO’s delegation
• Monitor project progress and provide guidance
• Monitor project risks and dependencies
• Provide regular reporting to the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee and Council
• Ensure Project Uplift is communicated effectively to internal and external stakeholders
The Local Government Inspectorate General appointed Monitor, Andrew Hammond, is expected to participate as an observer and adviser to both Council and the CEO.
How will Project Uplift be delivered?
Project Uplift will be delivered using a structured organisational change approach designed to ensure that improvements are embedded in organisational culture, behaviours, decision-making, systems, policies and procedures.
This approach will be based on the following principles:
- Organisation-wide ownership and collective responsibility, with the Chief Executive Officer, the Project Uplift Steering Group, the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), managers (SLT), and over time, the wider organisation all contributing to delivery
- Visible leadership and clear accountability, including defined responsibilities and performance measures
- Regular monitoring, assurance and adjustment, including reporting, feedback, risk monitoring and periodic review
- Phased implementation, commencing with stabilisation of critical, high-risk issues, followed by strengthening of controls and, finally, embedding and assurance
- Integration with existing operations, so that Project Uplift outcomes become part of how the Town operates rather than a separate or temporary exercise
- Engagement and co-design, ensuring Elected Members and, where appropriate, the community are involved in shaping and implementing improvements
- Active staff involvement, engagement and regular communication so that everyone understands the purpose of Project Uplift, and can contribute to solutions and support successful implementation
- Targeted use of external specialist support where capability, capacity or independence is not immediately available internally, with a focus on transferring knowledge and building internal capability
Initially, parts of Project Uplift are likely to be delivered by external specialists, with the Project Uplift Steering Group providing strategic oversight and support with delivery where required. Over time, and under the guidance of the CEO, the Town’s leadership team will play a greater role in planning and delivering workstream progress.
How can the community feel confident of progress?
Success in delivering Project Uplift will be measured not only by completion of workstream actions, but by demonstrable improvement across governance, controls, leadership, organisational culture and performance.
Progress should be assessed through:
- Reduction in overdue actions, policy reviews and unresolved audit findings
• Improvement in staff survey results relating to leadership, trust and culture
• Reduction in CEO memoranda, bypass approvals and delegation exceptions
• Reduction in repeat control failures, audit findings and compliance breaches
• Improved Council confidence, community sentiment and organisational reputation.
The CEO will provide regular Project Uplift progress reporting to the Council’s Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee and Council direct. These meetings are open for the community to attend in-person, and are livestreamed for people to watch online.
Can the community have a say in Project Uplift?
Members of the Hedland community are always welcome to attend monthly Ordinary Council Meetings and regular Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee meetings. These meetings provide an opportunity for the community to ask questions or provide feedback.
As Project Uplift progresses, there may be additional structured opportunities for the community to provide feedback, and those opportunities will be well publicised across the Town’s communications channels, such as this website, the Town’s main Facebook page and the LinkedIn page.
One of the ways the Project Uplift’s progress will be measured formally is through the biennial Community Sentiment Survey.
Download the Forward Improvement Plan
The Forward Improvement Plan (FIP) provides the foundation for Project Uplift and outlines the actions Council has adopted.
You can access the full plan here
*Note that the Project Uplift Implementation Plan will be continually updated as the program progresses.