Draft Introduction

Our commitment to reconciliation

We acknowledge that the region known as Alpine Shire is the traditional land of many First Nations peoples. We acknowledge all Traditional Owners as the custodians of their Country, we recognise their rich and diverse cultural history and continuous connections to Country, and thank them for sharing their lands and cultures. 

We acknowledge the First Nations peoples of (in alphabetical order) Bpangerang, Dalka Warra Mittung, Dhuduroa Waywurru, Duduroa Dhargal, Gunaikurnai, Jaithmathang, Taungurung, and Waywurru. 

We pay our respects to all Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to ancestors that guide through history, and emerging leaders that will lead the way into the future. 

As the closest level of government to our communities, we recognise the important role we play in reconciliation through advocacy, education, self-reflection, and embedding actions that are endorsed by, and accountable to, all departments in our organisation.

‘Fostering a future of healing and reconciliation requires all Australians to truthfully and respectfully, acknowledge the past. It is only through understanding and accepting the wrongs of the past, and the often-intergenerational impacts of these wrongs, that Australia can make adequate amends for the injustices faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples since European colonisation and ensure that they are never repeated.’ 
Bringing Them Home

OUR RECONCILIATION JOURNEY TO DATE

We commenced our reconciliation journey in 2022 by registering with Reconciliation Australia to develop a Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan. While we still have much work to do, we are proud of the steps we have taken in our reconciliation journey so far: 

• Launching our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan in January 2023; 
• Reviewing and delivering cultural awareness training to staff;
• Publicly acknowledging Traditional Custodians on our buildings and in our meetings; and
• Delivering cultural awareness initiatives and activities, including Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week.

Our Council Plan outlines the key priorities and initiatives that will guide the next stage of our reconciliation journey. We acknowledge that reconciliation is an ongoing process and we recognise the continued effort needed to drive future progress. 

We are committed to working with First Nations communities, residents, and organisations to continue our reconciliation journey and ensure our actions lead to meaningful and measurable change.

Our organisation

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

• Executive Assistant (CEO)
• Coordinator Human Resources

DIRECTOR ASSETS

Manager Engineering and Assets

• Asset Development
• Capital Works
• Engineering

Manager Growth and Future

• Economic Development
• Property and Contracts
• Strategic Planning
• Sustainability
• Waste

Manager Operations

• Asset Maintenance
• Civil Works
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Open Spaces

DIRECTOR CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY

Manager Community Development

• Community Development
• Emergency Management
• Maternal and Child Health
• Youth

Manager Corporate

• Accounting and Payroll
• Governance, Rates, and Records
• Health, Safety, and Risk
• High Country Libraries Hub
• Information Communication and Technology
• Procurement

Manager Customer Experience

• Customer Experience
• Engagement and Communications
• Events
• Library Services
• Visitor Information Centres

Manager Regulatory Services

• Building Services
• Compliance and Local Laws
• Environmental Health
• Statutory Planning

Executive summary

This document includes the Community Vision, Council Plan, and Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan.

Our Community Vision is for a strong and adaptable Alpine Shire that embraces change, supports new ideas, and leads with confidence. Through community, sustainability, and bold leadership, we help to create a vibrant future.

The Community Vision has been developed in partnership with the Deliberative Panel and Councillors to guide the development of the plan and create a vision for a future that will support our communities to thrive. Our Council Plan is driven by three objectives, which provide context and purpose for our operations and service delivery. The objectives are informed by six strategic directions, which detail how we will work as an organisation to achieve the objectives. The overall structure of our Plan is shown below.

STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS

• Focus on core service delivery
• Empowering communities in decision making
• Transparent and accountable leadership
• Evidence-based and sustainable organisation
• Partnerships to achieve great results
• Celebrating our achievements

OBJECTIVES

• Customer Focused Alpine

We continue to build a customer-first culture, supported by robust systems across the organisation. We will put communication as our highest priority. Even when we are delivering challenging news or making difficult decisions, we aim to be prompt, transparent, and meet the commitments of our customer-first culture.

• Sustainable and Resilient Alpine

To progress a sustainable and resilient Alpine Shire, we will make bold, future-focused, and evidence-based decisions that serve the long-term interests of our communities. We will be prepared to navigate future opportunities, challenges, risks and uncertainties.

• Vibrant and Healthy Alpine

We recognise the unique qualities that make Alpine Shire a great place to live, play, visit, and do business. We are committed to balancing the needs of residents, visitors and businesses while maintaining and enriching our natural environment, public spaces, and community facilities.

MUNICIPAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Our Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan is integrated within our Plan and has been prepared based on evidence of the key health and wellbeing challenges facing our communities. It is aligned with the actions in the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2023-27 and has been informed by engagement with our communities, local health services, and community organisations. We recognise that there are a wide range of health and wellbeing-related challenges in our communities and we are committed to working in partnership across the health and community sector to help address these challenges. 

Health and wellbeing is central to a wide range of services that we deliver, from maintaining our parks, playgrounds and facilities, to youth engagement, climate change resilience, and ensuring equitable access to services and facilities for all of our communities. Throughout our Plan, actions that contribute to our Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan are identified with a heart symbol.

Engagement overview

The Community Vision, Council Plan, and Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan have been prepared with extensive consultation and involvement of our communities, starting in July 2024.

We received a wide range of feedback from surveys, pop up sessions, and community submissions from our residents, ratepayers, and business community. 

We also undertook a deliberative engagement process, which brought a representative group of community members from across Alpine Shire together with Councillors. This group came together over a series of six workshops to review, understand, and provide direction on wider community feedback. This process, and the valuable feedback and discussions gained from this group, has directly informed the basis of this document.

OVERVIEW OF OUR ENGAGEMENT

• Surveys | We received valuable feedback through 141 completed surveys, providing us with a broad spectrum of community opinions and insights.
• Market pop-ups | We actively engaged with our communities at market pop-ups in Bright, Myrtleford, Mount Beauty, and Harrietville, allowing us to connect with residents in their local environments.
• Youth engagement | We ran a special session at The Lighthouse in Bright with community members aged 12-17, ensuring that the voices of our younger residents were also included in the planning process.
• Community Panel | Our dedicated Community Panel, consisting of 13 members who responded to our public Expression of Interest, participated in six two-hour, in-person sessions alongside Councillors and managers, as well as an online hub where members could contribute digitally. These sessions were instrumental in gathering perspectives and fostering collaborative discussions. One of these sessions was held in conjunction with local health services, ensuring a holistic approach to community well-being.
• One-on-one sessions | We held individual sessions with all managers to gather detailed input, ensuring that voices within our organisation were heard and considered.
• Workshops | We conducted comprehensive workshops with our Executive team and Councillors to refine our Plan and align it with our communities’ needs.

Additionally, our Council Plan project page on Engage Alpine attracted 2,054 visitors, reflecting strong community interest and involvement. 

This engagement process has ensured that our Plan is reflective of our communities’ needs and aspirations. We are grateful to everyone who participated and contributed to shaping our future. Your input has been invaluable in guiding our priorities and direction for the coming years.

Snapshot of Alpine Shire

ABOUT OUR REGION

Alpine Shire is located in northeast Victoria and covers approximately 4,800 square kilometres, incorporating the Kiewa and Ovens Valleys, and Dinner Plain. Approximately 92% of Alpine Shire is public land, including the Mount Buffalo and Alpine National Parks, and extensive State Forests. The remaining 8% or approximately 400 square kilometres comprises the farmland and urban areas, mainly concentrated along the Ovens and Kiewa rivers and their tributaries. Alpine Shire has a resident population of approximately 13,200 people, with the majority living in the main population centres of Myrtleford, Bright-Porepunkah and Mount Beauty-Tawonga South. 

Our region's economy is diverse with the majority of employment in tourism services, retail, health care and personal services, agriculture, and forestry and manufacturing. As a small rural Shire, our population relies on larger centres such as Wangaratta and Albury-Wodonga for a range of higher order services such as healthcare, education, and employment. 

• 13,182 | Total population in 2025 
  • Our population is forecast to grow to 14,000 by 2036
• 4,623 | Myrtleford and surrounds
• 2,822 | Upper Kiewa Valley
• 4,848 | Upper Ovens Valley

IF ALPINE SHIRE WERE 100 PEOPLE

Our People

• 50 women
• 50 men
• 14 born overseas compared to 12 in regional Victoria
• 7 speak a language other than English at home
• 1 identify as First nations

Our Population

• 21 under 20 compared to 24 in regional Victoria
• 35 aged 60+ compared to 30 in regional Victoria
• Our young population is growing, with 573 children under five and over 100 new babies every year.

Our Economy

We work in the following industries:

• 13 Accommodation and food services
• 8 Agriculture and forestry
• 12 Health and social assistance
• 8 Manufacturing
• 9 Retail
• 18 Tourism

Tourism generates over $500 million per year in Alpine Shire with:

• 650,000 overnight visitors 
• 2.1 million visitor nights

Our Families and Income

• 35 couples with children compared to 38 in regional Victoria
• 7 single parent families compared to 10 in regional Victoria
• 29 lone person households, same as regional Victoria
• 9 households earning over $2,000 per week in 2021 compared to 3 in 2016
• 52 households earning less than $1,000 per week in 2021 compared to 63 in 2016
• $887 median weekly income compared to $899 in regional Victoria

Our Health and Wellbeing

• 15 women born overseas
• 13 men born overseas
• 14 women likely to experience poverty
• 12 men likely to experience poverty
• Young people report higher incidences of mental health challenges compared to the Victorian average.
• Therewere 303 reported incidents of family violence in 2024 with a much higher representation of women.*
• Across Alpine Shire, a total of 24 people identified as homeless.

*Family violence in rural and regional areas is likely to be significantly under reported due to a range of barriers to reporting.

Sources: Alpine Shire Domestic Travel Snapshot YE2024, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, and Mission Australia Youth Survey 2024

Planning and reporting framework

The Community Vision and the Plan are critical for the planning and accountability framework for our organisation.

The documents establish the Vision, Strategy, and Initiatives that guide our service delivery over the medium to longer term. Our Council Plan, Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan, and other plans have embedded annual reporting and review requirements as required by the Local Government Act 2020 and Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008. 

The diagram below demonstrates the relationship between the various plans, and integration required between the plans across the strategic planning framework.

* MPHWP | Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 

** MPS | Municipal Planning Strategy

How to read this document

10+ YEAR COMMUNITY VISION

The Community Vision is an aspirational statement that guides our direction for the next 10+ years as a municipality.

Vision Statement | Our Council Plan objectives and priorities are aligned with the Community Vision.

Community Aspirations | The community aspirations reflect consistent feedback from our community about where we want to be in 10+ years in order to achieve the Community Vision. These aspirations have directly informed the strategic directions and objectives of our Council Plan.

4 YEAR COUNCIL PLAN

Objectives | Our objectives represent the strategic directions for the next four years to achieve the Community Vision.

Priorities | Our priorities describe the outcomes that our Council Plan seeks to achieve.

Indicators | Indicators define how we will measure success. Targets will be reported over the four-year life of the plan.

Major initiatives | Major initiatives are critical pieces of work that will deliver on our objectives and priorities.

4 YEAR MUNICIPAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELLBEING PLAN

Our Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan outlines how we will protect, improve, and promote public health and wellbeing within our communities.

Our Council Plan has been prepared with an integrated focus on health and wellbeing. All of our departments and service areas have a role to play in our Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan, as well as external parties such as health organisations and community groups.

Focus areas | The red heart symbol throughout this plan denotes which priorities and major initiatives outlined in our Council Plan align with and contribute to addressing Alpine Shire’s health and wellbeing focus areas.