Adopted by Council on 3 July 2023

Background

This Policy is required to support the development of Latrobe City Council’s Capital Works Program, where capital expenditure is required to renew, upgrade, extend, and purchase new assets to enable Council to achieve its strategic objectives and support the delivery of services identified in service and asset plans.

Objectives

The purpose of the Capital Works Policy (the Policy) is to:

• Provide guidance in the planning and development of Council’s Capital Works Program.
• Provide an increased strategic focus and greater transparency in the selection of projects to be included in Council’s Capital Works Program.
• Outline the necessary steps to ensure that each proposed capital project is properly considered and prioritised against other proposed projects prior to being included on the approved Capital Works Program.
• Support the Council to comply with its good governance and conduct obligations in line with various legislation, principally the Local Government Act 2020, and the Council Plan.

Scope

This Policy applies to all capital projects which constitute expenditure under the general categories of capital works (Council owned assets) and capital works (assets owned by others) delivered by, or on behalf of, Latrobe City Council.

Requests for capital works will be reviewed, and capital works projects evaluated, prioritised, and completed using effective processes and sound financial management practices giving due consideration to the Council's ongoing operational requirements and strategic priorities.

The development of strategic documents by, Latrobe City Council are not considered capital works projects within this policy. An allocation of funds, sufficient for this purpose, is to be provided in Council's annual budget.