Women’s Network PD Connects Benalla and St Kilda

VMBSG News Updates

A VMBSG first, with two Town Halls connected live for one shared professional development session.

The VMBSG Women’s Network PD session held yesterday was a great success and marked a first for VMBSG, with the event held concurrently at both Benalla Town Hall and St Kilda Town Hall.

The two venues were connected via live video link, allowing attendees at both locations to take part in the same program while still enjoying the benefits of attending professional development in person.

Representatives from council building teams travelled from far and wide to attend, creating a valuable opportunity not only for learning, but also for networking, sharing experiences and building connections with colleagues from other councils.

The format proved to be a fantastic way to bring rural and metropolitan councils together, and we are looking forward to holding more sessions in this format next year. By connecting multiple locations, we hope to make in-person PD accessible to as many people as possible while continuing to create opportunities for councils across Victoria to learn from one another.

A special thank you to Sarah Ford from Benalla Rural City Council and Allira Krautz from the City of Port Phillip for the considerable work and planning that went into bringing the session together.

Fantastic and thought-provoking presentations from Bill Yannelis, Sarah Ford, Paul Horton and Leanne Platt brought the theme of the day, Building Enforcement in Practice: Rural vs Metropolitan Council Challenges, to life through practical experiences and perspectives from both rural and metropolitan councils.

We also heard interesting presentations from Chris Carroll, CEO of the City of Port Phillip, and Bernie Hearn, Mayor of Benalla Rural City Council, who each provided an insight into the unique characteristics and challenges of their respective local government areas.

Thank you to everyone who presented, attended and contributed to such a successful day. It was wonderful to see this new format work so well, and we look forward to building on it in 2027.