Local Governments across NSW once again face the threat of forced amalgamations under the NSW State Governments Fit for the Future reforms package. Increased pressure from communities to deliver services, coupled with a future of reduced financial assistance from State Government has challenged the sector to improve their performance. For many Councils this is a paradigm shift from an ad hoc approach of project delivery toward organisational maturity. In order to do this Local Government practitioners must improve their Project Management practices to deliver projects that are environmentally and financially sustainable, with improved quality, lower risks and maintaining the balance of community needs and desires. This paper examines the current Project Management Maturity of the sector in the adoption of project management frameworks and practices. The research provides an initial benchmark of Councils practices and defines common strengths and weakness by comparing organisations within the sector. This research, participated in by project officers across 50 Councils, demonstrates that in most instances some form of project management is conducted but that there is little standardisation within or across organisations. The research is based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and assesses maturity in areas such as Project Scoping to Cost Management - some being found more mature than others across the sector. On the whole, the sector averages little more than level 2 of 5 in the adopted maturity scale. Procurement management has been found to be the most mature with other relative strengths in Time, Cost and Risk management. Quality, Human Resourcing and Communications management have been found as a weaknesses across the sector. The root cause for such results is currently speculative and will be the subject of further research. With regular benchmarking and analysis it is hoped that improvement can be realised across the sector and a Council-specific project management body of knowledge can be formed. An opportunity exists to build maturity in the sector and improve the success rate of the many projects Local Governments deliver
