Client: Southern Downs Regional Council State: QLD The Southern Downs has seen strong population growth in recent years. The region recorded a 44.0% increase in capital city to regional migration in the March 2021 quarter, the second largest growth in Australia. The strong growth indicates an appreciation for the lifestyle offered by the Southern Downs, it’s relaxed and beautiful public realm, and good access to services. The Southern Downs Residential Attraction Strategy, developed by AEC in collaboration with the Southern Downs Regional Council, aims to guide the region towards increased residential population over the next five years. The strategy seeks to attract people to the Southern Downs region by increasing economic growth and the liveability of towns and communities as well as increasing awareness of the region. In developing this strategy, AEC brought our intimate understanding of the region as well as our skills, experience, and expertise to deliver unparalleled outcomes for the Southern Downs. AEC undertook extensive data analysis to create an evidence-based understanding of the region. This was supplemented by extensive stakeholder engagement to develop an in-depth understanding of the region and the opportunities for residential and business attraction and retention. AEC brought these elements together to create a public facing strategy for residential attraction supported with a detailed action plan for Council.

Client: Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) Australiasia State: NSW Cruise ship visitors have been engaged across various Australian ports to understand the economic impact of the Cruise Shipping Industry on the Australian economy. These studies provide limited information on the behaviour of international cruise passengers pre and post cruise in Australian destinations. The most recent study into international cruise passenger demographics, pre and post cruise travel and stopover behavior and perceptions was commissioned in 2023 by Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) and Australian Cruise Association (ACA). International passengers aboard cruise ships arriving or departing from the Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT) or the White Bay Cruise Terminal (WBCT) in Sydney (NSW) were engaged via intercept surveys. Over n=550 surveys were collected resulting in a margin of error of ±4.14%. Key insights into the number of nights spent in Australia, motivation(s) for visiting, key destinations visited and stopovers, pre and post cruise expenditure as well as visitor perceptions across various aspects provided Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) and Australian Cruise Association (ACA) with evidence-based understanding and information to support decision making and advocacy.

Client: Cloncurry Shire Council State: QLD The Cloncurry Shire is home to a number of communities that have been developed on the back of the region’s pastoral and mining successes. Cloncurry Shire Council (Council) are looking to ensure their region will retain existing and continue attracting new residents to live and work in the region. A key part of resident retention and attraction is meeting and exceeding liveability expectations of current and potential residents. Council engaged AEC to identify unrealised growth potential for the region to aid the retention of existing and attraction of new residents to the region. In doing this, AEC developed an Activate Cloncurry Strategy and Action Plan, which assists Council to focus activities that improve the health and wellbeing and enhance liveability across the region. AEC identified key factors of current and future residents’ liveability through stakeholder engagement, and identified the need to ensure contemporary sport, recreation and play facilities and services for all ages in the community are available. AEC undertook a range of contextual research of local, state, federal and regional literature of socio-demographic statistics of existing regional facilities as well as extensive stakeholder engagement to understand the value of existing structures and a local viewpoint of Council’s liveability.

Project & Program Appraisal Project and program appraisal is a vital component of measuring the value to business and organisations of the investments they make. We leverage our economic and financial acumen to inform and undertake assessments and reviews of infrastructure projects, research programs, policy, investment portfolios as well as the contribution of entire sectors to an economy to inform policy decisions and forward investment programs. The alignment and measurement of outcomes against policy and strategic objectives is critical in informing investment and service delivery programs. Our skilled team of economists, demographers, researchers, and financial analysts can assist with any of the following services: Business & Operational Efficiency Reviews Business Case Writing Community, Consumer, Customer & Corporate Sentiment Corporate Structure & Strategy Advice Demand Assessments Developer Contributions Development Feasibility Economic Impact Assessment Financial Feasibility Assessment Governance & Implementation Planning Grant & Funding Submissions Infrastructure & Population Planning Lobbying & Advocacy Market Analysis & Outlook Reporting Pricing & Revenue Strategies Program Review & Evaluation Property Divestment/Acquisition Management Regulatory & Legislative Reviews Social Impact Assessment For further information, contact one of our specialists below. Kieron Lacey kieron.lacey@aecgroupltd.com Ashley Page ashley.page@aecgroupltd.com Esk Jockey Club Expansion Economic Analysis Client: Somerset Regional Council State: QLD The refurbishment of the Esk Jockey Club was identified as a medium-term implementation... Mount Isa Hanger and Office Facility Economic Analysis Client: Royal Flying Doctors Service State: QLD AEC was engaged by the Royal Flying Doctors Service to develop an economic analysis for... PCA QLD Social Infra Contribution Client: Property Council of Australia (QLD) State: QLD AEC assessed the economic significance of Australia's property industry in... Baralaba South Project EIS Client: Wonbindi Coal Pty Ltd State: QLD Mount Ramsay Coal Company proposed to develop an open cut coal mine producing approximately 5... Recent Projects

Introducing the AEC Service Planning Toolkit The Service Planning Toolkit supports councils in understanding how well theirservices are performing and whether they are meeting their community’s needs.It provides an evidence-based level of service assessment tool that can costeffectively guide a Council in determining where investment in its services isneeded and where efficiencies can be made. CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION Benchmarking A key part of the Service Planning Toolkit relies on comparing a Council’s services to other peer councils which share similar socio-demographic geographic and service profile characteristics. In doing this a Council can develop targeted evidence based and objective-driven service review programs. The Service Planning Toolkit supports the achievement of these outcomes by providing decision making insight for Councillors and Executives through a simple four-step process: The Service Planning Toolkit also has reporting capabilities to ensure that results are visualised on an intuitive dashboard can be easily filtered and provide the ability to drill down to examine the results in more detail. ​ Benefits for Benchmark Partners The benefits of participating in the Benchmarking Step include: Minimising the impact on managers by providing easy template-based data capture and the ability to collect service information online including bulk upload ​ Access to the anonymised results ​ A secure online system enabling controlled access to your data and information (only you can see your Council’s information) Once completed with some investment benchmark partners are able to undertake the full service review process and develop your own Service Catalogue and Service Review prioritisation using the same results gathered for the benchmark exercise. ​ ​ ​ If you are interested in learning more about the Service Planning Toolkit please contact AEC on 1300 799 343 or reception@aecgroupltd.com ​ For further information, contact one of our specialists below. Gavin O'Donovan gavin.odonovan@aecgroupltd.com ​ Graham Jarvis graham.jarvis@aecgroupltd.com ​

Local Government We are proud of the many successful projects we have delivered for local government which have resulted in new and improved infrastructure facilities services governance and financial sustainability for communities around Australia. We are passionate about the role councils play in the lives of their local residents businesses and visitors. Our team of experienced and trusted advisors have real world operational experience of the issues pressures and opportunities facing the local government sector. Our team has gained decades of experience in senior roles in councils in Australia and overseas. Our technical capabilities and modelling tools are also well established and are prolifically used throughout the local government community in Australia. ​ We work closely and holistically with our council clients to enable us to gain a better understanding of the broader issues that need to be addressed to develop clear target-driven strategies and to support the implementation of those strategies at an operational level. The services we offer: Asset Management Planning Benchmarking & Comparative Assessment Business & Asset Valuation Business & Operational Efficiency Reviews Business Case Writing Capital Planning & Prioritisation Community, Consumer, Customer & Corporate Sentiment Corporate & Operational Planning Corporate Structure & Strategy Advice Corporate Transactions & Restructures Demand Assessments Developer Contributions Due Diligence Economic & Industry Development Strategy Economic Impact Assessment Financial Feasibility Assessment Financial Sustainability Reviews & Planning Governance & Implementation Planning Grant & Funding Submissions Infrastructure & Population Planning Lobbying & Advocacy Marketing & Branding Strategy Pricing & Revenue Strategies Program Review & Evaluation Regulatory & Legislative Reviews Service Reviews Social Impact Assessment Socio-Demographic & Population Projections For further information, contact one of our specialists below. Gavin O'Donovan gavin.odonovan@aecgroupltd.com ​ Graham Jarvis graham.jarvis@aecgroupltd.com ​ Edward RC Financial Sustainability Strategies Client: Edward River Council State: NSW The objective of the Financial Sustainability Review was to facilitate sustainable long-term... Gunnedah Saleyards Business Case Client: Gunnedah Shire Council State: NSW AEC developed a business case to provide support for the renewal of the existing Gunnedah... Service Delivery Facilities Review Client: Cassowary Coast Regional Council State: QLD This project involved a comprehensive review of the appropriateness of Cassowary... Snowy Monaro Regional Council - Financial Sustainability Review Client: Snowy Monaro Regional Council State: NSW AEC was engaged by Council to undertake an independent financial sustainability... Recent Projects