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The Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation
(ISJO) consists of four member councils:
- Kiama Municipal
- Shellharbour City
- Shoalhaven City
- Wollongong City
The councils have a combined area of some 5,800 square kilometres and a population of approximately 404,000 people.
Joint Organisations (JOs) provide a way for local councils and the NSW Government to work together to deliver things that matter the most to regional communities. They represent a commitment to collaborate in the long term to develop and support a shared vision for the region. The Illawarra Shoalhaven was one of five regions where joint organisations (JOs) were piloted in 2015.
Functions
Our core functions are:
- regional strategic planning, including high level planning across the quadruple bottom line
- inter-governmental collaboration, working closely with the NSW Government as well as the Australian Government, other councils and JOs
- regional leadership and advocacy, as the preeminent regional voice for councils and communities
Our optional functions:
- enhancing strategic capacity, to support member councils to deliver services to their communities
- service delivery, to provide services directly to communities within the region
The ISJO has prepared a Statement of Strategic Regional Priorities 2017-20 and adopted a Charter, both which can be downloaded. The current Chairman of ISJO is Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM, Lord Mayor Wollongong City Council.
History of ISJO
The Illawarra Pilot Joint Organisation came into effect as the replacement organisation for Southern Councils Group on 1st July 2015. The Southern Councils Group was originally developed from the Illawarra Region of Councils (IROC) which evolved in 1985 and operated until 2004. An even earlier grouping of Councils, the Illawarra Regional Organisation (Region 11), commenced in 1975 and operated until 1979.
All these organisations had a common theme, that of a voluntary association of Local Government Authorities that work together, to promote and foster the sustainable development of the regional area, by building on the unique and diverse economic, natural and cultural heritage through member council cooperation.
