About Us
The Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation
(ISJO) consists of four member councils:
- Kiama
- Shellharbour
- Shoalhaven
- Wollongong
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 Joint Organisation formally began operation on 1 July 2018 after having been one of the Pilot Joint Organisations selected 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 and adopted a Charter, both which can be downloaded from our Governance section.
The current Chairman of ISJO is Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM, Lord Mayor of the City of Wollongong.
Past history of the ISJO
The Illawarra Pilot Joint Organisation came into being as the replacement organisation for Southern Councils Group on 1 July 2015. The Southern Councils Group had evolved from the Illawarra Region of Councils (IROC) which was created 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 region by building on our unique and diverse economic, natural and cultural heritage.
