Corporate planning and reporting

The Long-Term Community Vision 2035 defines the community aspirations for the future of the municipality, which is “Casey will be a connected, innovative and resilient community.”  

The Vision is a high-level strategic document, which is a legal requirement under the Local Government Act 2020, Section 89, that describes the community’s aspirations for our municipality for the next ten years and the type of city they want to see.  

The City of Casey developed the Vision by using contributions and feedback offered by nearly 5,000 members of our Community, who were brought together by Council through the Shape Your City 2024 engagement program.

The Vision should be read in conjunction with the City of Casey Council Plan 2025-29 (Council Plan), which details how Council plans to deliver on the Vision through a range of Strategic Outcomes, Strategic Priorities and Strategic Indicators. The Council Plan is centred on what Council will achieve for the municipality in a four-year period and must reflect the Vision. 

Council’s Integrated Strategic Planning Framework guides Council in identifying community needs and aspirations over the long term (the Vision), medium term (Council Plan) and short term (Annual Budget, incorporating the Annual Action Plan and Capital Works Program), and how it will hold itself accountable (Annual Report and Audited Statements). 

The following illustration demonstrates Council’s Integrated Strategic Planning Framework, including the hierarchy and how our strategic documents fit together to help achieve our community’s vision for Casey

Across 2024, Council facilitated the bringing together of the Casey community, through the 2024 Shape Your City engagement program, to consider and review what a positive vision of the City of Casey would look like.

The Shape Your City engagement program provided 4,648 members of the community an opportunity to participate through online surveys, pop-up events, focus groups, postcards, email and community focus groups.  

It also provided Council the opportunity to educate community members about Council’s role and responsibilities as an essential level of Government, gather meaningful feedback and diverse points of view, engage meaningfully to reach community members and build trust within the community.

Key findings and development of the Long-term Community Vision 2035

Through the 2024 Shape Your City engagement program, the following key themes emerged: 

• Physical connection
• Social connection
• Innovation with technology
• Build a sense of community pride through inclusion
• Finding ways for the community to make change
• Create community resilience
• Use evidence and research to design the future state of the community 

Theme one: Connected

An inclusive, connected and safe community, where our diversity is celebrated.

Guiding statement

• Strong social unity through connection to others and personal wellbeing  
• Inclusive of our diverse population
• Physically connected with better roads, public transport, pedestrian and bike paths
• Safer community and public places 

Theme two: Innovation

Working together to identify creative solutions to complex problems, bringing new ways of thinking, living and working to Casey.

Guiding statement

• Becoming more innovative with technology
• Encouraging new thinking to solve problems and increase community pride  
• Finding ways for the community to put in place changes 

Theme three: Resilient

Strengthening community to adapt, navigate adversity and ensure a prosperous and sustainable future.

Guiding statement

• Bouncing back from extreme weather events and other challenges
• Sustainable and resilient development, sensitive to environmental challenges
• Increased economic opportunity and a thriving local economy  
• Using evidence and research to respond to our growth and design the future 

The Council Plan outlines how we support the achievement of the Casey community’s Long-Term Community Vision 2035 (the Vision) that Casey will be a connected, innovative and resilient community. 

It describes the outcomes Council aims to deliver to the Casey community over its four-year term and the priorities that it will focus on over this period. It also highlights how we will work with our community, key stakeholders, community organisations, surrounding municipalities and other levels of government.

Casey’s Council Plan was developed based on the feedback and insights obtained through Council’s community engagement program Shape Your City 2024. Shape Your City 2024 provided an opportunity for our community to tell us how we should engage with them, their vision for the future of the municipality and what their specific needs and expectations are of Council. 

Message from Mayor

As your new Mayor, I'm proud to present the Council Plan for 2025-29. This plan outlines our vision, priorities, and goals for the next four years, providing a framework to address our city’s key challenges and opportunities.  Our updated Plan reflects the voices of over 4,600 community members who generously shared their insights through focus groups, surveys, emails, postcards, children’s activities, and in-person sessions with 55 representative residents as part of the Shape Your City engagement program.

By listening to our community, we have a clear, compelling plan that reflects what matters most, and will guide everything we do. From planning new infrastructure, to delivering health and wellbeing services, and designing public spaces our community can enjoy. The Council Plan 2025-2029 sets out how we will make the Community Vision, Casey will be a connected, innovative and resilient community, a reality with practical actions and measurable outcomes across all areas of our community.

Casey is one of Victoria’s fastest-growing municipalities. As we develop new areas and grow existing neighbourhoods, we’re committed to ensuring our roads, public spaces, infrastructure, and essential services keep pace with growth in a financially responsible way. We’re focused on improving traffic flow, road connections, and advocating for better public transport options to enhance accessibility and movement around Casey. We want our residents to spend quality time with family and friends, not stuck in traffic.

Community safety is a key priority. For the first time, we’ve embedded the Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plan (MHWP) in this plan, coordinating with key partners for better outcomes. Health and wellbeing are embedded across all aspects of the plan, focusing on prevention and equity, to ensure everyone is supported across all stages of life.

Over the next four years, we’ll be building, renovating, upgrading, and expanding Council owned assets. This is so our community can enjoy state-of-the-art facilities, connected roads, purposeful parks, open spaces, and rejuvenated streetscapes.

Looking ahead, we envision Casey as a destination rich with local attractions and events, and a wide range of services and programs to support growing businesses. A strong, sustainable local economy with plentiful job opportunities is vital to our community’s wellbeing. By attracting new businesses and supporting existing ones, we aim to create more local jobs, reducing the need to travel outside Casey for work.

To turn these goals into action, we’ve backed them with a significant investment of $664.2 million in the Budget 2025/26. This includes a major investment of $124.0 million in Capital Works projects. This means upgraded parks, high-quality leisure and recreation facilities, community hubs, and new opportunities for residents to meet and connect.

We commit to being your voice, ensuring transparency, integrity, and fairness through active community engagement, performance monitoring, and accountability mechanisms like the quarterly Community Report and Annual Report.

Thank you to all Casey residents who shared their thoughts and aspirations with us during the Shape Your City 2024 engagement program.

Cr Stefan Koomen  
Mayor
City of Casey 
 

Message from CEO

It’s a pleasure to share Year One of the Council Plan 2025-2029 with you. This plan aligns with the return of elected Councillors to the City of Casey. Each represents one of Casey’s newly established wards for a four-year term. This marks an important and exciting new chapter for our community and organisation.

We’re grateful to our new Mayor and Councillors for their valuable insights, which have been an important guide in the creation of this plan. We look forward to working together closely throughout their term. Our Council Plan is built around five strategic outcomes – stronger communities, liveable city, sustainable environment, thriving local economy and high performing organisation.  These outcomes have been developed to reflect our community’s priorities and guide our efforts for the next four years.  

To realise these ambitions and deliver on these plans for our city, we are working hard to ensure that we are adaptable, accountable, efficient, and future-ready. Importantly, we aim to engage with and respond to community needs through sustainable and innovative service delivery.

Alongside vital services, we’re investing in crucial infrastructure. We are allocating almost $61 million to renewing, upgrading, and expanding existing assets. A further $63 million will be allocated to create new assets, balancing the needs of our expanding communities. From parks and recreational facilities to essential public services, these investments will improve the quality of life for all residents.  

As one of Australia’s fastest-growing cities, it’s crucial that we plan to meet the needs of our growing population, now and into the future. There are challenges facing our community that fall outside Council's direct control. This includes

major transport infrastructure and public transport. We will continue to advocate to State and Federal Governments, actively work to build partnerships and promote opportunities on behalf of the Casey community.  You can find out more about our current projects and partners on page 30 of this plan.

This year, we’re proud to be able to embed the Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plan in this plan. It will enable better planning and more efficient service delivery, leading to better outcomes across all six of its focus areas: tobacco, vaping, alcohol and gambling harm, and affordable housing and homelessness. You can find out more about this on page 23 of this Plan.  

Thank you to all the community members who shared their insights for our city's future during our Shape Your City consultation. Your voices have truly shaped this plan. We look forward to the future with optimism and determination, confident that together, we can create a thriving, resilient, and inclusive community. 
 

Glenn Patterson  
CEO
City of Casey 

Health and wellbeing provides the foundations for full participation and thriving in all aspects of community life. Under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic.), Council must develop a Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan (MPHWP) every four years aimed at protecting, promoting and improving the health and wellbeing of our community. For the first time, this plan has been embedded in the Council Plan to enable all Council and partner organisations to work together to improve community wellbeing. 

Our community health and wellbeing planning considers the strategic direction and health priorities set out by the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2023-2027 and is guided by local evidence from Council’s Health and Social Profile 2024, partner and stakeholder engagement, and evaluation of previous plans. 

With the community facing various health and wellbeing challenges, Council has identified six health focus areas that will be central to guiding planning and decision-making, enabling partnerships, and drawing on community leadership for continual learning and support. 

These health focus areas are guided by the following principles: 
 

• Prevention: Any action that keeps people healthy and well for as long as possible by addressing the risks of poor health, illness or injury before it occurs.
   
• Systems approach: We recognise and tackle the complex systems and structures that influence health and wellbeing outcomes for our community, including social, economic, built, commercial, and natural environments.
   
• Equity: We recognise that experiences of health are different for everyone and there are underlying determinants that support or hinder good health including gender, age, disability, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, income, culture and religion.
   
• Across the lifespan: We recognise and address the specific needs and challenges faced by individuals at all stages of life, from childhood to old age.
   
• Impact: We identify, resource, measure, and report on activity that maximises health and wellbeing outcomes for our community.

Health Focus Areas

It is important to note that the six health focus areas below are all interconnected and by addressing one area it will often lead to benefits and outcomes in another. Considering all six areas together and realising their interconnected benefits will lead to greater impact, empower our community, foster resilience and move towards optimal physical and mental wellbeing for individuals, families and communities.

1. Healthy and Active Environments
2. Connection and Participation  
3. Community Empowerment
4. Tobacco, Vaping, Alcohol and Gambling Harm
5. Community Safety and Prevention of Violence
6. Affordable Housing and Homelessness 

All data provided above can be referenced in the full version of the Council Plan.

In response to the Long-Term Community Vision 2035, and the findings of the Shape Your City 2024 program, three strategic directions are outlined which will guide Council’s efforts over the next four years.

1.  Drive stronger community connection

2.  Promote and embrace innovation

3.  Enhance community resilience 

Our Strategic Outcomes

In response to the outcome aspirations shared by our community, there are five Strategic Outcomes will guide the work of Council over the coming four years. 

1. Strong Communities

2. Liveable City

3. Sustainable Environment

4. Thriving Local Economy

5. High Performing Organisation

To achieve these strategic outcomes, Council has a set of strategic priorities which will focus planning, investment and effort. These priorities are aligned with and informed by the broader health and wellbeing needs of the municipality

Five Strategic Outcomes make up our Council Plan and guide the work of Council, along with the Strategic Priorities that Council will focus its efforts on over the coming four years.  These priorities direct our planning, investment and effort, while also reflecting the aligned health focus areas. The Strategic Indicators of each Priority measure the performance and effectiveness of our efforts. Strategic Indicator results are made available to our community every six months.

Strategic Outcome 1: Strong Communities 

Deliver programs, foster partnerships and empower healthy, safe, inclusive and connected communities. 

Strategic Outcome 2: Liveable City

Holistically plan, build, manage and influence an accessible, high-quality built environment for a growing Casey community. 

Strategic Outcome 3:  Sustainable Environment

Foster a sustainable environment through education, climate change action, waste management and the protection and enhancement of natural resources. 

 Strategic Outcome 4: Thriving Local Economy

It is easy to do business in Casey through programs that support the local economy, attract new businesses and promote local employment.

Strategic Outcome 5: High Performing Organisation

Operate an adaptable, efficient, future ready organisation that engages and responds to community needs through sustainable and innovative service delivery.

This year’s budget includes a $540.2 million operational budget to ensure Council continues to provide vital services to more than 429,000 residents and a $124 million Capital Works Program (including a carryforward of $14.7 million) which focuses on renewing and maintaining our existing assets while we carefully plan for new infrastructure that supports the growing community. 

The Budget 2025/26 balances the needs and expectations of the community, while addressing the financial constraints and challenges brought about by, amongst other factors, State Government reforms such as Best Start, Best Life and implementing waste management initiatives like the Food Organics and Garden Organise program. Additionally, the demand for infrastructure and essential services continues to increase, with costs to deliver often exceeding the approved rate cap.

• The City of Casey’s 2025/26 budget outlines a operating surplus of $180.3 million, supporting the delivery of 24 key strategic services across the municipality.
   
• The capital works program for 2025/26 totals $124.0 million, which includes a $14.7 million carry forward from the previous financial year. This program is supported through a mix of Council cash, reserves, developer contributions, and external grant funding. The investment will enable the completion of existing projects, the renewal of aging infrastructure, and the planning and design of future developments. Major allocations include $71.7 million for recreational, leisure, and community facilities, $12.6 million for road upgrades, $11.3 million for parks, open spaces, and streetscapes, $5.2 million for drainage improvements, and $3.6 million for footpaths and cycleways.

This year’s $124 million (including a carryover of $14.7 million) Capital Works Program has identified several key projects to be delivered throughout the municipality, while also consolidating works commenced in the last financial year.  

It sees Council committing to the completion of the previous financial year’s projects, introduce new projects and continued renewal of existing infrastructure providing services to our growing community.

The program was implemented in accordance with the Capital Works Policy.

Key projects to be progressed over the next 12 months include:

• $9.8 million for new and improved works to Doveton Pool in the Park
• $11.9 million for Springleaf Recreation Reserve
• $5.1 million for Ballarto Road Family and Community Centre
• $2.0 million for a new community space at the Old Cheese Factory
• $800K for Max Pawsey Reserve Playground
• $1.6 million for new recreational trails
• Multiple playground renewals
• $467K for a safer crossing at Ernst Wanke Rd
• $634K to reduce traffic speeds across six sites

For further examples and more information please see our media release or the budget section above. 

To view upcoming capital works projects in your area, zoom in on the map below. For the best browsing experience, please use Chrome on a desktop/laptop computer.

Note: The updated map will be available from mid-July. Thank you for your patience.