Community Asset Divestment Updates

Asset divestment means formally reducing or removing ownership or control of a property asset when that asset is no longer required, no longer aligned with strategic priorities, or no longer represents best value for the community. 

It is a governance and financial process and decision about how community assets are managed, not a simple property transaction or sale. 

For a council, periodically reviewing community property and assets for potential divestment is essential because public assets must deliver clear community value, financial sustainability, and align with community priorities and consider community needs now and into the future.  

Asset divestment is not simply about raising revenue— for a Council it’s about responsible stewardship of public resources. A structured and transparent review and divestment process helps ensure that every community building, facility or piece of land either delivers strong community value or is reallocated in a way that does. 

Divesting surplus or non-core assets can release capital that can be reinvested into essential services such as roads, libraries, waste management, parks, or community programs. 

No, asset divestment isn’t about just selling off assets, raising revenue, or deciding which assets to decommission in the future, but considers a broad range of options, including: 

• Repurposing the asset for a different use or exploring shared use arrangement that might increase community value 

• Transferring facilities to organisations, community groups or service providers that may be better placed to operate them sustainably and deliver improved outcomes for the community. 

• Retaining the building and committing funding to the ongoing maintenance of the building – this may mean extra funds are spent on getting the condition up to an acceptable standard. 

• Selling the building to a relevant community group, service provider or other 

• Negotiating for State properties to be handed back to them to maintain or for the State to be involved in handing on to relevant community group or other group, (Social housing example). 

• Long term lease of the building ensuring the lessee is able to properly fund the maintenance of the building and it’s costs (many groups cannot afford and seek ongoing funds for works). 

• Decommissioning the building, deciding not to spend any further community money on the building but allowing it to be used for the remainder of its life before finally being demolished. 

• Demolishing buildings that are beyond repair. 

Divesting community assets and/or transferring them to private or community sector partners can unlock future development opportunities, stimulate local economic activity, or create housing or commercial opportunities that better serve the broader community and deliver better public value. 

Community Asset Divestment process is not a ‘once-only’ initiative but rather an ongoing and iterative process embedded in Council’s Asset Management Policy  

The divestment process follows a structured five step cycle: 

Throughout the ongoing asset divestment process Council Officers are committed to making recommendations to Council that: 

• Bring benefits to whole community. 

• Reduce depreciation, insurance premiums and other operational costs to improve and strengthen Council’s financial sustainability. 

• Encourage assets to be shared among multiple users and groups to increase utilisation rates. 

• Keep community informed of the ongoing asset divestment process. 

• Support affected user groups during and after implementation of Council’s decisions. 

• Acknowledge that different scenarios will require different responses and options; and  
• Engage affected user groups in a timely and inclusive manner. 

Regular asset review is a core element of sound public-sector governance and long-term financial sustainability.  

Councils hold community land, buildings and facilities on behalf of their community. Periodic review ensures those assets are still serving a clear public purpose and demonstrates responsible stewardship, rather than passive ownership. 

There are currently more than 700 community assets across the Tablelands region. Many of these are underutilised, not fit-for-purpose, close to end of life and not sustainable 

Divestment action for these aging facilities is long overdue. This issue should have been addressed following the 2008 amalgamation of three Councils, however since the amalgamation, council has progressively increased community assets with little or no reduction of older assets. This is not sustainable. 

Aging or underutilised buildings can become financial liabilities. Divestment can eliminate long-term maintenance backlogs and reduce exposure to escalating capital works costs. 

Maintaining property is expensive—repairs, compliance, utilities, insurance, and staffing all add up. (For example, the Atherton pool costs approximately $700,000 per year to maintain and operate). 

TRC only has a small rate-payer base of around 13,500 and our ratepayers simply can’t afford the cost of maintaining so many assets. (Around 19 ratepayers per asset!) 

Community needs evolve over time. Population growth, demographic shifts, and service delivery changes (including digital services) may make certain facilities redundant. Asset review ensures the portfolio reflects current and future strategic objectives. 

Having a thorough community asset review and divestment process in place reflects best practice and ensures that Council remains responsive as community needs evolve over time. 

Council released its Community Facility Strategy in 2019, part of the strategy is ensuring community facilities meet community needs and deliver public value and consider community needs into the future. 

Since 2019, TRC has managed and planned community facilities in alignment with the strategy and worked towards implementing a process to review and divest community assets to ensure they are delivering the greatest possible public value. 

In November 2025, TRC asked the community to rank key facility attributes in order of importance. The results of that feedback informed an objective framework for assessing facilities against available resources and community priorities as part of the asset divestment process. 

As the first stage of reviewing the public value and financial sustainability of TRC’s community assets, 290 assets were identified for possible review based on age, operating and maintenance costs, known repair and upgrade requirements and current use (or lack of regular meaningful use). 

As the part of the first stage in the community asset divestment process, Councillors reviewed the 290 assets and ranked them in priority for potential divestment consideration. Assets that received 4 or more Councilor votes progressed to the next stage of the TRC Community Asset Divestment Process.  

At the council meeting held on Thursday 22 January 2026, Councillors resolved to investigate 44 of the 290 facilities to investigate for possible divestment as part of the next stage of the process. View the list of 44 Assets here. 

The next stages include the legal and internal reviews and due diligence processes and investigating the potential options for divestment of each of the 44 community assets.