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or control of a property asset when that asset is no longer required, no longer aligned with strategic priorities, or no longer represents best value for the community.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 benefit 

• 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 other relevant 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 to maintain the facilities they use.

• 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. 

The 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 asset divestment process Councillors are committed to making decisions that: 

• Benefit the 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. 

• Keep community informed of the ongoing asset divestment process. 

• Support affected user groups throughout the process.

• Acknowledge that each asset is unique, and different scenarios require different decisions; 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.

Many of the community assets across the Tablelands region are underutilised, not fit-for-purpose, or close to end of life.

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, TRC 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 and insurance. (For example, the Atherton pool costs approximately $700,000 per year to maintain and operate). 

TRC has a small rate-payer base and our ratepayers simply can’t afford the cost of maintaining so many assets.

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

Having a comprehesive review and divestment process for community assets reflects best practice and ensures that TRC remains responsive as community needs evolve over time. 

Council released its Community Facility Strategy in 2019, and part of the strategy is ensuring community facilities meet community needs and deliver public value  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, a list of assets was provided to Councillors with details of operating and maintenance costs, attributes such as heritage listing and place of refuge status, and current use (or lack of regular meaningful use). 

 Councillors each reviewed the list of assets and indicated whether they did or did not support potential divestment. Assets that received four or more Councillor votes progressed to the next stage of the TRC Community Asset Divestment Process. 

At the council meeting on 22 January 2026, Councillors resolved for officers to progress to the next stage of the process for  44 assets. View the list of 44 Assets here. 

The next stages include the legal and internal reviews and due diligence processes and identifying the potential options for divestment of each asset.

TRC officers will soon commence engagement with existing users of the facilities and will work with all parties to ensure the best outcomes for ratepayers and the community as a whole. 

At the February Ordinary Council Meeting, Council resolved to take the next step in exploring options for by entering 63 land parcels (mostly vacant) into the asset review process. Some of these land parcels have been identified following requests from community groups (including not-for-profit groups) and landowners to either lease or purchase portions of vacant land adjacent to their properties.

Reviewing these land parcels and exploring available divestment options will deliver substantial opportunities for regional economic development, enhanced community services, additional housing and accommodation and ongoing financial sustainability for ratepayers across the Tablelands. View the list of 63 Land Parcels here.

Consultation with the people and groups who use community assets and facilities is a core part of the TRC Community Asset Review and Divestment Process as is keeping the community informed at each stage.