The LGCDAA is the national professional association for people employed in Local Government within community services, community development and social planning.

The Association is a federation of state based community services associations. The states nominate one of their members to form the committee of the national association. The national president is elected at the biennial conference of the Association from state nominations.

The Association was formed at a national Local Government community development conference in Canberra, 1986. One of the major outcomes of that Conference was a strategic alliance with the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) on raising the profile of community development within Councils. In response to the Federal Government’s call at the time, for greater rationalisation in the planning and delivery of community services, the National Association joined with the ALGA in the preparation of national papers and an action program on Building Better Services for Local Communities and Integrated Local Area Planning.

During the past decade the Association has demonstrated its commitment to a strong and viable Local Government public sector through:

• an involvement with the Federal organisations of Local Government in the development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policies and staff positions within local Government;
• a strategic alliance with the Australia Council for the Arts on cultural development and funding programs;
• advocacy for increased employment and training opportunities for young people by utilising the resources of Local Government;
• arguing that Local Government staff should be involved with the State and Commonwealth Governments on how social and community development programs are to be funded and developed within local communities;
• providing comment on the social impact of declining rural communities and services; the social outcomes of economic rationalism; the urgency on issues of rural health; the need for family and neighbourhood support programs and an innovative national housing policy.

Recent times have brought together staff from Councils across Australia to particularly focus on furthering our understanding of good practice and benchmarking in community services and community development.

The Association conducts a biennial national conference on community development and is always keen to hear from Council staff across the nation.