Kingston residents can now find key Council information in one place, with the launch of a new Transparency and Integrity Hub.
The new online hub brings together information from across Council's website, making it easier for residents to find out how Council operates, how decisions are made and how public money is being spent.
It includes information such as Councillor expenses, gift registers, Council meeting attendance, budgets, public submissions, election information and Council's advocacy activities.
The initiative follows a Notice of Motion from Mayor Georgina Oxley, who called for a centralised hub based on a 'default to open' approach to transparency.
Cr Oxley said transparency was fundamental to building trust between Council and the community.
"Good local government is about being accountable to the people we represent, and that starts with being open about what we do," Cr Oxley said.
"We want to make it as easy as possible for residents to find information about their Council, without having to know exactly where to look or search through different parts of our website.
"This hub puts that information at their fingertips and makes it easier for people to understand what Council is doing and hold us to account. For me, this is ultimately about trust. Our community deserves to have confidence in the decisions we make and how we use public resources."
The first stage of the hub has been delivered using existing Council resources and technology, but it won't stop there.
The next stage will be shaped by Kingston residents, with the 45-member Kingston Represent Community Panel to take a deep dive over the coming months and provide recommendations on what information people want to see, how it could be presented and how they want to access it.
Cr Oxley said putting the community at the centre of the next stage was important.
"We have made a start, but we want to make this genuinely useful for our community," she said.
"We'll be asking residents what they want to know, what would make information easier to understand and what they would actually find useful. That feedback will help us build the next stage of the hub around the needs of our community."
Implementation of the second stage is expected to commence from January 2027, following further consideration of the scope, timing and budget.
You can find the new hub at kingston.vic.gov.au/transparency.
