Wollongong City Council continues to lead the way in Local Government annual reporting, taking out a second successive Gold Award at the 51st ARA Annual Report Awards in Melbourne. Wollongong was the only local Council among 17 organisations which met the demanding ARA criteria for the Gold Award.
Lord Mayor, Councillor George Harrison, said Wollongong City Council was thrilled to receive the Gold Award for the second year running, among the company of some of Australia’s largest corporations, government and not for profit organisations.
“We set extremely high standards for our annual report and value its role as a means of transparency in our operations, as well as a showcase for the many achievements of our organisation,” he said. “It’s very much a team effort, and I congratulate everyone involved in its production.”
To receive a Gold Award, an annual report must achieve overall excellence, provide high quality coverage of the ARA criteria, give full disclosure of key aspects of the organisation’s core business and major areas, and be a model for all other peer reports.
ARA Chairman, John Horder, said the Awards give organisations an opportunity to measure their annual report against the demanding criteria that is based on international best practice, particularly in regard to corporate governance and the adequacy of disclosures.
“Over the past 50 years the ARA Awards have become widely accepted by Australian publicly listed companies, government bodies and non profit organisations as benchmarks for annual reporting,” he said.
WMC Limited won the Report of the Year Award. Silver Awards were presented to 54 organisations, and 77 organisations received Bronze Awards.
