Liverpool is a growing city, positioning itself as an innovation leader in Australia. In the heart of south west Sydney, the city council and community are tackling some of Australia’s great challenges through urban heat research projects, leading transport initiatives, and the development of the new Western Sydney International Airport.

Through its Community Strategic Plan, Liverpool City Council has identified the community’s aspirations to participate in decision making and collaboration with Council.

Liverpool has a strong commitment to privacy and security of data. These are reflected in its ICT Policy and Privacy Policy, which outlines to the community:

• How their personal information will be used, stored and accessed after it is collected by Council; and
• Staff obligations about handling personal information and when they can and cannot disclose, use or collect it.

As part of the Western Sydney City Deal, Liverpool is one of eight Western Sydney councils that have signed an agreement with state and federal governments to lay the foundations for a thriving Western Parkland City of 1.5 million residents within 20 years. The City Deal agreement includes the development of a Digital Action Plan to create a Digital Western Parkland City. The plan is now in draft format and will be endorsed by the three levels of government in early 2020.

The plan puts the citizen at the heart of creating Australia’s first digitally enabled smart city. It includes actions to:

• Tackle gaps in connectivity;
• Increase digital literacy and access;
• Safeguard individual control of personal data;
• Create a citizen-led ICT masterplan; and
• Engage the community on digital solutions