Central Coast Council is advancing a broad technology transformation designed to support the scale and complexity of the third-largest urban area in New South Wales and the sixth-largest urban area in Australia. Its responsibilities range from maintaining 88% of the region’s roads to managing water and sewer systems, parks, rubbish collection and emergency management. The council is also preparing for rapid population growth, with projections indicating a 23% increase by 2036, driven by housing shortages in nearby Sydney and infrastructure developments like the proposed high-speed rail project.
After a 2020 financial crisis, the council was under administration for four years and came out in 2024 with a renewed focus on modernisation and optimisation. This period of renewal created an opportunity to reimagine the organisation’s future and accelerate its digital transformation efforts.
Aligning IT investments with strategic priorities.
Central Coast Council’s vision is rooted in its commitment to better serve its community and prepare for the future. With a population projected to exceed 400,000 by 2041, the council needed to streamline internal processes, improve efficiency, ensure compliance with privacy laws and enhance the citizen experience.
The council selected Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Sign and Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant, not only for their business productivity capabilities, but also for their ability to integrate seamlessly into existing systems and align with its strategic priorities.
Following a review of its roadmap and organisational objectives, the council saw that Adobe offered stronger overall value than alternative solutions. As well, the team believed that Adobe would deliver a more controlled environment across desktop and mobile devices, support broader user adoption and help drive operational efficiencies across the organisation.
Modernising document workflows.
Previously, Central Coast Council faced internal inefficiencies in document management and workflow processes. Many tasks relied on time-consuming, error-prone and unsustainable paper-based systems.
One key reason the council chose Acrobat was its ability to integrate with existing systems, such as Microsoft 365 and its ERP, and soon TechnologyOne. This means that staff can work efficiently across platforms, accessing and managing documents directly from tools they already use. The ability to integrate Acrobat with the council’s existing ERP has helped improve efficiency and reduce the number of applications.
Central Coast Council first set its sights on improving document workflows, while maintaining high security and compliance requirements. As a local government entity, the council handles sensitive information daily, including personally identifiable information (PII) and legal contracts. The advanced redaction capabilities in Acrobat securely remove sensitive data from documents shared online or under Freedom of Information requests. This feature is critical for maintaining compliance with privacy laws and protecting the council’s data.
Next, the council focused on introducing e-signature workflows in two key use cases, starting with the cumbersome employee onboarding process, which involved physical contracts and manual signatures. Acrobat Sign now enables new hires to receive, sign and return contracts electronically from any device. The council anticipates a significant reduction in turnaround times and more positive first impressions for new employees.
The council’s operations also struggled with inefficiencies, especially when obtaining multiple councillor signatures for tasks like rescission motions and extraordinary meeting requests. These processes used to take hours, requiring circulation of physical documents among councillors. Now, the workflows are digitalised, allowing councillors to sign and route documents electronically in minutes using Acrobat Sign.
Enhancing citizen services.
Central Coast Council’s digital transformation is about more than just improving internal operations — it’s also about delivering better services to the community. Moving forward, the organisation is working to digitise business and citizen-facing services, such as permits and development applications. Soon, residents will have access to fillable forms that they can submit online, eliminating the need for physical paperwork and in-person visits. This initiative is part of the council’s broader effort to modernise its website and improve accessibility for residents.
The council is also aiming to reduce the time required to process applications and approvals by automating workflows with Acrobat Sign. This will allow residents to receive faster responses to their requests, improving their overall experience with council services.
Empowering staff for success.
To accelerate its success with the Adobe solution, Central Coast Council is investing in comprehensive training for its staff. A phased rollout of Acrobat AI Assistant licences is also underway, with additional efforts to identify key user groups for targeted training. In addition to summarising and providing insights from documents, AI Assistant will help staff understand and take advantage of the full functionality of Adobe applications, while improving productivity. The fact that AI Assistant operates in a closed ecosystem was another key selling point.
The council is also evaluating Acrobat AI Assistant as a training and enablement tool, supporting staff in developing more efficient ways of working and making better use of organisational knowledge.
To facilitate peer learning and adoption, the council is working with Adobe to develop a “change champion” model. Strategic members of the organisation will act as mentors, helping their colleagues understand and use the new tools effectively. Training sessions will focus on practical use cases, such as document management, formatting and workflow optimisation to improve user experience and productivity.
The adoption of Adobe applications is just one part of Central Coast Council’s broader digital transformation strategy. The council is focused on creating a future where staff and citizens can work seamlessly across devices, with tasks completed securely within a unified digital ecosystem. Adobe plays an important role in supporting this vision by enabling secure, flexible and efficient digital workflows across the organisation.
As the council continues its transformation journey, the focus remains on building a strong foundation for future growth and ensuring it can meet the needs of its rapidly expanding community. With Adobe as a key partner, Central Coast Council is well positioned to achieve its vision of becoming a smart council for a smart community.
