Your council,
available 24/7
The AI assistant that knows your council inside out. Residents get instant, specific answers from your own documents. Staff and reception get time back.
Councils spend significant resources on routine enquiries
Australian local councils receive thousands of resident contacts each year. The majority are questions with documented, publicly available answers — yet they consume significant staff time and leave residents waiting.
Enquiry volume by category
Based on Victorian Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey data. Relative volume index.
30–50% of council call volume consists of routine information enquiries — questions with a single, documented answer. Redirecting this volume changes what council officers spend their time on.
Not a chatbot. A council expert.
CouncilGenius is trained specifically on your council's own documents. It answers with the exact fee from your current fees and charges schedule, the exact rule from your General Local Law, and the exact contact for your resident's local councillor.
- + Exact dollar amounts from your fee schedule
- + Exact rules and penalty amounts from local laws
- + Councillor contacts by ward and mobile number
- + Bin days, transfer station hours, FOGO schedules
- + Planning permit process in full
- + Heritage overlay listings by address and HO number
- + Multilingual — answers in the language of the question
Council language, formatting conventions, and email drafting style are pre-built into every CouncilGenius deployment — ensuring all outputs are consistent with how your council communicates.
Australia's only purpose-built AI assistant for local government
No other platform in Australia combines deep council-specific knowledge construction, zero content burden on the council, and full deployment through proprietary methodology.
No content burden on council
Competitors require your staff to write the chatbot content — weeks of work. CouncilGenius constructs the entire knowledge base from your publicly available documents. Your council provides a contact, website access, and an initial engagement. Nothing more.
Exact specificity
Not "contact the council for fees." The exact Class 10A building permit fee. The exact penalty for an unleashed dog. The exact heritage overlay number for a given address. Drawn from the actual document.
Proprietary rapid deployment
Our proprietary methodology enables deployment at a pace no competitor can match. Councils are live and serving residents without any IT involvement from the council's side.
Speaks every language your community does
CouncilGenius answers in the language of the question. Residents in councils with significant CALD communities receive the same depth and accuracy in Mandarin, Vietnamese, Arabic, Greek, and any other language — without interpreter assistance, without additional cost.
Data sovereignty option
For councils with data residency requirements, the complete system can run on infrastructure located on council premises — no cloud dependency, no data leaving your building.
Useful to staff as well as residents
Reception staff and officers use CouncilGenius as a rapid-reference guide — fielding complex calls in real time, looking up exact fees and procedures, and drafting responses in council style. The same tool that serves residents serves your team.
Ready to give your community instant answers?
We will walk you through what CouncilGenius would look like for your council — no commitment required.
From documents to a live assistant — through proprietary methodology
CouncilGenius constructs, brands, and deploys a fully operational AI assistant using your council's own publicly available documents. No IT project. No content writing from council staff.
A commercial engagement — not an IT project
CouncilGenius is a managed service. What we need from your council is minimal.
A nominated contact
Your communications manager, customer service lead, or CEO's delegate. This person receives project updates, approves the final product before launch, and is our ongoing point of contact for knowledge base updates when fees or policies change.
Access to the website backend
We require access to the relevant areas of the council's website backend to integrate the CouncilGenius interface correctly. In most cases this involves a brief introduction — no ongoing IT resource requirement from the council's side.
An engagement fee
CouncilGenius operates on a formal service agreement. An initial engagement fee covers a due diligence period — during which the council evaluates the live assistant, tests its accuracy against real resident queries, and requests amendments before full deployment commences.
22 core service categories, customised for your LGA
Every CouncilGenius deployment comprehensively covers all core service areas of Australian local government — with the category structure adapted to each council's specific service profile. Residents receive complete answers, not partial ones.
Waste & Bin Collection
Bin days, colours, collection schedules, FOGO, missed collections, hard waste bookings, recycling rules and contamination.
Transfer Stations & Drop-off
Locations, opening hours, accepted materials, gate fees, e-waste, chemical disposal, tip vouchers.
Rates & Payments
Differential rate categories, payment methods, concessions, due dates, penalties, hardship provisions, rate notice queries.
Planning & Permits
Full planning permit process, heritage overlays by address, VPO and SLO areas, VCAT appeals, zoning queries, fees.
Roads & Maintenance
Pothole reporting, footpaths, street lighting, drain maintenance, road closures, tree pruning, line marking.
Parking & Traffic
Parking zones, residential permits, infringement details, time limits, disabled parking, school zones, traffic management.
Pets & Animals
Registration fees, off-lead areas, barking complaints, species limits, impoundment, animal control contacts.
Property Information
Property searches, valuations, title information, land use zoning, building permits by class and value.
Permits & Licences
General permits, business licences, health permits, liquor licences, event permits, signage approvals.
Family & Children
Kindergarten enrolment, maternal and child health, immunisation schedules, playgroups, family support services.
Community Services
Libraries, community centres, pools, recreation programs, venue hire, community grants, volunteering.
Food & Business
Food business registration, health inspections, business support programs, procurement, tenders, economic development.
Accessibility & Support
Disability access, interpreter services, hardship programs, CALD community support, home care referrals.
Contact & Hours
All council offices, phone numbers, opening hours, email addresses, service centre locations, after-hours contacts.
Planning Schemes & Policies
Local planning policy framework, zoning maps, heritage registers, tree protection orders, design guidelines.
Environment & Health
Stormwater management, contaminated land, environmental planning, water and wastewater, septic systems.
Development & Building
Building regulations, site permits, construction standards, safety inspections, occupancy certificates, owner-builder.
Legal & Appeals
Planning appeals, rate objections, complaints process, ombudsman, FOI applications and fees, public interest disclosures.
Grants & Funding
Community grants, business grants, hardship support, funding rounds, eligibility criteria, application processes.
Emergency & Safety
Bushfire preparedness, flood response, fire prevention, emergency management plans, climate action, safety alerts.
+ Council-Specific
Saleyards, tourism, arts & culture, swimming pools, council meetings, advocacy priorities, and any service unique to your LGA — the category structure adapts to fit.
A rapid-reference tool for your team — not just your community
CouncilGenius is equally valuable to council staff fielding calls as it is to residents asking questions. Reception staff have the full depth of the council's knowledge base at their fingertips — in real time, while on the phone.
Handle complex calls instantly
When a resident calls about a heritage overlay or a building permit fee, a reception officer queries CouncilGenius in real time and relays the exact answer — accurately and without escalation to a senior officer.
Draft responses in council style
CouncilGenius pre-loads the language conventions, formatting standards, and communication style of your council. Staff can ask it to draft an email response to a resident enquiry — correctly formatted, in council voice, in seconds.
Reduce internal escalations
Routine queries that would normally be escalated to planning officers, rates staff, or the CEO's office are resolved at first contact. Staff spend their time on genuinely complex casework.
Research consistently places 30–50% of council call volume in the deflectable category — enquiries with a documented answer that requires no human discretion. CouncilGenius handles this category. Officers handle the rest. For councils with significant CALD communities, CouncilGenius responds in the language of the question — no interpreter required for standard service information.
Every interaction becomes intelligence
CouncilGenius includes a built-in analytics and feedback system that gives council a clear picture of what its community actually wants to know — without collecting any personal information.
Every resident query is automatically classified into one of 22+ service categories. The category label and timestamp are written to a secure log — no personal data, no IP addresses, no message content.
Resident feedback — a simple helpfulness rating per response — is captured alongside category data. Council can download the full analytics and feedback logs at any time via secure administrator endpoints.
This enables council to identify peak enquiry types, detect seasonal patterns, prioritise website improvements, and benchmark service demand year-on-year — from a single, privacy-compliant data source.
Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
No resident personal information is collected, stored, or transmitted. The analytics system records only anonymised category labels and timestamps — consistent with how councils use standard web analytics platforms.
Privacy & Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)
Designed in accordance with OVIC best practice guidance on de-identified analytics. No data collected by CouncilGenius constitutes personal information under either Act.
Data returned to council
Analytics and feedback data are the council's own asset. Downloaded at any time via secure administrator endpoints. No third-party access. No data sold or shared.
What powers it
Plain English — no technical jargon.
AI Model
Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.6 — one of the world's leading enterprise AI models. The assistant answers only from the council's verified knowledge base. It does not browse the internet or speculate.
Knowledge Base
Council documents are synthesised through our proprietary methodology into a structured knowledge base — typically 50,000 to 150,000 characters of precise, verified council information. This is the AI's sole reference source.
Hosting
Cloud hosting via Railway (Google Cloud infrastructure), with 99.9% uptime. For councils with data sovereignty requirements, the complete system can operate on council-owned premises with no cloud dependency.
Privacy
Completely stateless. No resident conversations are logged. No personal information is collected. Compliant with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic). The council's documents remain the council's property.
Live demonstration environments
Each demonstration is a fully functional, council-specific AI assistant — built from that council's own publicly available documents. These are working demonstrations of what CouncilGenius does, not yet commissioned council services.
Functional demonstration environments across multiple states
Each assistant below is fully operational — built specifically from that council's own publicly available documents. Explore any of them to experience what CouncilGenius would do for your community.
Each demonstration has been built from publicly available council documents. Some environments are more complete than others — this reflects the depth and accessibility of each council's published information, not a limitation of the platform. We invite you to explore several demonstrations to get a full picture of what a commissioned CouncilGenius deployment delivers.
Central Goldfields Shire Council v6.4
The original CouncilGenius build. Covers the complete rate schedule, building permit fees, General Local Law 2025, all councillors by ward, waste and recycling services, planning and heritage overlays, parking, FOI, and more.
Open demonstrationSurf Coast Shire Council v6.4
Covers the full planning scheme including heritage and significant landscape overlays across the Great Ocean Road corridor, building permits, waste and FOGO services, rates, local laws, animal management, and all councillors by ward.
Open demonstrationMitchell Shire Council v6.4
Covers rates and property information, planning permits, local laws, waste services, animal management, community programs, infrastructure requests, and councillor contacts across the Mitchell Shire.
Open demonstrationCity of Stonnington v5.2
Covers planning permits, heritage overlays, parking, local laws, rates, building permits, waste services, community programs, events, and all councillor contacts for Prahran, Malvern, Toorak, and surrounding suburbs.
Open demonstrationStrathbogie Shire Council v6.4
Covers rates, local laws, land management, saleyards operations, agricultural services, planning, waste, community services, and all relevant rural and regional council services across Strathbogie Shire.
Open demonstrationCity of Casey v6.4
One of Victoria's largest and most diverse councils. Covers rates, planning, building permits, waste services, local laws, community programs, CALD services, and comprehensive coverage across the rapidly growing south-east corridor.
Open demonstrationCity of Melbourne v8.0
Australia's capital city council. Covers rates, planning permits, building and development, parking and traffic, waste services, business registrations, events, community programs, accessibility services, and all council operations across the Melbourne CBD and inner suburbs.
Open demonstrationYarra City Council v8.0
Covers planning permits, heritage overlays, parking permits, waste and recycling, local laws, rates, community services, pets and animals, food and business registrations, and all council services across Fitzroy, Collingwood, Richmond, Abbotsford, and surrounding inner-city suburbs.
Open demonstrationCity of Melton v8.0
One of Australia's fastest-growing municipalities. Covers rates, planning and building permits, waste services, pet registration, local laws, parking, community services, family and children's programs, and all council operations across Melton, Caroline Springs, Bacchus Marsh corridor, and surrounding growth areas.
Open demonstrationCardinia Shire Council v8.0
Covers waste and hard waste collection, rates, planning permits, building regulations, local laws, pet registration, roads and maintenance, community services, family programs, and all council operations across Pakenham, Officer, Beaconsfield, Emerald, and the broader Cardinia growth corridor.
Open demonstrationMornington Peninsula Shire v8.0
Covers rates, foreshore camping bookings, planning permits, waste services, pet registration, local laws, parking, community services, environmental health, beaches and reserves, and all council operations across Mornington, Frankston South, Rosebud, Sorrento, Rye, and the broader Peninsula.
Open demonstrationAlpine Shire Council v8.0
Covers bin collection schedules with FOGO, recycling and general waste cycles, rates, planning permits, building regulations, local laws, roads and maintenance, tourism services, community programs, and all council operations across Bright, Myrtleford, Mount Beauty, Dinner Plain, and surrounding alpine towns.
Open demonstrationEast Gippsland Shire Council v8.0
The largest knowledge base in the fleet at 3,683 lines. Covers planning permits, rates, waste services, building regulations, local laws, roads and bridges, environmental management, emergency and bushfire planning, community services, and all council operations across Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Orbost, Mallacoota, and surrounding East Gippsland.
Open demonstrationBaw Baw Shire Council v8.0
Covers community services including the Warragul Civic Centre, library, and aquatic centre, maternal and child health, rates, planning permits, building regulations, waste services, local laws, pet registration, roads, and all council operations across Warragul, Drouin, Trafalgar, Neerim South, and surrounding West Gippsland.
Open demonstrationCamden Council v7.1
The first NSW CouncilGenius build. Covers the full DA process, bin collection zones with live day lookup, rates, development contributions, local laws, community programs, infrastructure, and all council services across the Camden LGA including Oran Park, Narellan, and surrounding growth areas.
Open demonstrationThe Hills Shire Council v7.1
Covers development applications with full fee schedules, complying and exempt development pathways, DA tracking, pre-lodgement meetings, building advisory services, waste collection, rates, parking, pets, community facilities, and all council services across the Hills Shire LGA including Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Kellyville, and surrounding suburbs.
Open demonstrationShellharbour City Council v7.1
Covers bin collection day lookup by address, waste services, rates, planning and development, pets and animals, parking, community services, environmental health, and all council services across the Shellharbour LGA including Shellharbour Village, Warilla, Albion Park, Barrack Heights, and surrounding areas.
Open demonstrationWant to see your council demonstrated?
CouncilGenius can be built to demonstrate any Australian council's services. Contact us to discuss what a demonstration — or a full commercial deployment — would look like for your community.
Get in touchDeploys wherever your residents are
CouncilGenius integrates into your council's existing website in whatever way works best. No structural changes to your site are required.
Floating chat widget
Available on every page of the council website. Residents click the chat bubble in the bottom-right corner — the most intuitive, widely recognised format for instant assistance. Recommended as the primary integration.
Search replacement
Replaces or enhances the council website's existing search bar. Residents type a question instead of a keyword — and receive a specific, sourced answer rather than a list of PDF links.
Dedicated page
A full-page assistant living at its own URL within the council website. Ideal for councils that want to give CouncilGenius its own section alongside existing services.
Email assistant
Handles routine enquiries via a dedicated council email address. Residents email a question and receive a sourced, accurate reply — reducing the volume that reaches human inboxes.
22 core service categories. Customised for your LGA.
CouncilGenius does not pick and choose service areas. Every deployment comprehensively covers all core service categories of Australian local government — adapted to each council's specific service profile, with the depth and specificity residents and staff actually need.
Waste & Bin Collection
Bin days, colours, FOGO, missed collections, hard waste, recycling rules.
Transfer Stations
Locations, hours, accepted items, gate fees, e-waste, chemical disposal.
Rates & Payments
Rate bands, concessions, due dates, penalties, hardship, payment plans.
Planning & Permits
Planning permits, heritage overlays, vegetation overlays, zoning, VCAT, fees.
Roads & Maintenance
Potholes, footpaths, street lights, drains, road closures, tree pruning.
Parking & Traffic
Parking zones, permits, infringements, time limits, disabled parking, school zones.
Pets & Animals
Registration, off-lead areas, barking complaints, species limits, impoundment.
Property Information
Searches, valuations, title info, land use zones, building permits.
Permits & Licences
Business licences, health permits, liquor licences, event permits, signage.
Family & Children
Kindergarten, MCH, immunisation, playgroups, family support services.
Community Services
Libraries, community centres, pools, recreation, venue hire, volunteering.
Food & Business
Food registration, health inspections, business support, procurement, tenders.
Accessibility & Support
Disability access, interpreter services, hardship, CALD support, home care.
Contact & Hours
Council offices, phone numbers, opening hours, email, after-hours contacts.
Planning Schemes
Local planning policy, zoning maps, heritage registers, design guidelines.
Environment & Health
Stormwater, contaminated land, water and wastewater, septic systems.
Development & Building
Building regulations, site permits, construction standards, safety inspections.
Legal & Appeals
Planning appeals, rate objections, complaints, ombudsman, FOI, disclosures.
Grants & Funding
Community grants, business grants, funding rounds, eligibility, applications.
Emergency & Safety
Bushfire, flood, fire prevention, emergency management, climate action.
+ Council-Specific
Saleyards, tourism, arts & culture, swimming pools, and any service unique to your LGA.
The CouncilGenius platform — three ways to deploy
The same core technology, adapted for different use cases. Every version adopts the language conventions, brand identity, and communication style of the organisation it serves. Fully customisable deployment is available for any requirement.
CouncilGenius — Public
The flagship product. A branded AI resident assistant, embedded in the council's public website, answering community enquiries around the clock from the council's own documents.
- + Knowledge base built from publicly available council documents
- + Branded in council colours and integrated into council website
- + Text and voice input, text-to-speech output
- + Multilingual — answers in the language of the question
- + Anonymised analytics and resident feedback reporting
- + Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and PDP Act 2014 (Vic) compliant
- + Pre-loaded with council language and communication conventions
CouncilGenius — Staff
A private, authenticated version of CouncilGenius trained on internal council documents not publicly available. Deployed on the council intranet, accessible only to staff.
- + Trained on internal policy manuals, procedures, HR frameworks, delegations registers
- + Contractor registers, grant acquittal processes, internal budget working papers
- + Answers questions the public-facing version cannot — using confidential council material
- + Accessible via council intranet behind staff authentication
- + Drafts internally formatted memos, briefing notes, and correspondence
- + Reduces internal escalations — reception resolves complex calls at first contact
- + Can run alongside the public-facing product or independently
CouncilGenius — Custom
The same platform, deployed for any organisation with a large document base and a need for instant, accurate information retrieval. Government departments, regulatory bodies, large private enterprises.
- + Adopts the language, style guide, and brand identity of any organisation
- + Trained on the organisation's own documents — internal or public-facing
- + Can serve customers, staff, or both — with separate knowledge bases
- + Fully branded interface in the organisation's colour scheme
- + Operates within the organisation's communication style and tone of voice
- + Suitable for any sector with high-volume information enquiries and complex documentation
Why the platform adapts to any organisation
The CouncilGenius technology is fundamentally document-agnostic. It synthesises any organisation's written information — policies, procedures, product catalogues, regulatory frameworks, fee schedules — into a structured knowledge base, then answers questions from that base with the precision and tone appropriate to the organisation.
The council-specific version is pre-loaded with the language patterns, formatting conventions, and communication standards of Australian local government — making it immediately useful for drafting council-style correspondence, formal responses, and structured procedures. A custom deployment for a different organisation undergoes the same calibration process using that organisation's own style guide and communication materials.
CouncilGenius for Business
The same platform that powers CouncilGenius for local government is available for private businesses. If your organisation manages a significant volume of documentation and handles high-frequency enquiries — from customers, staff, or both — this is the same capability, built for your context.
We build a structured knowledge base from your existing documents — product catalogues, policies, procedures, terms and conditions, training materials, compliance frameworks — and deploy an AI assistant that answers from that base with the tone and language of your organisation. Customer-facing, staff-facing, or both with separate knowledge bases.
If you've encountered CouncilGenius through a council and want to explore what a similar capability could do for your business, we'd welcome the conversation.
Customer-facing assistant
Trained on your public-facing documentation. Handles product, service, policy, and support enquiries without staff involvement.
Internal knowledge tool
Trained on internal documents — procedures, HR frameworks, operational manuals. Gives your team instant access to institutional knowledge.
Fully customisable
Branded in your colours, calibrated to your communication style, and updated as your documentation changes.
Built for Australian communities
CouncilGenius is a purpose-built AI platform for Australian local government — created to close the gap between what councils provide and what residents can easily access.
CouncilGenius
CouncilGenius was built to solve a straightforward problem: residents cannot get the answers they need without calling the council, and councils spend significant officer time answering the same questions repeatedly.
Built specifically for Australian local government, CouncilGenius is not a global platform retrofitted for councils — it was constructed from the ground up to reflect how Australian councils document, structure, and communicate their services. It answers with the exact fee from the current fees and charges schedule, the exact rule from the General Local Law, and the exact contact for a resident's local councillor.
CouncilGenius is the only product of its kind built specifically for Australian local government — a distinction that reflects both the depth of specialisation required and the proprietary methodology that makes it possible.
Proven in the field
CouncilGenius has been built and tested across multiple councils in Victoria and New South Wales — from regional shires to large urban councils. Live demonstration environments are available to explore right now.
Australian-built for Australian councils
Not a global platform retrofitted for local government. Built from the ground up for how Australian councils document, structure, and communicate their services.
Respectful of the sector
Local government does important work with constrained resources. CouncilGenius is a tool that helps councils serve their communities better — not a replacement for the people who do that work.
Current status
CouncilGenius has live demonstration environments operational across councils in Victoria and New South Wales — with more states being added. This is a working product actively being introduced to local government — not a concept or prototype.
Commercial arrangements
CouncilGenius is provided under a formal service agreement that includes a due diligence period, during which the council evaluates the live assistant and requests amendments before full deployment commences.
Questions councils ask
Request a demo
Tell us about your council and we will show you exactly what CouncilGenius would look like for your community.
Let's talk about your council
We will respond within one business day. If your council is a good fit, we will arrange a live demonstration — no commitment required.