One of the ways council engages with the community on shaping the future of Ipswich is through the community panel. The panel is a modern form of community engagement which is more flexible and inclusive than the previous Community Reference Group (CRG) model. Panel members can opt-in or out of engagement opportunities as they like, and a variety of forums will be offered. The community panel complement existing community engagement forums in Ipswich.

The community panel launched in February 2022. You can join the panel at Shape Your Ipswich, council’s online community engagement platform.

History of the Community Reference Groups

In 2019, council established five Community Reference Groups, which were aligned with the five standing committees of council.

Following a review of the program after the initial two-year membership period, and research on best practice approaches across Australia, the Community Reference Groups were replaced with the community panel model.

You can read all of the previous CRG review reports and minutes below:

Community Reference Groups

Following a review of the program after the initial two-year membership period, and research on best practice approaches across Australia, the Community Reference Groups were replaced with the community panel model. You can read the Two Year Monitoring and Evaluation report here.