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Souther n Downs Regional Council have engaged Avantix to initiate a long-term digitisation strategy. The ambitious digitising program will deliver efficiency across the council’s region and enable the council to better deliver services to their ratepayers.
The first three areas of focus are Building Applications, Town Planning and Engineering. “Building Approvals were selected as the first area for digital scanning as it is the most common information requested by customers,” says Mrs Susan Brown, Records Management Project Officer.
Southern Downs Regional Council covers 7,120 square kilometres of countryside of Queensland. Running along the state boundary with New South Wales, the area is known for its breathtaking natural landscapes, immersive wine experiences, fresh local produce and exhilarating events celebrated across four distinct seasons.
Among other delights, the region boasts the southernmost town in Queensland (Wallangarra), the highest railway station in Australia (The Summit), Australia’s most famous rodeo (Warwick), and one of Australia’s quirkiest festivals (Jumpers & Jazz in July).
Created from a merger of two shires nearly a decade ago, the council area has a population of around 36,000 people. With a history stretching back to the mid-1800s and building approvals recorded from the 1960s, this makes for an enormous repository of records.
“Building approval numbers average between 250-350 per year,” says Brown. “Until now, information was either not scanned or not well linked to property addresses.”
The digitising of this vast body of historical Building Approvals by Avantix has resulted in search times reduced from hours (in some instances even days) to seconds. It has also reduced the risk of older documents being misplaced or suffering wear and tear.
“Avantix have opened our eyes to the possibilities of what digitisation can offer,” says Brown. “By using Avantix, Council is reducing costs in time and staff resources, with those cost cutting measures reflected in our yearly budget, both now and into the future.”
Crucially, for a project involving the digitising of current documents, Brown praises the workflow and communication provided by Avantix throughout the provision of scanning services: “Avantix ensure our business processes continue with as little disruption as possible.”
The praise flows in both directions, with Avantix giving full credit to Southern Downs Regional Council’s forethought in implementing this project. “They have embraced their digitalisation journey and are boosting their reputation by making the ratepayers of the region the real winners,” says Jim Cohen, from Avantix.
Persons interested in learning more about Avantix and the Southern Downs Regional Council digital scanning project, including more information about Engineering job files and future plans, can visit the website at www.avantix.com.au
Release ID: 230997