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ASCA Newsletter Archive

The ASCA Newsletter Archive brings together past editions of our regular member newsletter, covering the latest sector news, upcoming events, policy updates and highlights from across the smart communities movement.

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February Newsletter 2026

In our first major update of 2026, we carry forward the momentum of a landmark year with a message from President James Sankar, reflecting on his new role at the City of Parramatta and our evolving vision for the year ahead. We are proud to strengthen our leadership team by welcoming Ashlee Gardner (Secretary) and Mandy O'Toole (Treasurer) to their new Board positions, while introducing the new delivery partners who will be driving our digital and member engagement strategies. Our commitment to global best practices continues with the kick-off of our 2026 Webinar Series, featuring key international trends from the Smart City Expo World Congress. This month also marks significant progress in governance and resources, with the release of the...

December Newsletter 2025

In the last edition of 2025, we reflect on a year of growth and momentum for ASCA. President James Sankar shares highlights including welcoming 13 new members, leading our largest-ever delegation to Barcelona's Smart City Expo World Congress, and launching the ASCA 2030 Strategy. We introduce two new Board members and acknowledge our outgoing members' contributions. Looking ahead to 2026, ASCA shares exciting plans for enhanced member engagement and our National Summit in November. We also announce a joint statement with IPWEA and Smart Cities Council calling for stronger ANZ presence on the global smart cities stage, and reveal exclusive member advertising opportunities through our new Forge magazine partnership....

November Newsletter 2025

In November's edition, we highlighted the upcoming AGM on 26 November for electing Board Directors and Reference Working Group members, shared insights from ASCA's representation at Melbourne Build Expo and the Brisbane Luncheon on local government smart city initiatives, and reflected on key takeaways from over 30 ANZ delegates at Barcelona's Smart City Expo World Congress. We released a new member-only thought leadership piece on human-centric urban design featuring Melbourne's Royal Park, made October's webinar replays available, hosted Melbourne networking meetups, announced upcoming Australian Standards publications, and shared ASCA's contribution to the Digital ID Rules consultation....

October Newsletter 2025

This month's edition features important updates including our AGM notice with board nominations now open (closing 12 November), congratulations to ASCA Board Members Mandy O'Toole and Pearl Li Ng whose councils won 5 MAVlab Innovation Awards, exclusive member access to our latest thought leadership on data-driven placemaking, and the ASCA Summit 2026 announcement (18-20 November) with the theme "Innovation in the Age of Disruption." Plus, updates on our ANZPAN contingent heading to Barcelona for Smart City Expo World Congress....

September Newsletter 2025

September's edition leads with expressions of interest for hosting our National Summit 2026, scheduled for 17-20 November with EOIs open until end of November. The newsletter features our exciting partnership with Melbourne Build Expo (22-23 October), Part 3 of our data literacy thought leadership series focusing on trust and security in data ecosystems, and key insights from the Accelerating Smarter Development webinar. Read about Australia's leadership in smart communities standards, celebrate ASCA President James Sankar's prestigious IEC 1906 Award recognition, and discover the final call for our exclusive InsightWise AI platform trial for Gold and Silver members....

August Newsletter 2025

August's edition dives into the transformative potential of AI for local government, featuring ASCA's new partnership with InsightWise and an exclusive three-month platform trial for Gold and Silver council members. The newsletter launches the groundbreaking Accelerating Smarter Development report with Urbis and NBN Co, providing a blueprint for Australia's smart community potential based on insights from nearly 200 industry professionals. Members can access key insights from the recent smart mobility webinar, exclusive IPWEA forum discounts, and Part 2 of the data accessibility thought leadership series, plus updates on Smart City Expo World Congress 2025 applications....