Hobsons Bay City Council has released a confronting report detailing serious cultural and organisational issues following an independent Listening and Support Process involving 138 staff.

The review was triggered after allegations raised with councillors led to the suspension of Hobsons Bay CEO, Aaron van Egmond. Mr van Egmond later resigned his position with the Council. Before joining Hobsons Bay, Mr van Egmond was CEO of Hepburn Shire, overseeing the initial stages of the Hepburn Hub at The Rex project which was abandoned by Council in 2022.

The review, led by experienced local government executives Brett Luxford and Jewil Fulton, found that many staff experienced a workplace culture marked by distrust, fear, bullying, and systemic dysfunction over several years. The impact of this toxic environment was felt across all levels of the organisation, undermining productivity, collaboration, and employee wellbeing.

The report identifies five major areas of concern:

  • Culture and leadership
  • Risk and policies
  • Business delivery
  • Workload
  • Change management

The report outlines 23 recommendations to improve the organisation’s health and performance. These include:

  • Establishing an independent complaints process
  • Delivering leadership and governance training for all senior leaders
  • Strengthening recruitment, onboarding, and performance management practices
  • Improving internal communications and recognition programs
  • Addressing excessive workloads and under-resourcing
  • Monitoring and publicly reporting on progress

Recommendations are staged across immediate, short, medium, and long-term timeframes, with a clear focus on staff safety, transparency, and accountability.

Council has acknowledged the courage of staff who participated and committed to implementing the reforms to ensure a respectful and safe workplace and continued service to the community.

The full report is available on the Hobsons Bay City Council website.

This article is based on a media release from Hobsons Bay City Council and on the published report of the Listening and Support Process.