Q&A with Amy Ayling, Team Leader Development Assessment at Ku-ring-gai Council
Introducing Amy Ayling from Sydney’s Ku-ring-gai Council. We recently caught up with Amy and discovered how a chance phone call to her local council set her career on a path she hadn’t imagined. Amy chats to us about what led her to Ku-ring-gai, and what it is she finds the most challenging and rewarding about her role.
Q. Are you able to briefly explain your career background, and what led you to this role at Ku-ring-gai Council?
A. After I left school, I studied architecture at UTS and then spent a year back-packing around the world. I returned to Australia when I was 21 and I was unsure what I wanted to do. I contacted my local council which was Pittwater Council (now amalgamated into Northern Beaches Council) to see if they had any work experience opportunities. Luckily, they had a Duty Planner role available – that’s where I started and I haven’t looked back!
Once I had a few years’ planning experience under my belt, I realised that I didn’t want to pursue architecture, so I made an application to the Council for financial assistance to gain a master’s degree in Environmental Planning at Macquarie University. I’m so glad I did, it helped me establish my career early because I was working at the same time. I recall doing a legal seminar one evening at university and the next day I was off to court – it just makes your learning so much more relevant, it really kick-started my career!
I achieved my master’s and stayed at Pittwater Council for five years before shifting to City of Sydney Council, where I gained some really great experience. I then decided to move to Ku-ring-gai about seven years ago – we’d bought a home on the Northern Beaches and I wanted to be a bit closer to home.
I’ve now been at the executive assessment officer level for around ten years – including the past seven and half years at Ku-ring-gai, and just recently, I have been promoted to my current role of Team Leader Development Assessment.
Q. What are your main responsibilities, and what would a typical day look like for you?
A. There’s lots of emails, meetings and reviewing reports! But every day is different, because every application is different. We look after a range of residential, commercial and industrial applications – anything from minor pool applications, right through to apartment buildings, new shops and mixed-use developments.
I look after a team of up to six people, and they consist of varying levels of experience, from juniors who are just starting their planning careers, to very senior executive assessment officers with over 15 years’ experience.
My team prepare planning reports which I then review, and then determine those applications under council delegation. I also review reports that go up to a local planning panel or to the land environment court. I try to use that report review process for learning opportunities with the team – mentoring is really important.
Q. What is one of the more challenging aspects of your role?
A. If an application has been assessed, reviewed, and rejected by council for certain reasons, those applications then often head to the Land and Environment Court. We have a number of court matters going on at any time.
The trees and vegetation in Ku-ring-gai are very important – we have an expert team of landscape officers and ecologists who are involved in the applications, as well as engineers and heritage officers – it’s a multi-disciplinary team. We’re there as the planners who bring it all together, manage that team and then communicate those issues to the court.
The court is represented by a commissioner, and the applicant would have their own team putting their case forward as to why their proposal is acceptable. Of course, we try to mediate first, but if we can’t come to agreement, then the matter is decided by the court.
I actually love being involved in those more challenging applications!
Q. What do you find the most enjoyable about your role?
A. I find the inter-related issues we get at Ku-ring-gai really interesting; environmental, ecological, heritage. And I love the fact that you’re learning new things every day with the decisions that are made. It’s a changing field and the legal interpretations are complex; I find that so exciting.
Q. What would you say to planning graduates who might be considering a career in local government?
A. Council is such a big organisation, it’s like running a little country essentially! That makes it a great place to start, because you get exposed to so many different disciplines. You’re in an organisation that is involved in so many areas of daily life, and all our decisions are made in the public’s interest.
Whether you’re interested in planning, strategy or design, there’s opportunities for secondments – it’s such a diverse place to work. You also network with external private planners and consultants, so if you eventually want to, you can also go private. For me, I’ve always loved working for the public interest.
That, and the flexibility – those are the two reasons I would encourage anyone to start their career in council.
Q. Have you felt well-supported and empowered as a female leader at Ku-ring-gai Council?
A. Absolutely, the flexibility the council offers is one of the main reasons I’ve been able to take the next step in my career. Even before I had my children, I really valued the flexibility that local government offered. I used to spend days off with my grandmother – it was just invaluable to have that time together.
And then when children come along, that flexibility is even more important. Now I have the opportunity to work from home.
It’s always been a family-friendly place, I could tell from the moment that I walked in the door. I work with like-minded colleagues and a management team who are totally understanding if you need to leave because of a family emergency. We’re like a big group of respectful friends – it’s a lovely environment to be in.
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