Noosa Council has taken charge of Major Event Sponsorship Funding allocations from Tourism Noosa and its first report shows it has taken a status quo approach, waiting for the completion of a Sustainable Events Strategy to inform any changes.
In a report to council’s general meeting on Monday staff said the takeover by council of major tourism events funding followed extensive community consultation through the Destination Management Plan (DMP) process and subsequent engagement with event rights holders.
“This transition represents a significant shift toward a community-led, values-aligned approach to events in Noosa,” the report states.
“The DMP feedback highlighted a strong desire for Council to provide clearer oversight of events, ensure better alignment with community expectations, reduce negative impacts, and strengthen sustainability and accessibility outcomes. Transitioning event funding to Council supports this direction by enabling improved governance, strategic alignment, and consistent decision-making across the organisation. It is also a direction supported by the events industry.”
“It’s sitting in a transition. We’re using same processes as Tourism Noosa until our processes are in place,” staff told the meeting.
“Events need 18 month planning leeway to plan their events.”
Staff said after going through a process of assessment they arrived at event funding totalling $230,000, about the same figure as Tourism Noosa.
“This year is about trying to maintain consistency. The DMP took longer than anticipated. To make sure events and organisers are not impacted, we agreed to have almost status quo with the assessment period,” they said.
Events have long played an important role in Noosa’s culture, economy and community, the report states.
“In response to community feedback received during the development of the DMP, Council is creating a new Sustainable Events Strategy and accompanying Guidelines.
“These documents will shape Noosa’s future events portfolio, including tourism, community, and arts and cultural events, ensuring alignment with the principles and objectives of the DMP. The strategy will also guide future event funding and sponsorship, provide clarity and certainty for event organisers, and be directly informed by the community feedback gathered throughout the DMP process.”
The report received councillor’s majority support with a final decision on it to be made on it at its ordinary meeting on Thursday.
