Burnie City Council’s Strategic Objectives include: A range of vibrant, safe and attractive community spaces; a community that celebrates and participates in its arts, culture and heritage; a community that promotes and values its broad range of quality leisure, recreational and sporting opportunities; an innovative range of accommodation and residential options addressing all the needs of the community; a vibrant and progressive central business district; a re-invigorated Paper Mill site that adds value to the regional economy.

Burnie Council’s Positive Ageing Plan (2006-2010) incorporated key themes and ideas from the Tasmanian Government’s Positive Ageing Plan and from a consultation/planning day held in December 2005. Burnie Council’s Positive Ageing Plan was made up of five key themes:

1. Participating in your Community;
2. Living in your Community;
3. Independence and Good Health;
4. Education and Information and
5. Community Attitudes.

The formation of an Age-Friendly Communities Advisory Group will consist of representatives from local service organisations as well as members from the local Senior Citizens Club; Independent Retirees Club and School for Seniors club. Volunteers from these clubs will participate in conducting an age-friendly assessment of the City of Burnie providing an inventory of the services, programs and initiatives that currently exist in the community as well as a baseline for measuring progress and setting priorities for action.

Older residents of the Burnie community will be invited to participate in an Ageing Workshop and surveys will be made available to older residents through: the mail, recipients of Meals on Wheels; local clubs and organizations; on council’s website and Facebook pages. Participants of the workshop will be invited to form focus groups to assist in prioritizing, setting objectives, determining indicators and measuring of each direction identified at the ageing workshop and through the surveys. Interested participants will be asked to provide contact details to enable ongoing contact and for them to receive ongoing progress updates/reports and will be invited to participate in a follow-up survey at the end of the five year assessment process to determine changes over time.