A significant initiative for the FNQWA is the FNQ Regional Water Capability Project – a comprehensive, long-term plan designed to address the region’s capability and capacity challenges in delivering water and sewerage services. But for Amanda, the real opportunity lies beyond planning.

“It’s one thing having a plan,” she says, “but the real challenge is lifting it into implementation.” With 11 initiatives and 55 actions to be delivered over the next decade, Amanda is focused on turning strategy into practical outcomes that make day-to-day operations easier for councils and operators.

This includes balancing major strategic projects such as regional asset criticality assessments with “quick wins” that deliver immediate value.  Demonstrating clear, tangible benefits is key to maintaining engagement across councils with very different sizes, contexts and priorities.

A key strategic focus for the FNQWA is using shared data and regional capability planning to strengthen advocacy for infrastructure funding. By identifying and quantifying the region’s most critical water and wastewater assets the Alliance is better positioned to engage with state and federal governments on where investment is most urgently needed

In an environment shaped by supply chain pressures and challenges such as PFAS and microplastics, Amanda sees regional coordination as essential to resilience. A shared understanding of risks and priorities enables councils to respond effectively and plan with greater confidence.

Many of the FNQWA’s early successes are now simply standard practice. Regionally consistent procurement and contract documentation has streamlined supplier engagement across council boundaries and strengthened long-term relationships. In some cases, this scale and certainty have encouraged suppliers to invest locally – including new chemical storage facilities in Cairns – improving reliability of supply for the entire region.

Amanda describes her role as “a conductor of an orchestra” bringing the right people together at the right time to achieve shared outcomes.

After more than a decade of collaboration in Far North Queensland, momentum and engagement across the Alliance remains strong, with councils actively identifying the next opportunities to deliver together.

Amanda’s goal for the coming years is simple but ambitious: to be able to say, “we achieved this.” Not just strategies on paper, but delivered initiatives, secured funding, and measurable improvements in regional water capability that benefit councils, operators and communities now and into the future.