The City's Participatory Budgeting project saw it become the first WA metropolitan council to formally adopt a budget that had been laid out for community input.
Mayor Dan Bull said he is proud to receive this prestigious national accolade for a project that placed such high value on the opinions of the community.
"As a Council, we were significantly invested in this project. We set out wanting to better understand community priorities in terms of the services we deliver, and that is exactly what we achieved.
“It is because our community got behind this project that it was such a success, and we appreciate the time they volunteered to be part of the process.
"The in-depth consultative process included drop in sessions at local libraries and shopping centres, an online budget allocator tool, and a three day deliberative community panel.
"The design of the project, particularly the deliberative community panel, enabled the community to contribute at a deeper and more informed manner than ever, particularly as they had access to the City's financial information.
"The City was then able to align the 2019/20 Budget with many of the panel’s recommendations, and adopt a budget that reflected the services valued by the community.
"This level of community engagement is an emerging methodology, and the City is the first metropolitan council in Western Australia to challenge the status quo and use it for the budget process.
"It's projects like these that help us build stronger communities."
The Australian Business Awards is an annual awards program that recognises organisations from across the country that demonstrate excellence in a number of core business categories and implement world-class initiatives, projects, products and services.
This is the second time the City of Bayswater has been recognised at the Australian Business Awards, having won in 2019 in the category of Change Management.