At the 2025 IPWEA Fleet Conference in Brisbane, Melinda Ta, Group Manager Fleet and Depot Operations at City of Parramatta, delivered one of the most insightful presentations of the event—an in-depth look at how her team reimagined and rewrote the city’s fleet policy through genuine staff engagement, cross-department collaboration and community-minded leadership.
Here’s how they did it—and why their journey is a great example of best practice fleet management.
Listening First: Identifying the Need for Change
It all started with a policy that no longer reflected the reality on the ground. While the existing fleet policy, introduced in 2022, was technically still within its four-year lifecycle, Melinda’s team recognised early that staff didn’t feel heard or represented. There were “murmurs in the yard,” as she put it—concerns, frustrations and confusion that had built up over years of top-down policy application.
Rather than wait for the policy to expire, the team sought permission to bring forward a review. Their goal: create a policy that people didn’t just have to follow—but actually believed in.
Anonymous Survey: Setting the Baseline
Knowing that many staff were more comfortable speaking freely under the cover of anonymity, the team kicked off with a city-wide anonymous survey. The results were staggering—309 completed responses and 199 written comments. The data provided rich insight into employee sentiment on everything from vehicle pricing to travel restrictions and EV charging logistics.
By turning casual grumbles into structured data, the team now had something solid to work with. And perhaps more importantly, they had already begun rebuilding trust by simply asking for feedback and showing they were ready to listen.
Cross-Functional Working Group: Building Together
The next step was forming a dedicated working group of nine staff members from across the organisation. These weren’t just “yes” people—they were leaseback users, operational staff, and employees from directorates who didn’t typically interact with fleet policy. Over a series of fortnightly meetings spanning three months, they reviewed the existing policy line by line.
They also sought insights from peers across local government, sharing drafts and gathering examples of what had worked (and what hadn’t) at other councils. This external benchmarking helped embed best practice into the process.
Consultation Roadshow: Going Face to Face
Once a draft was prepared, the real test began—a nine-stop consultation roadshow across Parramatta’s various council sites. No online forms. No faceless webinars. Just real conversations.
The team hosted early morning and after-hours sessions to reach as many staff as possible, ultimately engaging 156 people face-to-face, with 108 completing follow-up surveys. What made the approach unique was the openness—staff were asked again to share honest feedback and vote on specific changes like the new vehicle formula.
The result? 75% of respondents supported the new policy, and 89% backed the revised formula. Crucially, 70% of those who said “yes” also took the time to leave a supportive comment, showing deeper buy-in than a simple tick-the-box exercise.
Key Changes That Made a Difference
The final fleet policy wasn’t just about words on paper—it delivered tangible benefits for staff while improving governance. Some of the standout changes included:
- Vehicle turnover reduced to 60,000km or three years (down from 80,000km)
- 20% average reduction in leaseback fees, directly responding to staff concerns
- Clear choice between leaseback and car allowance on commencement or vehicle turnover
- Introduction of interstate travel in leaseback vehicles, replacing an unpopular restriction
- Monthly cap on fuel card spend, with monitoring and accountability built in
- Clear accident and disciplinary procedures, removing previous grey areas
- Clarified rules around secondary employment and vehicle use
- New hardship clause, allowing staff to temporarily access fleet vehicles if their personal car was off the road
- Commitment to review the policy every two years, not four
By showing staff that their concerns were being heard—and acted upon—the fleet team didn’t just change the rules. They changed perceptions.
Going Beyond Policy: Cultural Wins
What makes this story exceptional is what happened after the policy was completed.
Out of the consultation, new initiatives emerged that strengthened team culture and fleet literacy. The “Car Care Clinics” invited staff to the depot for hands-on maintenance training run by council mechanics. They taught simple but essential skills—like topping up fluids or interpreting dashboard lights—building both capability and appreciation for the workshop team.
Next came the EV Test Drive Program. With growing interest but lingering uncertainty around electric vehicles, the team organised a three-day EV showcase at the depot. Staff could explore, drive and compare a wide range of EVs with confidence that these were serious procurement options—not window dressing. It gave them a voice in the fleet’s low-emission future.
Lessons for the Fleet Community
Melinda Ta’s presentation was more than a case study—it was a how-to guide for genuine, collaborative change. If there’s one takeaway for other councils and fleet managers, it’s this: don’t wait for policy cycles. Listen early, consult widely and design with—not for—your people.
As Melinda reflected, “We didn’t want to just deliver a policy—we wanted to deliver trust, accountability, and ownership.”
The result? A modern, flexible fleet policy backed by data, best practice, and most importantly, people. And that’s something every fleet manager can learn from.
Will you be part of the conversations like this at the 2026 IPWEA Fleet Conference in Melbourne? The City of Parramatta has shown how powerful collaboration can be—make sure you’re in the room when the next success story is shared.
