Best in class citizen experience
Time savings through reduced manual data entry
All three services accessible through a single portal
Background
Lismore City Council serves around 44,000 people across the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales, known for its World Heritage-listed rainforests, rich biodiversity, and vibrant creative communities.
Facing the end of life of multiple critical systems by 31 December 2025, the council turned to Symphony3, who delivered three fully working solutions on a single platform, keeping parking permits, cemetery records, and animal care facility management running without disruption.
The Digital Challenge
Lismore City Council ran three systems its staff and residents depended on every day: a parking permit system, a cemetery register, and an animal care facility register. On 31 December 2025, the vendor running all three was closing down. Without replacements, the consequences were real. Permits could not be processed. Residents seeking records of loved ones would have nowhere to turn. Officers managing impounded animals would have no system to work from. For a council that values service delivery, this was a problem they refused to leave unresolved.
The Vision
Every resident, tradesperson, and staff member deserves seamless, reliable access to council services. All delivered on a single, secure, modern platform. By embarking on this project, Lismore City Council collaborated with Symphony3 to ensure three fully working solutions would be in place before their systems faced closure.
The Solution
Symphony3 identified that all three solutions could be built on a single Drupal platform, offering the council a simpler, more unified delivery.
Tradesperson Parking Permit System
- Public-facing web form for tradespeople to apply for parking permits, with ABN validation.
- Approved applicants receive a permit PDF automatically on submission.
- Parking officers log in to view all active permits, businesses, and registered vehicles in a single interface.
Cemetery Register
- Searchable public interface for thousands of cemetery records, sourced directly from the council’s Civica system.
- Residents can search by full name, date of death, burial location, and site.
- Cemetery records are automatically synced from Civica into the new system on a weekly basis, ensuring records remain current.
Animal Care Facility Register
- Dedicated management system for impounded animals, with an individual record page per animal.
- Each record captures full details including collection location, adoption status, and associated fees.
- Release fees calculated automatically based on registration status, days impounded, and release type.
- Officers can filter, report, and export records as needed.
Transformative Results
- Residents find records of loved ones faster, searching by full name, date of death, burial location, and site, providing an improved digital experience.
- Time saved by automating previously manual cemetery data uploads.
- Permit applications now verified through ABN lookup, reducing the risk of incorrect information being submitted.
- Council officers have a structured system to manage impounded animals, with the ability to filter, report, and export records as needed.
- Three systems replaced and live before the 31 December 2025 deadline.
The Symphony3 Difference
Symphony3 delivers a cloud-based service combined with a human touch - we call it SWAS (Software with a Service). We work closely with our clients on every engagement and ensure you are supported once the solution goes live. It is an approach that is collaborative, and flexible, and ensures you get technical advice tailored to your organisation.