James Bentley

Background

About James Bentley

I am a future-focused Local Government Executive combining deep and wide-ranging expertise with a pronounced aptitude for people leadership to fuel excellence. A natural communicator and leader, I engage stakeholders across all levels, driving connections and cultivating empowering environments to achieve high performance. I am also technologically and commercially adept, developing and implementing strategies that transform organisations for the better. My experience spans corporate, financial and community service functions for councils across three states in Australia. This has seen me drive transformation for the West Wimmera Shire Council, fostering a change-ready culture to deliver workforce modernisation; and the Shire’s first childcare service, earning recognition from the Victorian Local Government Inspectorate. At Gladstone, I reduced the number of properties auctioned for unpaid rates from over 200 to just 10, driving a proactive and empathetic approach to overdue rates that bolstered the community’s confidence in the fairness and equity of Council processes. Assured and positive, I bring the steady hand and appetite for challenges essential for leading organisations into the future.