Case Study: City of Ballarat achieves user-led innovation and operational efficiency with Microsoft Power Apps

Ballarat Council releases efficiency genie, unleashes user-led innovation

The City of Ballarat faced scaling, resilience and agility limits as it moved off legacy on‑premises systems to meet rapid population growth. Working with Microsoft Power Apps as part of a wider Microsoft stack (Azure, Dynamics 365 and Office 365), the council set out to democratize low‑code/no‑code application development so staff could replace slow, paper‑based and niche systems with lightweight digital solutions.

Using Microsoft Power Apps, Power Automate and Office 365, Ballarat formed an internal Power User Group and two focused teams to mentor staff, resulting in 335 Power Apps and 592 Flows created and the maker community growing from 12 to 38 people. The solutions — including a smartphone gift register that removed paper approvals, Teams Shifts rostering for seasonal staff, and an inspections app with photos and audit trails — delivered faster approvals, improved compliance and measurable productivity gains driven by user‑led innovation enabled by Microsoft Power Apps.

City of Ballarat

Rhett Nunn

Manager for ICT Solution Design and Development