Home | LG DEI Services

Welcome

Thank you for your interest in Local Government DEI Services. We are a Melbourne-based consultancy serving Victorian councils.

As founder and principal consultant, it is my pleasure to introduce our focus, offering, and profile.
Do you have questions, comments, or suggestions? Please use the contact form. I look forward to hearing from you.

Gregor Ptok LLM, LLB

Focus: local government

As the level of government “closest to the people”, local government exists to serve local communities.

This presents unique challenges, such as:

Balancing the needs of current and future residents.
Navigating increasingly polarised political discourse.
Cost- and regulatory-burden shifting from other levels of government.
Decision-makers and staff being part of the community they serve.

These challenges, combined with the broader environmental, social, political and economic challenges, form the backdrop to the efforts of Councillors and Staff to serve their communities.

Our desire to support people’s well-being has led us to contribute our best skills & insights to the local government sector. Since 2008.

Focus: diversity, equity, inclusion

Human beings are complex.

We are all so different - in visible and invisible ways.

And yet, we are also the same. If found unconscious, CPR is likely to increase our chance of survival.
We share common needs. Aside from physiological needs such as air, water, food, sleep, clothing and shelter, we share psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness.

There are myriad ways in which we seek to meet our needs.

One important cornerstone in our efforts are our identities and communities.

What happens when different identities and communities find themselves in the same area? Be it in a workplace, neighbourhood, club or virtual space?
Often, we find ourselves in echo-chambers. Hearing only what affirms our views. Closing our eyes and ears to points of view we may disagree with. Leading to increasing disagreement and polarisation. At times "out in the open", at other times "in private".

And yet, we are all part of this moment in time.

With all our differences .... how can we find ways to interact with respect and civility, with each others' human dignity in mind?
Especially when facing significant environmental, social, political and economic challenges?

"Diversity is the mix.
Inclusion is making the mix work."
- Andrés Tapia

"Making the mix work" - whether in teams or when looking at systemic forces - for us it all begins with how we meet and communicate with each other.

Offering: respectful interaction, CEO performance review facilitation, data analysis and benchmarking assistance

Our service offering is anchored in a deep care for the wellbeing of people and planet.

It begins with deeply respectful interaction.

For individuals, offering Time to Think. A space to think uninterrupted. Independently. Courageously. About the particular challenges you are tackling. And, if requested, to challenge some assumptions that may be blocking your path.

For teams, it is about Transforming Meetings. Finding ways to relate and communicate that allow for full expression of different perspectives - in an environment where team members feel encouraged and safe to do so. Leading to more comprehensive, faster and better decision making and collaboration.

One particularly important context for effective collaboration and respectful interaction are CEO performance reviews. With a background in law, mediation and facilitation, as well as years of experience facilitating local government CEO performance reviews, our goal is to contribute to successful Councillor - Mayor - CEO working relations. And through inclusive facilitation, contribute to the wellbeing of all involved, the wider organisation and the community it serves.

Finally, and fundamentally, we enable evidence-based collaboration through data analysis and benchmarking. With a track record in local government HR Metrics, and, more recently, Workplace Gender Audits, we strive to help create a shared understanding of reality as foundation for good decision making.

Use the contact form to book a no-obligation, free conversation to consider the issues you would like to discuss, the outcomes you seek, and whether and how LG DEI Services might be able to assist you.

Client voices

"[We] worked with Gregor to complete the progress audit.
Gregor provided us the ability to do a thorough audit of
our employee data under each of the workplace
gender equality indicators.
He completed his work in a professional and timely manner.
Gregor also identified opportunities for process improvement
to ensure that the next round of reporting is business as usual.
I would recommend Gregor’s consultancy services to
support your council reporting."
- Child Safety & Gender Equality Officer, Regional City Council

"We have found Gregor to be a well-informed, attentive and thoughtful consultant. Gregor is very much driven by evidence and metrics and his solutions are definitely not one size fits all.
Gregor is very approachable and always follows through on his commitments. He has been a pleasure to work with."
- Organisational Development Manager, Regional City Council

“Gregor is profoundly knowledgeable in all aspects of performance management, and in a broader sense, Human Resources systems, processes and benchmarking techniques. As individual, [he] has always demonstrated tremendous "people skills".
His extensive knowledge, together with the personality traits outlined above, have earned him the absolute respect of staff and elected officials alike at Council.
I would highly recommend Gregor for any prospective role/assignment in the field of Human Resource Management and as independent GM/CEO review facilitator.”
- CEO, Metropolitan Council

"Together":
One of the most inspiring words
in the English language.

Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success.

- Edward Everett Hale

Principal Consultant Profile:
Gregor Ptok LLM LLB

Gregor has been a trusted adviser to the local government sector in Australia since March 2008.

He has worked as HR and Management Consultant. Initially employed by Local Government NSW, after moving to Melbourne, he continued contributing to the sector as external consultant to councils and industry associations, including the Municipal Association of Victoria.

Profile highlights include:

Over 15 years’ experience as People & Culture consultant for local government
Gregor provided consulting services to councils in Victoria, NSW and South Australia. In Victoria, this included running the MAV HR Benchmarking Survey from 2014 to 2020. He is very familiar with the local government workforce, its challenges, and the broader sector. Contributions to the sector include:

Facilitating staff surveys and CEO performance reviews
Conducting organisational and culture reviews at 13 councils
Developing and pitching the "Australian Local Government Clearinghouse" project to all councils and at the 2018 National General Assembly - to support the local government industry take strategic control of all the data they contribute to different providers

Workplace Gender Auditing and Action Planning
Gregor has a deep understanding of the data that goes into preparing a workplace gender audit. In 2021, he was asked by the MAV to provide a local government perspective on data collection for the inaugural Workplace Gender Audit. In the previous two years, whilst the Gender Equality Act was prepared, he had already started to incorporate broader gender- and intersectionality-datasets in the MAV HR Benchmarking Survey.
Since then, he:

Conducted a Gender Pay Gap review for an interface council (2022)
Worked as Workforce Planning, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Lead at a city council (2022-2023)
Provided extensive input into the 2023 progress audit consultation run by the Public Sector Gender Equality Commission
Completed 2023 and 2025 Workplace Gender Audit data collection for a regional city council
Assisted with an ANZSCO coding review for employee positions at a regional city council

Training in law, mediation and facilitation.
Legal training is very helpful when navigating legislation and regulation. A clear understanding of statutory requirements helps balance what internal (HR) systems can deliver with what might be sought in surveys.
Mediation and facilitation skills have been invaluable when gathering data or reporting results to stakeholders. Gregor is one of only 17 Australian facilitators accredited in the highly inclusive Time to Think methodology.

Diversity, equity and inclusion - passion and lived experience.

As migrant, Gregor cherishes the inclusive potential of communities and organisations.He is inspired by what he sees as Australia’s potential – a nation with direct access to the human wisdom and knowledge from the Earth’s oldest living culture, from European and many other cultures from around the world.Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the core of who he is and what he contributes.