Indivar Dhakal from Merri-bek City Council is heading to New Zealand after being accepted into the debut New Zealand Manager Exchange Program.

Merri-bek City Council's Manager of Capital Works Planning and Delivery received the exchange nomination live at LGPro's Awards for Excellence Dinner on the evening of Thursday 5 June before an audience of more than 500 local government professionals from across the state.

LGPro launched the new exchange program this year in partnership with Taituarā, or Local Government Professionals Aotearoa, supporting a member to attend the Taituarā Annual Conference while learning from counterparts in New Zealand's local government sector.

Indivar will now be attending the conference in Christchurch on 3-5 September 2025 and then hosting an officer from New Zealand at 2026's LGPro Annual Conference in return.

Read more about the New Zealand Manager Exchange Program here.