Our progress towards a Welcoming Plan

We've been working alongside the community to develop a three-year Welcoming Plan for our district. We are delighted to share the draft Queenstown Lakes District Welcoming Plan 2024-2027 is available for the wider community to provide feedback on. 

We're keen to know if you support this draft plan to make the places we love more welcoming for everyone and ensure that all newcomers to our district are able to thrive.

Head to letstalk.qldc.govt.nz to read the draft plan and to share your thoughts by Thursday 22 August.

Each Welcoming Communities region develops their Welcoming Plan and draws on the findings from their stocktake and benchmarking reports.

The Welcoming Plan will meet the eight outcomes in the “Standard” and align with the unique characteristics of our district using a community-based approach. A successful Welcoming Plan belongs to the community.

Stages of accreditation

We met the requirements to be accredited as a Committed Welcoming Community on 9 February 2022, having signed a Statement of Commitment on Tuesday 2 November 2021.

This is stage one of four accreditation levels within the Welcoming Communities programme which include – Committed, Established, Advanced and Excelling.

Why become accredited?

Accreditation as a Welcoming Community has a range of benefits, including:

  • showing community values and welcoming newcomers

  • helping to attract, support and retain newcomers

  • showing that council is part of an international welcoming network

  • providing councils with access to ongoing support, resources, knowledge sharing and networking in New Zealand and overseas

  • showcasing new and existing welcoming activities on a national and international stage

  • providing a way to assess and reflect on progress and to improve welcoming practices

  • celebrating success and a shared pride in positive outcomes for the community

  • fostering conversations in the community around valuing inclusion and diversity

To achieve the next stage of accreditation, we need to have a Welcoming Plan and demonstrate we are meeting the sub-outcomes as part of the Standard’s eight pillars. These pillars guide the programme and help determine what creates a welcoming community.

To find out more about the Welcoming Communities Accreditation Model, visit Getting accredited as a Welcoming Community | Immigration New Zealand.