Local government leaders from around Australia will meet in Canberra this week for a national conference to deal with the growing demands on councils as their communities face natural disasters, digital isolation and healthcare shortages.

The Australian Local Government Association will hold the largest regional forum in its history on Tuesday, hosting panels on climate resilience, skills shortages and connectivity.

The association’s president Linda Scott said a record 450 council leaders will gather to share solutions.

“Given the last few years of COVID, drought and increasing natural disasters, never before have I seen councils so hungry for innovation to solve the problems that their communities are facing,” Ms Scott told AAP.

From Wednesday almost all the nation’s 537 councils will be part of the national general assembly to debate more than 100 motions for change.

The conference will also hear from Local Government Minister Catherine King, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko.

Several regions are calling on the federal government to provide better funding for disaster response and recovery, along with support to help councils meet net zero emissions targets.

Others want to roll out a standardised electric vehicle charging network across Australia to boost domestic EV supply and uptake.

Local governments are also chasing investment in water recycling, as fears of another drought loom in rural Australia.

“Recycled water supplies are largely independent of rainfall, making them a more reliable source in an uncertain climate,” Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula Shire Council said in a motion to be heard at the conference.

Access to internet and mobile networks will be another major theme, with Victoria’s Baw Baw Shire Council saying many peri-urban areas still rely on 3G.

Queensland’s North Burnett Regional Council said some remote communities can’t even get free-to-air television after federal funding for satellite dishes was pulled.

While all regions deal with a shortage of GPs, rural councils are calling for Commonwealth support to attract more medical staff by waiving university debts, incentivising migrants to move to the regions and changing education pathways.

Ms Scott said councils are at the forefront of complex and critical issues like energy transition, cost of living pressures and global warming all at once.

“This national general assembly will allow local governments to both share innovation but also present a united voice to the federal government,” she said.