Cooney, who had been the director for corporate performance for Bendigo, permanently takes on the new position after holding it on a temporary basis once Victoria received hosting rights.

City of Bendigo chief executive Craig Niemann said he was looking forward to Cooney continuing his work.

"Andrew is passionate about our community and has long, established relationships locally and at the state level through leading the city's involvement in the development of Galkangu - Bendigo GovHub," said Niemann.

"He has been with the city for four years, so also has a great sense of how we can leverage Games opportunities to deliver on key actions from a range of adopted strategies and achieve the objectives outlined in our 'Let the Games Begin' legacy document.

"Andrew will be able to draw on his skills in financial management, governance, advocacy and community engagement to ensure Greater Bendigo and the wider region share in the benefit of the Games coming to central Victoria."

Bendigo is one of five hub cities for the 2026 Commonwealth Games - scheduled to take place from March 17 to 29 - with the others being Ballarat, Geelong, Gippsland and Shepparton.

Melbourne is due to hold the Opening Ceremony at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, but no sport.

Cooney is soon to be replaced as the director of corporate performance for the City of Greater Bendigo.

Bendigo is expected to hold lawn bowls, table tennis, track cycling, netball, 3x3 basketball and squash at the Commonwealth Games.