Community Satisfaction Survey Results
The annual Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey provides valuable feedback on Council's performance in core performance and service-related areas. The independent survey is coordinated annually by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning on behalf of Victorian councils.
Summary of key results
The table below summarises the Borough’s results for the past three years and compares 2020 core performance scores against state-wide and small rural shire averages. These provide the Borough with an opportunity to benchmark its performance against other councils and to identify areas where service delivery improvements are needed.
Core Performance Measures | Queenscliffe 2020 |
Small Rural 2020 |
State-wide 2020 |
Overall performance | 61 | 56 | 58 |
Community consultation | 59 | 54 | 55 |
Lobbying | 56 | 52 | 53 |
Making community decisions | 54 | 53 | 53 |
Sealed local roads | 66 | 51 | 54 |
Customer service | 72 | 70 | 70 |
Overall council direction | 63 | 50 | 51 |
Survey background
In 2020, the Borough performed above the statewide and small rural average core performance scores across all seven measures, a significant achievement and a marked increase from 2019. Apart from a minor downturn in customer service – which still remains Council’s highest rated measure – all other categories increased upon last year’s results. This encouraging trend reinforces the decision by Council to engage more frequently and thoroughly with its community, which is reflected by exponential jumps in the overall Council direction and community consultation measures.
The index score of 63 for overall Council direction skyrocketed 18 points higher than last year, and is Council’s best result in this measure since surveying began in 2012. Similarly, the increase of eight points in community consultation reversed a long-term decline in this category and indicates a sudden and significant improvement in community sentiment. This also indicates that many changes Council has made to improve consultation have been well received by the community.
Across service-related areas, elderly support services continue to be the area where Council performs best. Council also performs strongly on the appearance of public areas, art centre and libraries, waste management, community and cultural activities, and recreational facilities. Areas for improvement include building and planning permits, town planning, and community decisions.
Despite the positive sentiment overall, Council notes that there is always more work to be done and we hope to build on these promising results in next year’s survey by continuing to deliver to the Queenscliffe community.