Victoria’s City of Casey has improved its overall performance, as highlighted in the 2021 Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey (CSS) results.
The surveys were conducted in February and March this year by independent market research agency, JWS Research, with approximately 600 interviews among a representative sample of the community.
The annual survey, which is coordinated by the Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions on behalf of Victorian Councils, asks community members in Victorian Local Government Areas about their Council facilities, services, infrastructure, community engagement and more.
Despite the ongoing challenges and interruptions to some services as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, the results showed that perceptions of Council’s performance have improved significantly by five index points in 2021, achieving an overall performance index score of 57 (a 10% increase).
City of Casey Chair of Administrators, Noelene Duff PSM said the annual survey was a valuable tool to gauge the feelings of the community in relation to the services and programs that Council provides and highlight areas where improvements can be made.
“While Council’s overall performance score has improved, we are committed to building on this across all aspects of Council’s work,” Ms Duff said.
“Despite the challenges we have all faced in the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Council has continued to deliver services and support the most vulnerable members of our community.
“We will use the community feedback provided in this survey to review the way we provide services, how we communicate with our residents, and consider where improvements can be made.”
Rating of Council’s performance across most service areas also improved or held steady in the past year, with waste management the area where Council performed best with an index score of 71, compared with the state-wide score of 69.
Sealed local roads was Council’s next highest rated service area (index score of 62, compared with 59 in 2020, a 5 per cent increase) and for the fourth consecutive year, Casey was rated significantly higher than both the State-wide and Interface group averages in this area.
Customer service came up as an area needing improvement, dropping from an index score of 73 in 2020 to 68. While COVID-19 at times impacted the ability of residents to interact with Council face-to-face and increased phone wait times, more work will be done to ensure resources are in place to improve the community’s contact with Council across all channels.
Council’s overall direction and community decisions were other areas where Casey performed relatively well in 2021, compared with the previous year.
The state-wide results are available in the 2021 Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey report.
| Services | Casey 2021 | Casey 2020 | Interface 2021 | State-wide 2021 |
| Overall performance | 57 | 52 | 59 | 61 |
| Value for money | 54 | – | 54 | 54 |
| Overall council direction | 52 | 46 | 50 | 53 |
| Customer service | 68 | 73 | 68 | 70 |
| Waste management | 71 | – | 71 | 69 |
| Sealed local roads | 62 | 59 | 57 | 57 |
| Community decisions | 54 | 50 | 55 | 56 |
| Consultation and engagement | 52 | 52 | 53 | 56 |
| Lobbying | 51 | 51 | 52 | 55 |
