As October’s local government elections edge closer, new research has identified the factors that could prove to be deal-breakers and decision-makers for Victorians on polling day.
The research, commissioned by technology services provider, Datacom, shows councillors could make significant gains by answering Australians’ calls for more value (50%), faster processing of council applications (44%) and a simpler process for council applications (43%). This was especially the case with younger Gen Z and Millennial voters (52%).
In addition, the research – which drew on responses from 2,000+ homeowners – highlights that placing a more dedicated focus on the top three most valued council services also has the potential to win over Australian voters. Waste collection, which is currently under the spotlight thanks to the introduction of fortnightly collections, came out as the most valued council service (72%), followed by shared facilities (67%) and maintenance of roads (49%).
Satisfaction with council services varied across states with campaigning councillors in Victoria having the most work to do in winning over voters:
Satisfaction with council services:
- NSW – 51%
- QLD – 57%
- SA – 52%
- VIC – 44%
- WA – 52%
Comparing this research with last year’s findings, there are growing issues for new councils to stem, says Datacom.
Australians are feeling less heard, dropping from 35% in 2023 to 27% in 2024, fuelling signs of depreciating engagement with councils, from 55% down to 52%. Councils are also facing an awareness challenge, with two thirds of Australians admitting they are unaware of the full range of council services and 38% saying they do not believe their council acts with sustainability in mind.
Datacom’s Managing Director SaaS Products, Peter Nelson, said, “Councils have had to strike a tough balance to affordably maintain essential services. One area where value can be added is through technology that enables citizens to better engage and stay informed on areas that matter most to them.”
Despite these emerging trends, trust in councils remains strong (61%) and clear paths for significantly growing council trust were established in the research. For 84% of Australians, their councils would be seen as more trustworthy with more transparent financial reporting.
With only 37% of Australians seeing their council as having a positive relationship with technology, 39% of Australians said that investing in technology would improve councils’ overall service delivery and would give 70% of residents more confidence in their local councils, as well as increasing trust for 45% of people.
Peter Nelson said, “It’s no surprise to see the significantly positive impact that tech investment can have for councils. Advancing technologies like AI continue to be the hot topic – especially in terms of the kind of efficiency wins that the research has identified as being at the top of Australians’ wishlists.”
“We’re seeing a clear, year-on-year mandate in Australia for tech investment across all levels of government. At Datacom we’re addressing that demand by advancing solutions like Datascape, which is designed to help councils to engage and work more collaboratively with their communities, with AI-enabled innovation.”
