Measuring our community’s satisfaction with Council – Wollongong

The Wollongong Botanic Garden, our city’s patrolled beaches and our green waste service, including FOGO, are three of our community’s most valued services and facilities.

Last September we asked our community to rate their satisfaction with Wollongong City Council’s services and facilities as part of our biennial Community Satisfaction Survey.

The telephone-based survey used both landline and mobile numbers to ask 600 people to rate Council in its customer service and service delivery, and to prioritise areas for Council to focus on moving forward. An online survey was also offered through Council’s website.

“We’ve been asking our community to rate their overall satisfaction with Council since 1997 and I’m pleased to say this year’s rating of 3.7 out of 5 is our highest ever rating,” Wollongong City Council General Manager Greg Doyle said.

“In addition, we outperformed many of the average benchmarks for comparable NSW councils. This is particularly rewarding for Council as it comes off the back of a tough year for both our community and for the organisation. The September survey was conducted mid-lockdown and during a time where we had modified what services we could offer, and how we delivered those that we could.

“I thank those who participated in the survey and the valuable insights it provides. In many ways, it demonstrates that Council’s ongoing investment in our parks, sports fields and open spaces, our patrolled beaches, public swimming pools and rock pools, and the Wollongong Botanic Garden are just what our community wants and needs from us.”

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said the survey was a useful tool for the organisation as we headed into the planning for this term of Council with the development of a new Delivery Program.

“Following December’s Local Government Election, we have a refreshed team of Councillors who are keen to get around the table and move forward on plans for the city,” Cr Bradbery said.

“Our community’s voices are valued by this organisation and this survey makes it clear that while 14 per cent of our community gave Council a 5 out of 5 in terms of satisfaction and 65 per cent of our residents were satisfied with Council’s overall performance, there is always ways to improve what we deliver.

“The survey confirms that the priorities for Council for the next three years should be footpaths and cycleways, planning controls for development in the city centre and town centres, infrastructure, parking, and parks, sporting fields and playgrounds.

“We’re already investing heavily in these areas and these results show us our residents want us to do more. As Councillors we’re always keen to listen to our community and Council consistently asks residents for their thoughts on very a diverse range of projects and initiatives through our Join the Conversation pages on our website. These ongoing two-way conversations are key to us continuing to grow into a city that’s a great place to live, work and play.”

The full Community Satisfaction Survey for 2021 is available on Council’s website.

Satisfaction Snapshot

  • 65 per cent of residents were satisfied with the overall performance of Council, 28 per cent were neutral, 7 per cent were dissatisfied.
  • Council’s average satisfaction rating was 3.7 out of 5 an increase on 3.6 out of 5 in 2019.
  • All services and facilities maintained or improved on the level of satisfaction recorded in 2019.
  • Highest used facilities were; footpaths, shared use paths and parks, open spaces and sportsfields for passive recreation.
  • Highest performing facilities were; Botanic Garden, patrolled beaches and libraries.
  • Highest performing direct services were: Green waste including FOGO, red-lidded bin waste collections, yellow-lidded recycling waste collections and waste disposal depot facilities.
  • Opportunities for improvements included; footpaths, planning control for city centre and local areas, maintenance of local roads, environmental programs and education.
  • 50 per cent of residents were aware Wollongong was hosting the 2022 UCI Road Cycling Championships. The highest level of awareness was in Ward 2 with 62 per cent of residents aware.

/Public Release. View in full here.