Monash has recorded a strong result in the annual Community Satisfaction Survey, which gauges community satisfaction with council performance across all councils in Victoria.
This year's Monash survey was conducted in February 2023, with a welcome return to conducting interviews face-to-face after phone surveys for the past two years. 800 randomly selected residents aged 15 and over were interviewed by Metropolis Research, an independent research company.
Council recorded an overall satisfaction score of 7.18, an improvement from the 2022 result of 7.07. While a small number of councils are yet to report on their results, this result places Monash higher than both the metropolitan average (6.98) and the councils that make up Melbourne's eastern suburbs (7.01) and likely to be amongst the top two ranking councils in the overall results
Satisfaction in the Local Government Performance Reporting Framework reporting requirements for Monash were:
- Council's overall performance (7.18)
- Maintaining trust and confidence of the local community (7.14)
- Community engagement and consultation (7.17)
- Making decisions in the interest of the community (7.15)
- Responsiveness to local community needs (7.01) and
- Representation, lobbying and advocacy on behalf of community (7.13).
Areas of strength
The services with the highest satisfaction included the local library and library services (8.52), regular green waste collection (8.28), recreation and aquatic centres (8.24), sports ovals and outdoor sporting facilities (8.06) and the provision and maintenance of local playgrounds (8.03).
There were increases in satisfaction with planning for population growth (up 9.5%), customer service (up 8.1%), planning and development outcomes (up 5.5%), aspects of traffic and parking (up 3.4%), aspects of governance and leadership performance (up 3.3%), and average satisfaction with Council services and facilities (up 1.9%).
Other increases include parking enforcement (up 8.7%), Council's website (up 5.2%), footpath maintenance and repairs (up 5.1%), local traffic management (up 4.9%), provision of parking facilities (up 4.4%), drains maintenance and repairs (up 4.4%), the provision and maintenance of street trees (up 4.3%), the Monash Bulletin (up 3.9%), Council activities to promote environmental sustainability (up 3.9%), the maintenance and repair of sealed local roads (up 3.7%), and bike paths and shared pathways (up 2.9%).
Areas for improvement
The only service to record a notable decline this year was the regular garbage collection, which declined three per cent to 7.83. This decline reflects the changes to the kerbside collection services, which was a significant change for our community as Council strives to reduce what we send to landfill.
Other areas identified as needing attention from Council were:
- Traffic management (13.7%)
- Parking both enforcement and availability (12%)
- Lighting (7.1%)
- Road maintenance and repairs (6.4%)
- Provision and maintenance of street trees (5.4%)
Monash Mayor Tina Samardzija said Council is pleased by the improved overall performance result following two years of small decreases in 2021 and 2022.
"Monash Council prides itself on how we provide for our community, and we take these results seriously every year.
"I'm pleased that our overall result has increased from 2022, reflecting the significant work on key focus areas over the past 12 months.
"We also know that there is always room for improvement in how our organisation operates.
"I'd like to thank our community for how they've responded to recent changes to bin collection that have resulted in a significant decline of what we send to landfill. This survey shows there is still work to do following this change, and we'll continue to work with our community.
"Thank you to everyone who was part of the survey for your feedback and input, and to Council staff for the work they do to support our community.
"However, we don't just listen to people once a year - if anyone has feedback or suggestions for our services or programs, email [email protected].
The full survey results are available on Council's website.
