Council
9 July, 2026
Shire sees satisfaction boost
AFTER a dip in 2025, the 2026 Community Satisfaction Survey shows residents have positively received Corangamite Shire Council’s response.
The 2026 Community Satisfaction Survey (CSS) reveals an increase in community perceptions of council’s overall performance, value for money, and decision-making.
Council’s overall performance index score increased from 58 in 2025 to 63 in 2026 – a statistically significant five-point rise.
This result remains above the state-wide (58) and Large Rural Shire (53) averages.
The spending public funds index score increased from 52 to 55, suggesting a slight rise in community confidence in the cost-effectiveness of council services and infrastructure.
Corangamite continues to outperform state-wide and Large Rural Shire averages in most service areas.
Among Corangamite’s top performing services was libraries, which saw an increase by four points to 75 to lead all services areas in 2026.
Waste Management also scored high, improving by three points to a five-year high of 74.
Council’s emergency and disaster management had also beaten averages at 72, compared to the state-wide average of 63 and the Large Rural Shire average of 67.
Keeping the community informed was also a strong increase, moving from being a low-performing service by nine points to 71.
This is well above both the state-wide and Large Rural Shire averages of 60.
Appearance of public areas (71) and recreational facilities (70) also scored well, reflecting high community satisfaction with public amenity and infrastructure.
Mayor Kate Makin said the increase in indicators across all areas brought council back in line with results prior to 2025.
“Customer service was one of the shire’s strongest attributes for the eighth consecutive year, alongside engagement and consultation, with each nominated by 13 per cent of respondents,” she said.
“This is a positive outcome, particularly given 15 per cent of respondents last year said community consultation was an area for improvement.
“Community consultation increased from 54 to 64, which was a 10-point increase and the highest rise across all core measures.
“This reflects council’s efforts to ensure the community feels heard.”
Sealed local streets rose four points to 46 but there is still room for improvement to reach the 2021 high of 50.
“Road conditions and maintenance continue to be the most frequently identified area for improvement, showing further attention and action are required in this area,” Cr Makin said.
Unsealed roads was identified as an area of improvement at 38, despite the two-point increase on 2025, which is comparable with the Large Rural Shire (41) and state-wide (42) averages.
Another low-performing service was roadside slashing and weed control, which declined by two points to 46 and sits below the Large Rural Shire (49) average.
General town planning policy (55) and planning and building permits (52) both remain low performing, despite both increasing by five points and four points respectively.
These results potentially reflect ongoing community dissatisfaction with planning processes, red tape, and responsiveness.
Cr Makin said the annual survey ensured council’s priorities aligned with community expectations.
“Thanks to the 404 people who took part in interviews during February and March,” she said.
“This is one of the main benchmarks council uses to make sure we have the community’s trust and confidence.”
The full report can be found at corangamite.vic.gov.au/CSS.