New research has identified the key improvement areas for local government and a rising demand for associated tech investment, with increasingly influential Gen Z being the loudest voices.
Drawing on responses from 2,000-plus Australian homeowners, the Datacom-commissioned research shows that councils could make significant gains by answering voter’s calls for more value (50%), faster processing of council applications (44%), and a simpler process for council applications (43%).
This was especially so with younger Gen Z and Millennial voters (52%). In addition, the research highlights that placing a more dedicated focus on the top three most valued council services could win voters over. 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 Queensland having the best platform to start from and those in Victoria having the most work to do to restore voter confidence.
Comparing this research with last year’s findings, there are growing issues for councils to deal with. Voters feel less listened to, fuelling signs of depreciating engagement with councils. 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.
“Councils have had to strike a tough balance to affordably maintain essential services,” said Datacom’s Peter Nelson. “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.”
Datacom works with 117 councils across Australia providing technology solutions and services.
Despite these emerging trends, the research says trust in councils remains strong (61%). Additionally, clear paths for growing trust in local government were established by the research. For 84% of Australians, their councils would be seen as more trustworthy with more transparent financial reporting. Only 37% of Australians see their council as having a positive relationship with technology, but 39% of Australians said that investing in technology would improve councils’ overall service delivery – addressing the calls for faster and simpler processing – and would give 70% of Australians more confidence in their local councils, as well as increasing trust for 45% of Australians.
“It’s no surprise to see the significantly positive impact that tech investment can have for councils,” said Nelson. “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.”
