2026 Community Satisfaction Survey

Published on 26 June 2026

Central Goldfields Shire Council will strive to earn greater community confidence after receiving “disappointing” community survey results that show a decline in key areas.

The annual satisfaction survey results show a softening in overall community sentiment, with evaluations dropping across most of the core indicators, including: 

• Overall performance: Decreased by four points to an index score of 44. This sits below the state average (58) and the Small Shire benchmark (53).
• Spending public funds: Dropped nine points to a score of 35 (compared to the Small Shire benchmark of 47).
• General direction: Down five points to a score of 38, falling below the Small Shire average of 46.

High-performing service areas 

• Waste management recorded a score of 70 (+3 points year-on-year)
• The appearance of public areas at 64
• Keeping the community informed achieved the largest single increase of five points to 57. 

Local Government Victoria coordinates the statewide survey each year with all participating local councils. In Central Goldfields, the survey was undertaken through a mix of 302 phone calls and 106 online responses during February and March 2026.

There was a new question added to the local survey this year, asking respondents about their priorities for Council investment — 39 per cent nominated swimming pool and 25 per cent roads.

Chief Executive Officer, Peter Harriott, said the results were disappointing and they would be heeded. He said learnings would guide Council’s actions into the future.

“We’re committed to continuous improvement and to doing the best job we can within the financial and resource constraints that we operate under,” Mr Harriott said.

“The Maryborough Outdoor Pool was the stand-out issue for most people, followed by roads.

“We’re in a difficult position with the pool because there’s a gap between the available state and federal funding, and escalating costs in the current inflationary environment.

“We have to do a better job of explaining this and we’ll be sure to keep the community fully informed.”

Mr Harriott said roads feature most years in the survey, and last year showed there’s misunderstanding in the community around which level of government is responsible for different roads.

“For example, in 2025 the Maryborough-Dunolloy Road was mentioned the most as needing upgrades, and it’s a state road,” he said.

“We’re advocating for greater State Government investment in regional state roads, and we’ll seek to raise awareness in the community about the different responsibilities.”

Mr Harriott thanked everyone who participated in the survey.

The report is available here.