Council satisfaction drops nationally as Maroondah tops 2026 Community Satisfaction Index
Maroondah City Council in Victoria has been crowned the top-ranked council in Australia for 2026 in the second annual Snap Send Solve Community Satisfaction Index, the most comprehensive snapshot undertaken of how residents rate the performance of their councils.
Overall, Australians’ satisfaction with their councils dropped 1.7 points to 59.6 out of 100 in the index, with all states recording a drop in sentiment. South Australians rated their councils the best in Australia with an index score of 61.2, down 0.9 and landed two councils ranked in the top 10 nationally. Tasmania and Western Australia were equal second, with their councils scoring a collective 61.0 rating, while the ACT, NSW and Queensland residents gave their councils the lowest pass marks.
The drop in rating for councils coincides with a 27% surge to almost 145,000 reports from Australians frustrated by the state of their roads, the biggest percentage increase of any major category in the 12 months to June 30, 2026 and highlighting the national problem of potholes and road maintenance. Overall, Snap Send Solve “Snappers” sent in 1.7 million reports, 16% more than in 2025, to hundreds of councils and other service providers, topped by issues with Rubbish & Bins, up 23%, followed by Parking & Cars, up 13%, and trees, up 17%.
Residents rated the Maroondah City Council in Melbourne’s east as the best council in the nation, ahead of the City of Melville and City of Mandurah in Western Australia, followed by the City of Whitehorse in Victoria and the City of Marion in South Australia.
Townsville City Council in regional Queensland won the title for the biggest jump in rating compared to last year, ahead of the City of Casey and Boroondara City Council, both in Victoria.
Of the capital city councils, residents rated Darwin the best, at 63.4, up .6, followed by Brisbane at 61.7, down 1.0, Melbourne 61.6, down 3.3, and Hobart 61.6, down 1.1.
Metropolitan residents at 60.1 were more satisfied with their councils than regional or country Australians at 58.9.
The Community Satisfaction Index is an annual national benchmark developed by Snap Send Solve to capture how residents rate their council’s performance across service delivery, responsiveness, communication, and overall satisfaction. It draws on 250,000 real-time ratings over the past year measuring residents’ satisfaction with councils’ responses to their reports, as well as more than 17,000 dedicated survey responses collected from Snap Send Solve users in May and June 2026.
Snap Send Solve is a free app that enables the public to photograph, geotag and report issues that need fixing using their mobile phone. Snap Send Solve ensures the report goes to the right service provider, often a council and at other times utility providers and major retailers such as Telstra and Coles.
Snap Send Solve CEO and founder Danny Gorog said: “Congratulations to the Maroondah City Council and the other councils whose residents and our Snappers have rated the best in the nation and in each state.’’
“In its second year, the Snap Send Solve Community Satisfaction Index has become the most authoritative measure for rating council performance across Australia. Councils play a critical role in supporting communities throughout Australia, and the feedback that this annual index provides will help them improve the level of service they provide to their ratepayers.’
“While our councils generally do a great job, the drop in satisfaction with their performance across the country shows the level of frustration that is out there among residents, particularly related to issues we see in the number of reports on hot button topics such as potholes and damaged roads, parking, dumped rubbish, graffiti and vandalism.
“The report also highlights that councils who engage closely with residents and act quickly to resolve the issues they are reporting through Snap Send Solve, and other channels, are more likely to be rated strongly by their residents.
“The lifeblood of Snap Send Solve is the one million-plus Snap Send Solve “Snappers” from around Australia who take the time to photograph and report problems that they see, giving councils and other services providers, the “Solvers”, greater visibility of issues, so they can more effectively plan and respond. We encourage others to join them so we can help councils do an even better job.”
You can see the full Snap Send Solve 2026 Community Satisfaction Index report, including the top performing councils in each state, at csi.snapsendsolve.com
