The results from this year's Community Satisfaction Index are in, and with it come insights every council leader should pay attention to.
Satisfaction dropped across the board, but some councils bucked the trend. What was the difference between those that pulled ahead and everyone else?
In this edition of the Scoop we’ll explore:
○ What the 2026 Community Satisfaction Index reveals
○ How Townsville posted the biggest improvement in the country
○ The results that made the headlines
○ How to get your own council's full CSI breakdown
The 2026 satisfaction verdict is in
For the second year running, we've asked residents across Australia how satisfied they are with their council, drawing on both a national survey and real-time ratings collected right after they've reported an issue.
This year's Community Satisfaction Index pulls together more than 17,000 survey responses and 250,000 real-time service ratings, and it's the clearest read yet on where things stand.
Here's the headline number. National satisfaction dropped to 59.6, down from 61.3 in 2025.
That's not a small shift. It reflects how residents feel about their council and their neighbourhood overall, as well as how individual issues get resolved.
But here's what's interesting. Some councils improved while the rest declined. And when you look at what they have in common, it’s how closely they engage with residents. The ones pulling ahead are those that communicate well and act quickly to resolve the issues residents report through Snap Send Solve and other channels.
So, the question councils should be asking, beyond “how did we score”, is “what would it take to move our score in the right direction?”
How Townsville is leading the way
Townsville City Council, in Queensland’s north, saw the biggest jump in their score of all councils in the country, climbing 7.1% from 54.6 in 2025 to 58.5 this year. How did they do it?
According to Mayor Nick Dametto, it comes down to a deliberate strategy the council calls "Back to Basics," a renewed focus on the everyday services residents rely on, and making it easier for them to flag when something's not up to standard. That's meant sustained investment in roads, drainage, parks and public spaces, whilst handling more than 88,000 community requests a year.|
"As we ride the wave of increased investment and an influx of new residents, it's absolutely essential that we maintain and improve the infrastructure and services residents rely on every day. That means continuing to sensibly invest in roads, drainage, parks, public spaces and other essential community assets, while ensuring we're delivering value for money for ratepayers, who I consider to be our city's shareholders." - Mayor Nick Dametto
Townsville's result made headlines, and the Mayor shared his own reflections on the milestone, too.
Want to see how other top-performing councils are lifting their results? The full 2026 Community Satisfaction Index includes insights from mayors at top-performing councils about what they’re doing right.
Where does your council sit?
Townsville's result is one story. But every council's is different, and the only way to know where you actually stand is to look at your own numbers.
Want your council's full breakdown? We'll take you through how your council performed against the state and the nation, your year-on-year change, and how residents rate your performance across service delivery, responsiveness and communication.
When the Index made headlines
This year's Community Satisfaction Index made headlines across the nation. 7NEWS, the Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, Courier Mail, ABC News Radio and dozens of other media reported on the results.
They looked at which councils performed best, and what issues the community is reporting most.
Road and pothole complaints, up 27% nationally on last year, was of particular interest. When asked by 7NEWS' Ava Cashmore, Snap Send Solve CEO Danny Gorog said roads was the fastest-growing complaint category in Victoria, NSW and South Australia.
For Snapper Nina Hanna, who was also interviewed by 7NEWS, the shift has been obvious:
"The roads are in a much worse state now than they were 12 months ago," she said.
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