This consultation is now closed. 

Previous consultation - September, 2023 

To affirm and promote further the charter and the response standards that have been developed, the draft charter was placed 4 weeks of public consultation. This engagement garnered 

  1. 16 visitors to the page, with 12 providing responses 
  2. 10 respondents reviewed the draft charter document  
    1. Of the 10 respondents who viewed the charter, 7 respondents felt the charter would be a useful tool in understanding what to expect when contacting the City of Ballarat with requests and reports. 
  3. Two responses reiterated the importance of closing the loop on all requests and reports and the importance of transparency of request tracking and status. 
  4. One response reiterated the importance of expected response times and acknowledgement of requests and reports. 
  5. One response indicated the need for a process to follow in the event the charter has not been adhered to. 

 As a result of the feedback received, the following updates have been made to draft Customer Charter 

  1. Increase the level of information within the Charter relating to Closing the loop.
  2. Include information within the Charter on what to do if your experience is inconsistent with the commitments made within the Charter.
  3. Provide greater clarity within the Charter relating to the types of requests and reports that are in scope of the Charter and which are out of scope. 

The customer charter will be submitted to Council at the October Council meeting where it will be considered for adoption. 

Consultation Summary

Following on from the key themes identified in the first round of engagement, officers have undertaken additional rounds of engagement that focused on the level of importance customers perceive in relation to the following elements:  

  1. Knowing how long it will take to resolve an issue. 

  1. Being kept up to date as to the status of a request. 

  1. Being advised when a request has been completed.  


The City of Ballarat is developing a Customer Charter to provide greater insight into what customers can expect when contacting the City of Ballarat. You are invited to provide input towards it's development.

Initially, we reached out via MySay survey to understand the most important elements of customers' experiences. 

Respondents indicated the most important elements of their experience are:  

1. Understanding the steps City of Ballarat will take to resolve my issue; and 

2. Confidence that I’ve been heard and understood.  


Respondents indicated the most important outcome of their contact as: 

1. I want to know what the next steps are and how long they will take. 

2. I want to be able to communicate via the method of my choice. 


When reporting hazards and maintenance issues, respondents indicated the most important element as: 

1. Knowing that the appropriate action will be taken without follow-up calls needed. 


Following on from the key themes identified in the first round of engagement, officers have undertaken additional rounds of engagement via hard-copy survey and post-call survey, which focused on the level of importance customers perceive in relation to the following elements:  

  1. Knowing how long it will take to resolve an issue. 

  1. Being kept up to date as to the status of a request. 

  1. Being advised when a request has been completed.  


We heard that 72 percent of people feel it's very important to know how long it will take to resolve an issue, 80 percent of people feel it's very important to be kept up to date as to the status of their requests and reports, and 79 percent of people feel it's very important to be advised when their request or report has been resolved.

In total, almost 500 people have provided feedback to to date.

What's next?

We're now sharing our draft Customer Charter and we want to hear from you as to whether we got it right. Please use the survey link below to advise if you believe the Draft Charter will be a useful document understand what to expect when engaging City of Ballarat with reports and requests and whether there is anything missing.

All feedback will be carefully considered before the Charter is updated and returned to Council for consideration.

Estimated time to complete: Less than 3 minutes to complete.


What should I know before I give my thoughts?

In 2022/23, City of Ballarat staff handled the following volumes of customer contacts:

a. Approximately 80,000 phone calls. Approximately 31,000 of these calls resulted in requests or reports being lodged in Council’s Request Management System.

b. Approximately 35,000 digital requests, consisting of customer requests via eServices, Online Forms, Snap Send Solve, and other digital channels.

c. Approximately 23,000 emails and 5,000 letters.

d. Approximately 15,000 face-to-face interactions at the Phoenix Customer Service Centre.


The diagram below shows the top 10 enquiry categories of phone calls received in 2022, as a percentage of overall category numbers.


Our contact options include:

  • Phone
  • In person
  • In writing
  • Email
  • Online forms
  • eServices
  • Snap Send Solve smartphone app
  • Webchat


Our accessibility options include:

  • National Relay Service
  • Translation Services

Previous consultation - June - August, 2023

Following on from the key themes identified in the first round of engagement, officers have undertaken additional rounds of engagement that focused on the level of importance customers perceive in relation to the following elements:  

  1. Knowing how long it will take to resolve an issue. 

  1. Being kept up to date as to the status of a request. 

  1. Being advised when a request has been completed.  

Previous consultation - February, 2023

Consultation has concluded. Community feedback will be considered as the City of Ballarat continues to develop its Customer Charter. The Customer Charter will be placed on exhibition for community review and comment before going to Council for consideration later this year.

The Draft Customer Charter consultation has now concluded.