Welcome to the 2026 Local Government CX Benchmarking Survey

Welcome to the 2026 Local Government CX Benchmarking Survey

This is the second Local Government CX Benchmarking study undertaken by The Strategy Group. This brief 5-minute survey will help us understand how well councils are managing and improving their customer experience (CX) across 10 key domains.

Why participate?

The insights gathered will create a comprehensive benchmark of CX maturity at national, state, and regional levels, helping identify key opportunities for improvement across the sector.

What you'll receive:

In return for your participation, you'll receive a personalised report showing how your council compares with others in terms of CX maturity. Reports will be available in Q1 2026 after results have been collated.

Thank you for your time and valuable contribution to this important sector-wide initiative.

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1. Which of the following statements about CX Vision best describes your Council’s current position?

Our Council has NOT developed a CX Vision, Mission or Goal

Our Council has a documented CX Vision, Mission or Goal that describes the intended experience for customers

Our Council has a documented CX Vision, Mission or Goal and strategic initiatives and metrics that align with achieving the CX Vision

Other (please specify)

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2. Which of the following statements about Customer Experience (CX) Strategy best describes your Council’s current position?

Our Council does NOT have CX initiatives or actions included in its overarching strategy

Our Council has CX Initiatives or actions included in its overarching strategy

Our Council has a formal CX Strategy that has a direct link to the overarching strategy

Other (please specify)

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3. How much do the following groups in your Council demonstrate commitment to CX through their decisions and actions?

CX commitment can be observed through prioritising customer needs in decisions, allocating resources to improve customer outcomes, and actively supporting customer-centric initiatives.

	Very Low	Low	Medium	High	Very High
Leadership (Includes Councilors, Executive Team and Directors)	Leadership (Includes Councilors, Executive Team and Directors) Very Low	Leadership (Includes Councilors, Executive Team and Directors) Low	Leadership (Includes Councilors, Executive Team and Directors) Medium	Leadership (Includes Councilors, Executive Team and Directors) High	Leadership (Includes Councilors, Executive Team and Directors) Very High
Management & Team Leaders	Management & Team Leaders Very Low	Management & Team Leaders Low	Management & Team Leaders Medium	Management & Team Leaders High	Management & Team Leaders Very High
Workforce (Includes Back Office, Frontline and Outdoor Staff)	Workforce (Includes Back Office, Frontline and Outdoor Staff) Very Low	Workforce (Includes Back Office, Frontline and Outdoor Staff) Low	Workforce (Includes Back Office, Frontline and Outdoor Staff) Medium	Workforce (Includes Back Office, Frontline and Outdoor Staff) High	Workforce (Includes Back Office, Frontline and Outdoor Staff) Very High

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4. Which of the following statements about CX Governance best describes your Council’s current position?

CX has fragmented ownership across Council and CX tasks are usually delegated to frontline/customer-facing teams

Our Council has an established cross-organisation working group (usually made up of representatives from diverse business units and/or directorates) responsible for driving CX initiatives and improvements

Our Council has a dedicated CX team/function that collaborates with directorates and teams across Council

Other (please specify)

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5. Currently, how much communication and/or collaboration occurs across directorates and business units in your Council?

Very Low

Low

Medium

High

Very High

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6. Which of the following statements about Customer Data Collection best describes your Council’s current position?

Our Council collects customer data and feedback reactively through ad-hoc/irregular surveys, a request management system (RMS) and/or complaints register

Our Council collects customer data and feedback reactively through an established Voice of Customer (VoC)/CX program

Our Council collects customer data and feedback proactively through a closed customer feedback loop across several service experiences

Other (please specify)

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7. Which of the following statements about Customer Data, Metrics & Reporting best describes your Council’s current position?

Our Council reports on customer service performance and primarily monitors SLAs (Service Level Agreements), FRT (First Response Time), FCR (First Call Resolution) etc. at an organisational level

Our Council monitors and reports on customer experience metrics like CSAT (Customer Satisfaction), NPS (Net Promoter Score) or CES (Customer Effort Score) at an organisational level

Our Council monitors and reports on customer experience metrics like CSAT, NPS or CES and links these metrics to Directorate, Business Units and/or staff performance

Other (please specify)

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8. Which of the following statements about CX Improvement Processes best describes your Council’s current position?

CX improvements are primarily ad-hoc and driven by volume of customer pains/feedback

Our Council has an established process to periodically develop CX initiatives/actions based on volume of customer pains/feedback

Our Council has an established process to continuously translate customer feedback into CX initiatives/actions and improve service delivery

Other (please specify)

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9. How regularly are CX improvement initiatives implemented in your Council?

Multiple times a year

Every 1-3 years

Every 3-5 years

No regular implementation

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10. Which of the following statements about CX Standards & Expectations best describes your Council’s current position?

Our Council has informal customer service standards and expectations

Our Council has a published customer service/experience charter and/or a customer promise

Our Council has established CX principles, standards and playbook/toolkit to support Council staff, teams and/or directorates

Other (please specify)

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11. How would you rate your Council’s knowledge and mindset around customer experience and customer-centricity?

Very Low (Low awareness of distinction between customer service/community engagement and customer experience)

Low (Some awareness of customer experience and customer-centricity among small pockets in the Council)

Moderate (General understanding of customer experience and importance of customer-centricity in the Council)

High (Most of Council's staff know the importance of CX and customer-centricity)

Very High (CX and customer-centricity are core to the Council's strategy and operations)

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12. Which of the following statements about CX Rewards & Recognition best describes your Council’s current position?

None/limited rewards and recognition for CX performance and/or informal recognition for solving customer issues

Excellent CX performance/innovation linked to existing rewards and recognition program

Formal CX rewards and recognition program implemented for staff delivering/enabling great CX and/or embodying customer-centric values/principles

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13. Which of the following statements about CX Skills & Training best describes your Council’s current position?

Customer-facing teams receive customer service training and technical training regarding systems and processes for service delivery

Our Council has deployed CX/customer-centricity training/workshops to select groups in Council

Our Council has CX/customer-centricity training built into onboarding and L&D programs for all staff

Other (please specify)

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14. Which of the following statements about CX Tools best describes your Council’s current position?

Our Council has limited or some knowledge of Council’s customer segments and journeys (i.e. process maps)

Our Council has well-defined and documented customer segments and has developed journey maps for core customer experiences

Our Council uses CX analytics to develop a robust understanding of customers and has developed journey maps/service blueprints for all customer experiences

Other (please specify)

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15. Which of the following statements about CX Technology & Systems best describes your Council’s current position?

Our Council uses basic systems to gather, manage and analyse customer experience data (e.g. Survey tools or Excel)

Our Council has implemented a CX management and delivery platform that enables a consistent customer feedback loop (e.g. CXM Platform or CRM)

Our Council has implemented a CX Management and delivery platform that is integrated with Council’s systems and uses advanced technologies like AI/ML

Other (please specify)

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16. Which of the following statements about Omnichannel CX best describes your Council’s current position?

Our Council uses traditional and social media channels to deliver CX but has no formal omnichannel strategy in place

Our Council has implemented an Omnichannel strategy and offers customers multiple ways to interact and engage with Council (i.e. self-service options)

Our Council delivers a consistent omnichannel CX informed by customer data

Other (please specify)

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17. What is your role in Council?

Executive/Senior Management

Supervisor/Team Leader

Frontline Office Based Staff – Interacting with customers on a daily basis, from an office environment

Frontline Outdoor Staff – Interacting with customers daily, out in the community

Support Staff – Enabling people who are on the frontline

Other (please specify)

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18. What insights would you be interested in receiving from this survey?

Overall CX Maturity of Councils in Australia

How my Council compares in CX Maturity to Councils in Australia

How my Council compares in CX Maturity to Councils in my state

What the opportunities for my Council are to improve its CX Maturity

Other (please specify)

Welcome to the 2026 Local Government CX Benchmarking Survey

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1. Which of the following statements about CX Vision best describes your Council’s current position?

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2. Which of the following statements about Customer Experience (CX) Strategy best describes your Council’s current position?

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4. Which of the following statements about CX Governance best describes your Council’s current position?

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5. Currently, how much communication and/or collaboration occurs across directorates and business units in your Council?

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6. Which of the following statements about Customer Data Collection best describes your Council’s current position?

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7. Which of the following statements about Customer Data, Metrics & Reporting best describes your Council’s current position?

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8. Which of the following statements about CX Improvement Processes best describes your Council’s current position?

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9. How regularly are CX improvement initiatives implemented in your Council?

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10. Which of the following statements about CX Standards & Expectations best describes your Council’s current position?

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11. How would you rate your Council’s knowledge and mindset around customer experience and customer-centricity?

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12. Which of the following statements about CX Rewards & Recognition best describes your Council’s current position?

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13. Which of the following statements about CX Skills & Training best describes your Council’s current position?

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14. Which of the following statements about CX Tools best describes your Council’s current position?

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15. Which of the following statements about CX Technology & Systems best describes your Council’s current position?

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16. Which of the following statements about Omnichannel CX best describes your Council’s current position?

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17. What is your role in Council?

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18. What insights would you be interested in receiving from this survey?

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19. Please provide the name of your Council.

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20. Please provide your name so we are able to keep track of our correspondence. Your name will not be disclosed in the final report

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21. What email would you like us to send the final results and report to?