Councils pressed to embrace technology

Australian councils are under pressure to embrace technology to improve their service delivery and meet residents’ evolving expectations, research from Datacom suggests.

A survey of more than 2000 homeowners across the country found that just 37% of respondents believe their council has a positive relationship with technology. Meanwhile, 39% of respondents believe investing in technology would improve councils’ service delivery. Likewise, 70% of homeowners said they would have more confidence in their councils if they embraced technology, and 45% said they would have more trust.

Calls to improve and modernise service delivery are particularly strong among younger homeowners, with 85% of Gen Z respondents saying they would have more confidence and 62% saying they would have more trust with increased technology investments.

The research also demonstrates that councils must do a better job of listening to residents. The proportion of respondents who indicated that they feel heard by their council dropped from 35% in 2023 to just 27% this year.

In addition, 55% of respondents indicated that they have disengaged with their councils, and two-thirds said they are not aware of the full range of services offered by their councils.

Datacom managing director for SaaS products Peter Nelson said the findings indicate a clear mandate for local governments to invest in technology to meet ratepayer expectations.

“It’s no surprise to see the significantly positive impact that tech investment can have for councils. Advancing technologies like AI continue to be the hot topic — especially in terms of the kind of efficiency wins that the research has identified as being at the top of Australians’ wish lists,” he said. “Councils have had to strike a tough balance to affordably maintain essential services. One area where value can be added is through technology that enables citizens to better engage and stay informed on areas that matter most to them.”

Image credit: iStock.com/Nils Versemann