Councillors across Victoria can now provide crucial feedback on the experience of working in local government.
The Victorian Councillor Census, launched in July by the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA), was designed in collaboration with QDOS Research to address an important, sector-wide information gap – a lack of current active data collection and analysis specific to locally elected representatives across Victoria.
The 2024 Census will be the first in a regular series from the VLGA, capturing and tracking councillor demographics, attitudes and key challenges for local council governance over time.
Acting CEO of the VLGA, Rhys Thomas, championed the use of councillor voices to inform improvements to the overall councillor experience.
“We’re building an evidence base of councillor voices that will be used to ensure better support for the councillor role. This extends to improving the overall efficiencies of the local government sector. Our census series is going to become a critical tool for the VLGA and will directly inform federal and state policy and funding decisions and our sector advocacy.”
Results will be released as a public research report in late 2024. The census is open to all Victorian Councillors until 31 July. Councillors unable to locate their unique email link should contact the VLGA at census@vlga.org.au
